Mental health is still an issue in the workplace
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Re: Mental health is still an issue in the workplace
#2I applaud the author for destigmatizing mental health issues. More companies need to be like this. Its really hard for people to understand mental health issues because you have to take many optional classes to even get an idea of what they are. Also, many people throw around terms like psychopath / ADD(ADHD) and either diagnose themselves or others and that can lead to more stigma or even misunderstandings. I think better education of mental health would help solve this.
Re: Mental health is still an issue in the workplace
#3[deleted]
Re: Mental health is still an issue in the workplace
#4Can someone please explain to me what is special with 2017?
Re: Mental health is still an issue in the workplace
#5Great article. A few years ago (at a previous job) I took a sick day for "sanity", but told them I wasn't feeling well. I felt guilty about doing it. I think part of it is the association of sick leave with externally visible medical issues, and the corresponding "straightforward" medical verification.
In other words, if you have a temperature or are vomiting, that's obvious. Many infections or physical injury can be trivially verified by a doctor. But a "sanity day", as truthful and necessary as it might be, is neither of those.
Out of curiosity, I checked my current employment contract. It says sick leave is for "A personal illness, injury or medical disability that prevents the employee from performing his or her job, or personal medical or dental appointments." or "Exposure of the employee to contagious disease when attendance at work would jeopardize the health of others." There's a dozen or so other cases listed in the contract, mostly about allowing sick leave to care for sick family members/children. Our contract also allows for verification, "If the Employer suspects abuse, the Employer may require a written medical certificate for any sick leave absence."
I've never heard of anyone here being asked for a verification, but it would tend to discourage people doing the "sanity day" sort of thing.
Re: Mental health is still an issue in the workplace
#6Can someone please explain to me what is special with 2017?
I think they are just disappointed that things hadn't improved by now.
Re: Mental health is still an issue in the workplace
#7Can someone please explain to me what is special with 2017?
I would say it's common to use the phrase "It's and..." when describing something that one finds appalling in modern society.
Re: Mental health is still an issue in the workplace
#8Great article. A few years ago (at a previous job) I took a sick day for "sanity", but told them I wasn't feeling well. I felt guilty about doing it. I think part of it is the association of sick leave with externally visible medical issues, and the corresponding "straightforward" medical verification. In other words, if you have a temperature or are vomiting, that's obvious. Many infections or physical injury can be…
Medically speaking a mental illness is no different than a physical illness.
Mental illness does not have to be severe just as physical illness does not have to be severe.
Sick leave policies typically only require a doctors note/visit if you are absent for multiple days.
Taking a single day off for mild mental illness, something like elevated stress levels causing anxiety that interrupts your sleep, seems perfectly consistent with most of the corporate sick leave policies I have read.
Re: Mental health is still an issue in the workplace
#9Great article. A few years ago (at a previous job) I took a sick day for "sanity", but told them I wasn't feeling well. I felt guilty about doing it. I think part of it is the association of sick leave with externally visible medical issues, and the corresponding "straightforward" medical verification. In other words, if you have a temperature or are vomiting, that's obvious. Many infections or physical injury can be…
I've seen some companies in the UK operate what they call a "duvet day" policy. It's basically just two floating holidays a year you can choose to use at any time, doesn't require explanation and doesn't count as a sick day. I personally haven't worked somewhere with such a policy, but know some people who do, using it largely as a "sanity day" as you describe. They really seem to appreciate it. I'm in no way trying to demean or imply mental illness isn't real and not deserving of 'real' sick days, but it's nice to have a range of options.
Re: Mental health is still an issue in the workplace
#10First hand experience. As a founder it's terrifying to let people know that you are experiencing debilitating levels of burnout, anxiety and moderate depression that prevent you from being effective at your job. There are days when you're just sitting there staring at your screen for 10 hours hoping nobody can tell you're checked out.
You put on a smile, try to follow the usual routine as a robot, and secretly go to your therapist to try to fix it before someone catches on. I was lucky therapy got me out of it, or at least mostly smoothed it out, in under 6 months.