Requesting Mental Health Days
Almost 20% of all adults in the US, or roughly 47.6 million people, experience some sort of mental health illness within a given year. Beause of numbers like this, taking time off of work to focus on getting your mental health back to normal has become a common occurrence in workplaces in America over the last few years. Known as “mental health days”, these days aim to helping employees de-stress, work on their mental health issues and get back to a better working state. However, simply asking for a mental health day can be a cause of stress all on its own. Does your employer allow of such days? Can you afford to miss a day’s worth of pay? How many vacation days will you have left for the things you can’t miss, such as a wedding?
Here are some quick tips to help cut back on some of that stress when asking for a mental health day:
Know the polices: Every company and employer is different but knowing your time-off policies is the easiest way to nip some of that excess stress in the bud. Check with how many days you get per year, if days can carry over, and if you can differentiate between sick days and personal days. You may be surprised to see your company may have a policy specific to mental health days to begin with!
Be wary of your colleagues: First, keep an eye out for your coworkers’ requests for time off. See how your manager(s) react to those requests. Do they seem annoyed with being asked? Are they usually upbeat and okay with the requests? Knowing this can save yourself a lot of stress and doubt knowing how your boss may respond before you ask. Also, make sure you request a day that won’t leave your coworkers scrambling to cover for your absence. Make sure you have no major deadlines looming or major tasks that you’re required to be there for before making a mental health day request.
Be honest, but to a certain extent: Instead of lying and saying you have a stomach bug, a bad cold or some other ailment, it’s always best to be honest with your boss as to why you are taking a day off. However, there should also be some sense of privacy. Share with your boss only the ‘need to know’ information as to why you are taking a day off. For example, instead of divulging that you are taking a mental health day because you are stressed or depressed and it’s causing stomach issues, simply let them know that you are feeling too stressed or anxious to be productive for your workday.
Don’t abuse the privilege: Mental health days are meant to be a way to help break the stigma surrounding mental health issues and to help foster an environment of healing and acceptance. But using these days to gain an extra day of your weekend or simply because you don’t feel like working today is a great way for you to ruin your chances of taking a legitimately needed day in the future. Instead, use one of your personal days if you’d like to pull a Ferris Buehler and use your mental health days to actually help your mental health.
