Mental Health days are a growing conversation with a strong evidence base for improving wellbeing.
Why is taking a mental health day important? And how can we reduce the stigma and assumptions around taking mental health days in the workplaces?
Taking time off for a “mental health day” is important in preserving a worker’s mental health and wellbeing. It provides an opportunity for a person to recharge and relax from the sometimes stressful and demanding environment that a workplace can sometimes present. If “mental health days” were used properly by workers then you would see less overall sick leave being taken and less stress and mental illness claims being made which would reduce Workcover claims and see less burn out of workers in the long term. Beyond Blue has provided research studies that show that millions of dollars are lost each year due to staff absenteeism because of poor mental health and stress leave.
People should be able take “mental health days” without having to explain why they are taking the sick day (normalise being able to take a day or two for mental health and wellbeing) so as to prolong their working life. People should be comfortable in taking the time off just like if they had a flu, migraine and not feel guilty for doing so. Sometimes it is in a person’s interest to take a “mental health day” rather than turning up to work and experiencing “presenteeism”, where they are present but not productive. An interesting statistic is that people with a disability or mental illness actually take on average less sick days than the rest of the population.
Organisations are now investing more money into the mental health and wellbeing of their workforces by upskilling Managers, Team Leaders and staff by providing mental health education training and workshops. Having open and transparent conversations about worker’s mental health and encouraging staff to take time off when there might be challenges or difficulties in a worker’s life helps to break down some of the stigma. Through management and team leaders developing mental health skills, knowledge and understanding in the workplace, will go a long way to be accepting workers experiencing ill mental health.
