Mental Health Day Off Work – Introduction
Mental health days off work, also known as mental health leave or mental health breaks, refer to taking time off from work specifically to focus on mental wellbeing. The goal of a mental health day is to take a break and recharge when you’re feeling emotionally exhausted, anxious, stressed or generally mentally unwell.
It’s completely understandable that workload, job uncertainty, conflicts, or even seemingly small frustrations can gradually wear someone down over time. Everyone experiences periods when they feel unable to cope as well as they’d like. In these situations, taking a complete break from the pressures of work and giving yourself time to truly rest and recenter has proven benefits.
A mental health day off allows you to take a step back, engage in self-care, decrease stress, and come back calmer with renewed perspective. It can prevent worsening mental health issues and burnout. Research shows that time away and recovery help improve productivity and decision making too.
Planned mental health leave is gaining recognition as an important wellbeing tool. More workplaces now realise that supporting employees’ mental health with policies like mental health days leads to increased engagement, loyalty and performance overall. Many successful businesses are leading the way in normalising and encouraging mental health breaks. Some companies that offer mental health days off work for their employees are Nike, Netflix, Duolingo, SAP or LinkedIn.
Stigma Around Mental Health Days
Many people experience stigma, judgment, and misconceptions when it comes to taking mental health days off from work. There is a persistent belief that mental health days are “fake” sick days or signs of weakness. Some assume that someone taking a mental health day just wants to avoid work responsibilities or is not committed to their job. Others may think the person is lying and must not have a “real” health issue.
These attitudes stem from the lingering stigma surrounding mental health in general. Mental health conditions are often invisible illnesses that cannot necessarily be confirmed with a doctor’s note or obvious physical symptoms. There is still a tendency for some people to view mental health as something that can just be “pushed through” with enough willpower. In reality, everyone needs time to recharge mentally just as they do physically when feeling unwell.
Sensitivity training and education around mental health awareness can help address harmful attitudes in the workplace. Mental health days should be treated with the same legitimacy as sick days for physical illness. Everyone benefits when a workplace culture supports open communication around mental health needs without judgment or misconceptions.
Signs You Need a Mental Health Day Off Work
Taking a mental health day off work can provide much-needed relief and rejuvenation from stressors that build up. Here are some common signs that indicate it may be time to take a day for your mental wellbeing:
- Increased stress, irritability, or anxiety
- Difficulty concentrating, focusing, or completing tasks
- Feeling emotionally exhausted or burnt out
- Having low motivation or decreased interest in work and other activities
- Problems sleeping or changes in appetite
- Headaches, stomach aches, or other unexplained physical symptoms
- Feeling sad, hopeless, or worthless
- Withdrawing from colleagues and normal social interactions
- Using alcohol or other substances to decompress
- Having suicidal thoughts or self-harm urges
If you are experiencing any of these symptoms frequently or severely enough that they are impacting your daily functioning and quality of life, it’s a clear sign you need to take a break. Taking a mental health day could help relieve some immediate distress, provide time for self-care, and possibly reveal the need for additional support. Don’t wait until you reach a crisis point; be proactive about using sick days as needed to maintain your mental wellbeing.
Benefits of Mental Health Days Off Work
Taking mental health days off from work can provide many benefits for employees. Some of the key benefits include:
Improved Focus
- Taking a break helps refresh your mind, refocus your concentration, and regain motivation. This enables you to return to work feeling more inspired and energised.
- With better concentration and focus, you will get more accomplished in less time. Taking a day to decompress prevents you from wasting hours unable to focus.
- You will have improved cognitive function and ability to do your best work. A day of rest gives your brain time to recharge.
Mental Clarity
- A mental break clears your mind of excess stress or burnout that may be clouding your thinking or judgment at work.
- Stepping away allows you to gain a fresh perspective. You may return with enhanced mental clarity, new insights, and creative solutions.
- Time for self-care helps you think through challenges in a calmer, more rational way.
Avoidance of Burnout
- Taking mental health days periodically can prevent burnout before it starts.
- Burnout is correlated with absenteeism, health problems, and increased staff turnover. Stopping small problems before they compound prevents worsening burnout.
- Recharging gives you renewed enthusiasm and staves off cynicism and exhaustion from prolonged stress.
Taking time off to refresh and refocus through a mental health day leads to a range of benefits. It’s an investment that pays dividends in improved work performance and job satisfaction.
How to Request a Mental Health Day Off Work
Having an open and honest conversation with your manager is the best way to request a mental health day off from work. Here are some steps to help guide the discussion:
Pick the Right Time
Don’t spring a request on your manager first thing in the morning or when they seem stressed. Instead, schedule a meeting when you both have time to discuss. Mention the topic so they can prepare.
Explain Why You Need It
Clearly explain why you believe a mental health day would be beneficial without oversharing. For example, “I’m feeling overwhelmed and exhausted and need a day to recharge so I can be fully present and productive.”
Suggest Coverage
To ease any concerns about work coverage, recommend ways your work can be covered when you’re out, like having a colleague handle urgent matters. Offer to be “on call” in a crisis.
Highlight Your Commitment
Reassure your manager of your dedication and commitment to your role. Note that you rarely take days off and by taking a mental health day now, it will enable you to avoid burnout and continue contributing at your highest level.
Be Open to Alternatives
If your exact request can’t be accommodated, discuss alternatives like breaking it up into a few half days off or delayed start/early finish times. The goal is finding a solution that works for both parties.
Taking a mental health day when you need it demonstrates self-care and supports your overall wellbeing and work performance. Following these tips might help you request a day off successfully.
Making the Most of Your Mental Health Day Off Work
Taking a mental health day can provide relief and rejuvenation from stress and burnout. But to fully benefit, it’s important to be intentional about how you spend the time off work. Here are some tips:
Focus on Self-Care
- Do relaxing activities you enjoy like taking a bath, reading, or spending time in nature. Make the day about taking care of yourself.
- Get extra sleep if needed. Aim for 8 hours or your optimal amount. Quality rest is restorative.
- Eat nourishing foods. Avoid junk food that can negatively impact your mood.
- Do light exercise like yoga, walking, or stretching to boost endorphins.
- Listen to music, meditate, or practice breathing exercises to calm your mind.
- Unplug from technology and social media that can be stressful.
Set Boundaries with Work
- Completely detach from work if possible. Don’t check emails or take calls. Let colleagues know you’re unavailable.
- Silence work notifications on your devices and log out of messaging apps.
- If you need to check in, limit it to no more than twice briefly. Don’t get pulled into anything major.
- Delay assignments until the next day. Avoid making promises about completing work.
Practice Mindfulness
- Bring non-judgmental awareness to your thoughts, emotions, and physical sensations.
- Try a guided meditation to become fully present in the moment.
- Go for a mindful walk, carefully observing your surroundings using all your senses.
- Spend time alone in quiet contemplation. Reflect on your feelings.
- Do grounding exercises to reduce anxiety by focusing on your breath or body.
Taking a true break to prioritise self-care enables you to return to work refreshed, focused, and better able to serve customers, colleagues, and your organisation.
Mental Health Day Off Work Activities
A mental health day is all about taking time for yourself to recharge and engage in activities that make you feel relaxed, creative, socially connected, and mentally sharp. Here are some ideas for how to spend your mental health day:
Relaxing Activities
- Take a long bath or shower
- Get a massage or facial
- Spend time in nature – go for a hike, walk on the beach, have a picnic in the park
- Listen to relaxing music or meditate
- Do gentle yoga stretches
- Read a book or magazine
- Take a nap
- Cook or bake something you enjoy
- Watch your favorite movies or TV shows
Social Activities
- Meet up with friends for coffee, lunch, or drinks
- See a comedy show
- Visit a museum or art gallery with a friend
- Volunteer at an animal shelter or food bank
- Attend a networking event or take a class
- Call friends or family you haven’t caught up with recently
Creative Activities
- Work on an arts, crafts, or DIY project
- Write in your journal
- Play a musical instrument
- Experiment with a new recipe
- Work on your photography skills
- Dance to your favorite music
- Tend to your garden or houseplants
Active Activities
- Go for a walk, run, or bike ride
- Take a dance or exercise class
- Play a sport you enjoy like tennis, basketball, football, etc.
- Go swimming
- Try rock climbing, kayaking, surfing, or another outdoor adventure activity
- Stretch and do light exercise or yoga
The key is choosing activities you personally find relaxing and rejuvenating. Listen to what your mind and body need, and spend the day focusing on your mental health.
Supporting Coworkers
Mental health days can be immensely beneficial for employees, but the experience can be undermined if coworkers react negatively or judge someone for taking time off for mental health reasons. As a colleague, you play an important role in creating a supportive environment around mental health days. Here are some tips:
- Don’t make assumptions or jump to conclusions about why someone is taking a mental health day. Their reasons are personal and none of your business. Maintain confidentiality.
- Avoid judging or criticising them. Comments like “Must be nice to have a day off” or “I wish I could take a random day off too” are dismissive and unsupportive.
- Don’t give them a hard time about work that will be waiting for them when they return or make them feel guilty. Everyone needs breaks, and mental health is just as valid of a reason as physical health.
- Offer to help cover any urgent work needs while they’re gone so they can fully unplug without worry. But don’t overburden yourself.
- If appropriate, express encouragement that they are taking steps to prioritise their mental wellbeing. Something like “I’m glad you’re taking some time for yourself” can go a long way.
- Refrain from bombarding them with questions when they return. Let them discuss it if and when they feel comfortable.
- Set an example by taking mental health days yourself when needed. Normalise it as self-care, not something taboo or shameful.
The more support and understanding we show to colleagues who take mental health days, the more accepted the practice will become in work culture. Be part of the supportive change.
Organisational Best Practices
Many companies are taking steps to support employee mental health and encourage the use of mental health days when needed. Here are some of the best practices organisations can implement:
- Have an official mental health day policy– Make it clear in your employee handbook that mental health days are valid and encouraged when employees need a break for their wellbeing.
- Allow flexible use of sick days– Don’t limit sick days only for physical illness. Employees should be able to use their paid time off for mental health without any repercussions.
- Offer additional mental health days– Consider giving employees 1-3 extra days per year that can only be used for mental health purposes. This shows your commitment to supporting mental wellbeing.
- Train managers on mental health– Educate managers on signs of poor mental health in team members and how to sensitively handle requests for mental health days.
- Promote an open dialogue about mental health– Normalise conversations about mental health at work to reduce stigma. Share company resources during meetings.
- Evaluate workload and stress levels– Keep workloads reasonable and monitor employee stress. Make adjustments to prevent burnout and poor mental health.
- Set email and meeting boundaries– Discourage after-hours work and respect employees’ personal time. Limit unnecessary meetings.
- Offer mental health benefits– Provide access to counselors, therapy, trainings, and other resources to support mental wellbeing.
- Check in after mental health days– Managers should have supportive conversations upon an employee’s return from mental health leave.
Prioritising mental health at a leadership level conveys that the company authentically cares. A psychologically healthy and supportive workplace leads to more engaged employees.
Mental Health Day Off Work – Conclusion
Taking mental health days when needed is crucial for maintaining your wellbeing. Remember that your mental health should be a priority – don’t feel guilty about taking time off to recharge.
If you recognise the signs of needing a break, like lack of motivation, headaches, anxiety, or irritability, don’t hesitate to request time off. You don’t need to disclose details to your manager – simply say you need the day for personal reasons. Make the most of your day by truly unplugging from work and doing activities you enjoy to de-stress.
While you shouldn’t rely too heavily on mental health days as a coping strategy, taking them occasionally can help boost your mood, energy, focus, and prevent burnout. Support your colleagues and team by not judging anyone’s need for time off for mental health. Overall, destigmatising and normalising mental health days creates a healthier, more inclusive workplace.
With more open conversations and empathy around mental health and self-care, taking a needed day off can make you a happier and more productive employee. Don’t forget – your mental health is the key to your success.
Act Today For Better Workplace Wellbeing
Mental health days and self-care are essential aspects of maintaining healthy mental wellbeing and overall productivity at work. As it has been said, ‘You can’t pour from an empty cup.’ Remember to take care of yourself so you can do your best work.
At Wellbeing in Your Office, we stand by you in championing healthier work environments. Our aim is to assist you in achieving better mental health through our wide range of services, including First Aid for Mental Health courses, office yoga, stress management workshops, mindfulness sessions, among others.
Our professionals can guide you and your team in building stronger interpersonal connections, cultivating a more focused and stress-free work environment, and promoting individual mental health and wellness.
If you are a team leader or a manager interested in fostering a healthier, happier, and more productive workplace, or an employee seeking to create a better balance between work and personal life, reach out to us today. Let’s begin this journey of mental wellbeing together, because at Wellbeing in Your Office, your mental health matters to us as much as it matters to you.
Disclaimer: The information provided in this article is intended for general knowledge and educational purposes only. It should not be construed as professional health, legal, or business advice. Readers should always consult with appropriate health professionals, human resource experts, or legal advisors for specific concerns related to mental health and wellbeing in the workplace. While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information at the time of publication, Wellbeing In Your Office cannot be held responsible for any subsequent changes, updates, or revisions of the aforementioned content.