Taking a "mental health day" off from work
Apple22over7
Posts: 698 Forum Member
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What do you think to the practice?
A co-worker of mine called in sick on Tuesday. She wasn't physically ill, but apparently needed the day to “restore her mental health”, as she’d spent the weekend ferrying about for her various family members and needed a short time to recharge. Her holidays are all taken up due to school holidays and needing to look after her children, and she rarely gets any time to herself being a single parent. On top of this, the job itself can be quite stressful requiring a lot of mental focus and short deadlines.
She reckons that taking one or two days off a year as “mental health days” is good for her and the business, as it means she’s less likely to burn out and take of longer periods of sickness due to stress or other mental illness.
I can understand her logic to an extent, and she did everything she could to ensure she wouldn’t be missed on the day she took off (all work was up to date, nothing she had on her plate couldn’t wait until the following day etc). Our manager understood too, and wasn’t bothered by her reason to be off work for the day. I can’t help wondering if his reaction would have been the same if a single, childless employee had done the same thing, without the reasons/excuses of having to use annual leave for childcare and not for actual rest. Should such a consideration even matter?
My partner used to work in one office where they gave each staff member “duvet days” to use each year – 2 days a year where they can call in first thing in the morning and take the day off without notice. There were rules around it: employees had to call in before a certain time, and the request could be refused if the manager felt they couldn’t be without that staff member that day, but on the whole they were granted. That to me seemed like a great idea, and according to the company cut down on actual sick days taken (most likely as a result of people not pulling “sickies” to get out of work for the day).
We all know that mental illness is not something to be dismissed, but should people be calling in “sick” to recharge their mental health? Should sick leave only be granted/used for physical illness? Or does that mean employees mental wellbeing is sidelined and ignored, until the point it makes them crack and they either leave the job or are signed off with stress/depression/other such mental illness?
A co-worker of mine called in sick on Tuesday. She wasn't physically ill, but apparently needed the day to “restore her mental health”, as she’d spent the weekend ferrying about for her various family members and needed a short time to recharge. Her holidays are all taken up due to school holidays and needing to look after her children, and she rarely gets any time to herself being a single parent. On top of this, the job itself can be quite stressful requiring a lot of mental focus and short deadlines.
She reckons that taking one or two days off a year as “mental health days” is good for her and the business, as it means she’s less likely to burn out and take of longer periods of sickness due to stress or other mental illness.
I can understand her logic to an extent, and she did everything she could to ensure she wouldn’t be missed on the day she took off (all work was up to date, nothing she had on her plate couldn’t wait until the following day etc). Our manager understood too, and wasn’t bothered by her reason to be off work for the day. I can’t help wondering if his reaction would have been the same if a single, childless employee had done the same thing, without the reasons/excuses of having to use annual leave for childcare and not for actual rest. Should such a consideration even matter?
My partner used to work in one office where they gave each staff member “duvet days” to use each year – 2 days a year where they can call in first thing in the morning and take the day off without notice. There were rules around it: employees had to call in before a certain time, and the request could be refused if the manager felt they couldn’t be without that staff member that day, but on the whole they were granted. That to me seemed like a great idea, and according to the company cut down on actual sick days taken (most likely as a result of people not pulling “sickies” to get out of work for the day).
We all know that mental illness is not something to be dismissed, but should people be calling in “sick” to recharge their mental health? Should sick leave only be granted/used for physical illness? Or does that mean employees mental wellbeing is sidelined and ignored, until the point it makes them crack and they either leave the job or are signed off with stress/depression/other such mental illness?
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It was the first day I had taken off 'sick' in a long time, so I didn't feel too guilty about it.
My team leader knew the reason, and completely understood.
a) they took responsibility for their work, were available when required and made sure they met their deadlines
b) Worked a minimum number of hours a month (i.e.. if you have a short day you need to make it up on another day).
The company had far fewer people calling in sick. I think treating staff with a bit of respect and trust can pay off - but it is a risk.
Once or twice a year is fine, regularly and on a Monday or Friday umm your taking the p**s.
Single, childless employees can have just as much personal stress going on as married parents. They could be carers, have dealt with a bereavement, just moved house etc. I'd like to think that any company that had this policy would consider each case on its own merits and not simply extend this arrangement to childcare related matters, otherwise it completely misses the point.
They should have "falling down" days, where we get to express our inner mental. With a semi-automatic.
I really like that idea. I've always been of the opinion that treating staff like adults and having give and take is the most productive way to get the best out of people. It's how I manage my team and it works.
As long as it's managed properly and there are repercussions for those who take advantage of the situation, then I think it would be a great way forward as the work/life balance continues to evolve
I think I read something similar - I like the idea, but it is restricted to only those jobs that can accommodate such flexible working which is a minority really.
Absolutely agreed, and I think that's why a lot of employers don't treat their staff with as much respect as they should, as they're terrified of people abusing the system. Rather than dealing with the offenders individually, they'll just put a blanket policy in place.
This is true, but I've certainly found (as a single, young, childless employee) that those with childcare responsibilities seem to get a lot more leeway for such things than those without children - and it's usually childcare specifically, not even taking into account others caring responsibilities for aging relatives etc,. This may just be a sign of poor management however.
There can be lots of reasons why someone isn't fit enough to be in work whether it's to do with physical or mental health.
It sounds great that the employer is supporting your colleague in this way and it's in no one's interests if a person becomes very unwell when something can be done to prevent this.
I like the idea of an openly discussed mental health day quota. Sometimes you just don't know when it will creep up on you and suddenly you could really use a day off to get your head straight. I know to some it will sound like a cop out or an excuse not to work but trust me.. I had a hand full of years where I never had a single sick day. But I had quite a few days where I really needed a day off to sort myself out. But I see lying about illness wrong, so I soldiered on. Had mental health days existed I could have just been honest
Now i understand people do become ill in many ways physically and mentally , Imagine what state the Country would be in if we all decided to do this, Sounds to me like a " can't be arsed to go to work today" , But maybe thats just the cynic in me.
She's not very discreet about her personal business, and it's hard not to overhear when in an open-plan office. It doesn't bother me she's taking such days off at all, I think it's a good idea and if it helps her cope with what sounds like a stressful life then that's only a good thing.
I know some people I've worked with/for in the past would have scoffed at such an idea though, in the belief that if you're not chucking your guts up then you're well enough to work and don't need the day off. I was just wondering what the general perception of these sorts of mental health days is.
But if you rang up faking a cough and the sniffles you would have a job to go back to. I suppose that's the point. It's a way for people to be honest about why they need an unplanned day off work. Some people just take a "I'll soldier on" approach when a co-worker who has a sniffle finds it acceptable to ring in sick. I suppose the argument is why can a cold keep you off work but a mental health issue such as stress is ignored.
You will always get people who take the p**s and use it as an excuse to take a day off due to a hang over etc. But at least if it's available as a justification then people can feel they're able to take that time off if required rather than having to lie about it or soldier on.
No, of course it isn't. We've all pulled a sickie in our time and I don't see the harm in it.
It looks as though some people feel the need to apply the fig leaf of 'mental health' in order to give it some sort of justification but it's a bit daft really.
It's very different - can't you see that?
But the problem is I suspect most employees can't just pick up the phone and say "Hi I'm sick so I'm not coming in today". Don't most employers require some sort of justification or reason? Usually it's "I've got the flu" or a stomach bug or the s**ts or whatever else stops people coming into work. But I don't think employees feel they can say "I need a break to sort some issues out". So they either lie.. or they don't take the day off they perhaps need.
Presumably you've never experienced a mental health problem when it can be very useful to support yourself earlier rather than later.
http://www.time-to-change.org.uk/
depends what you all minor things.
The problem is: what is a parent with a young child supposed to do if the school/childcare facility goes on strike, or the child has chicken pox and is not allowed to go to school?
They don't really have many options, even if they did want to come to work that day.
You could say it's their fault for having kids - but the country would eventually ground to a halt if everyone dedicated themselves to going into the office every day and no one had children.
Unless you're sick, you should be at work. If you want a skive, then at least pretend to be sick.
Sadly mental health issues don't follow the calendar. It would be much easier if they did.
My company would put me on Sick leave, Until i had seen a doctor to assess whether i really did have mental health issues.
We used to get 6 weeks paid sick leave, but people started abusing the scheme and taking extra holidays citing stress/mental health problems while not submitting a sick note.
So the scheme was ended which screwed it up for those that really were having stress/mental health problems.
It sounds to me that this woman just had a busy or bad weekend , Which we all have from time to time, but the vast majority of us do just soldier on, She seems to take a couple of " mental health days " throughout the year, Maybe she should just see a Dr to find out why she feels the need to take these days off.:)