GOG, an online storefront for video games similar to Steam and Epic Games, now offers menstrual leave for its employees. In a post announcing the initiative, the company confirmed the leave applies “for all menstruating employees of GOG” and means they can take additional days off whenever they experience period pain.
“By giving additional days off for those experiencing menstrual period pain, we acknowledge these symptoms are real,” stated the post. “Implementing Menstrual Leave is yet another step towards making GOG an even more inclusive workplace, and we won’t stop in our continuous efforts to learn, reflect and improve on how we can do better for all of our team members.”
Gabriela Siemienkowicz, the culture and communication manager at GOG, further explained that employees can take menstrual leave by the hour or take whole days off whenever period pain occurs. She came up with the idea during a “Women of GOG” meeting: “We shared the same view on this matter and would appreciate the possibility to simply lay down and take most of the day off without sacrificing one of the regular paid absence days we have available throughout the year.”
It’s a huge step forward for inclusivity in the workplace — especially in the games industry, which is often seen as sexist and ableist. We know that there are lots of women working in the gaming industry, and initiatives like this make it easier for them to complete their work safely and comfortably. And now CD Projekt Red — the developer of Cyberpunk 2077, The Witcher 3 and GOG’s parent company — is considering introducing menstrual leave as well.
“GOG is spearheading this initiative, and we’re looking into it further for the whole CD Projekt,” the PR director of CD Projekt, Radek Grabowski, told PC Gamer.
Siemienkowicz said GOG will evaluate the initiative at the end of the year and might expand it in the future if it has a positive impact on its employees’ mental health.
