DEKALB, IL—Saying the change was long overdue and would make the workplace a more welcoming environment for many female employees, local marketing services firm UpVision designated a special room Friday where women could moan in pain. “Starting today, any and all women who are currently experiencing extreme discomfort are invited to enter the former third-floor supply closet and scream as loudly as they like,” read an email from the company’s human resources department, adding that in the newly soundproofed space, women could feel free to curl up into a ball, lie face down on the floor, or sit and clutch various aching body parts while letting out low, guttural wails. “This 7-by-7-foot private area will give female staffers the flexibility to express physical or mental anguish at the office without fear of judgment. We understand the needs of women in the workplace are often different, and we hope this new resource will allow them to feel deep, debilitating pain at the office without the inconvenience of missing work.” At press time, UpVision’s HR department had sent a follow-up email saying that any woman who emitted “so much as a single pained sigh” outside the designated moaning room would be terminated immediately.