Japan: Companies are hiring "handsome weeping boys" to improve team performance

A unique profession has surfaced in Japan. “Ikemeso Danshi” or “handsome weeping boys” are being hired by offices with the purpose of creating an environment in workspaces wherein the employees are more comfortable with each other. How do the handsome weeping boys achieve this? By crying.

Yes! The idea is not when one person in a group is comfortable in showing vulnerability, it has a cascading effect on the whole group. This helps the employees get more familiarised with each other and hence there is better  coordination among them while working. 

There are crying workshops conducted. One of the Ikemeso Danshi techniques is to broadcast emotional films during the workshop. 

The idea emerged from a businessman named Hiroki Terai. Hiroki would run divorce ceremonies wherein he observed the powerful impact of crying when people would crush their rings with a hammer. “Japanese people are not really good at expressing their emotions. People working at companies don't express their opinions or feelings too much. I want Japanese people to cry. Not only at home but in the office. If you cry at work [you think] your co-workers will not want to touch you - there's a really negative image,” he stated in an interview with the BBC.