In Sweden, an Appreciation for Heavy Metal Music Is Considered a Disability

Roger Tullgren of Hässleholm, Sweden needs to listen to heavy metal music while he works. Mind you, that's not wants to, but needs to. It's such an essential part of his life that it's been classified as a disability, entitling him to special dispensation by employers:

The ageing rocker claims to have attended almost three hundred shows last year, often skipping work in the process.

Eventually his last employer tired of his absences and Tullgren was left jobless and reliant on welfare handouts.

But his sessions with the occupational psychologists led to a solution of sorts: Tullgren signed a piece of paper on which his heavy metal lifestyle was classified as a disability, an assessment that entitles him to a wage supplement from the job centre.

"I signed a form saying: 'Roger feels compelled to show his heavy metal style. This puts him in a difficult situation on the labour market. Therefore he needs extra financial help'. So now I can turn up at a job interview dressed in my normal clothes and just hand the interviewers this piece of paper," he said.

The manager at his new workplace allows him to go to concerts as long as he makes up for lost time at a later point. He is also allowed to dress as he likes and listen to heavy metal while washing up.

http://www.thelocal.se/7650/20070619/ -via Marginal Revolution | Photo (unrelated) by Flickr user AnnieGreenSprings used under Creative Commons license