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5 Signs That You Need A Mental Day Off From Work

5 min read
Last Updated on 21 February, 2024

Incorporating corporate wellness programs has become the key element that helps companies retain talent in today's business world. And with the pandemic getting over and the rapid change of working culture, i.e., a shift from working from home to returning to work has taken a toll on everyone's mental health.

Social norms of today's business world dictate that employers must be responsible for their employee's health, including both the physical and mental health of employees.

Mental health issues are one of the biggest hurdles in the competitive business world. According to a study by who, it is found that anxiety, depression, Ptsd, and other mental health conditions cost the economy trillions of dollars every year. Although most companies have policies for mental health care, it is still hard for employees to take paid time off or take a break from it. For this reason, employers should take every measure to check up on their employee’s mental health.

To tackle this issue, companies nowadays have many solutions. These can be mental health sessions, active lifestyle, better, etc. One more concept widely used is encouraging a mental day off.

What is a Mental Day Off?

What-is-a-Mental-Day-Off-

A workplace environment demands efficiency and effectiveness at all times. It often gives rise to work stress and deteriorating mental health. Poor mental health can affect your physical health, and its physical symptoms should be considered a sign for you to take a day off.

A mental health day is a day off work or leaves of absence taken by an employee to look after their mental health.

It is not a sick leave wherein an employee takes a day off to get well. Instead, it is time off for mental health of one's own to rejuvenate oneself from the long work hours.

Given its applicability and viability in the current business scenario, mental day-offs are essential for these three reasons.

Suggested read : 5 Ways To Encourage Your Employees To Take A Mental Health Day Off At Work

Importance of a Mental Day Off

Everybody needs a mental health day off. Calling for a sick day when you're feeling extra weary should be a key factor in any organization's stress management plans or employee wellness programs. Employees' health is not confined to just physical but their mental health as well, and keeping an eye on your employees' health condition should be a priority to prevent burnout and high-stress levels.

Here are some of the reasons why you should encourage a mental day off at work

1. Increased Productivity

Proper health is vital for employee productivity, and it helps individuals stay healthy and maintain sanity amidst the stress of competition. Mental health is crucial as it takes a strong body and a healthy mind to do so.

Taking a day off to nurture mental health helps employees stay mentally fit. This care for one's health positively affects a person's work, which increases productivity.

2. Better Employee health

In this new age world, employee health is a significant factor for employers. It boosts employee retention, maximizes team morale, and increases employee engagement. A mental day off helps employers achieve this by going a step forward in maintaining their employee's health.

3. Reduced Healthcare Cost

A study published in Undercover Recruiter shows that mental illnesses and substance abuse cost companies up to $105 billion each year. This enormous avoidable healthcare cost limits companies from achieving higher profitability.

So, companies must cut down significantly on their healthcare costs by paying due diligence to mental health.

These are three reasons why companies must allow a mental day off for their employees. At this point, it is also essential to understand when a mental day off is justified.

These are a few pointers in employee behavior that justify a mental health day to understand this.

5 Signs Showing Your Employees Need a Mental Day Off

5-Signs-Showing-Your-Employees-Need-a-Mental-Day-Off

1. Employee Exhaustion

An enormous workload can amount to severe employee exhaustion. It leads to trouble sleeping, and it either results in employees feeling sleepy or having difficulty sleeping at all. These unhealthy sleeping patterns affect the psychological and mental state of your employees.

Any employee suffering from high employee exhaustion should get a mental day off.

**Suggested Read **: How Sleep Deprivation Affects Work Performance

2. Anxiety

Anxiety and depression in the workplace are yet other conditions affecting mental health. Some of its physical symptoms are chest tightness, abdominal discomfort, difficulty breathing, etc. These conditions harm your employee's mental health.

If you see one of your workers suffering from chronic anxiety, you should allow them a mental day off or give them proper medical advice.

3. Lack of Focus

Continuous work leads to employee burnout, which eventually ends in a lack of focus. There is a visible drop in your worker's productivity in scenarios like this, and they tend to make more mistakes and fail to generate ideas.

This lack of focus can also question an individual's self-confidence in their work. It is vital in times like this to give these employees a break, and a mental day off will cool them off and help them rejoin work with a fresh state of mind.

4. Easily Irritable Employees

Consistent and easily irritable behavior of your employees is a sign of something amiss. When your employees start losing their temper quickly, it shows a lack of control over one's emotions. It is a sign of a negative effect on an employee's health.

Allowing this kind of behavior in the workplace can only make matters worse and harms the working environment. Allowing a mental day off is justified to let things cool off for a while in this situation.

5. Disconnect

Sitting down in front of a computer for 9 hours every day can be tiring. Though it is the nature of work nowadays, it does make for a sedentary life. In times like this, a never-ending cycle of continuity with work starts to form.

It is common for this to disconnect from the outside world. The result of a disconnect is depression, which is the most serious mental illness. Taking a break from social media and screen time, in general, is effective.

So, employers must break this chain and allow day-offs to facilitate a mental break from work during regular intervals.

These are a few signs that justify a mental day off for your worn-out employees.

Conclusion

Every one of us goes through our issues challenging mental health daily. A study by the National Institute of Mental Health shows that 1/5th of your workforce is affected by diagnosable mental disorders. These psychological problems can be either related to work or personal problems.

No matter the cause, it is essential not to ignore these problems. These affect your employee's work-life and their overall health and personal life.

So, as an employer, you must ensure that your employees have a healthy mental state of mind. When necessary, you must encourage your employees to seek out mental health services and other health organizations.

As of today, a mental day off is a pretty good way to start things around!

This article is written by Jyoti Prakash Barman. He is an in-house Content Marketer at Vantage Fit with interests in music and automobiles. For any related queries, contact editor@vantagecircle.com

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