How to thrive at work? Have a day off.

We received this message from a Working Savvy client last week:

“I have taken a mental health day from work today.  This week I have been having trouble concentrating and finding myself being very short and impatient with my team.  I am going to catch up on some sleep - a very worthwhile cause that I know will help me to be back on fire tomorrow when I head back into the office.”

What is a mental health day?

A mental health day is defined as “A Day an employee takes off from work in order to relieve stress or renew vitality”.   A day taken off from work for relaxation or idleness.  Key word for me is idleness; no plans, no lists, no purpose except to use the day to revitalise. 

Google ‘how to have a mental health day’ and millions of results come up offering everything from advice with pictures, research sharing facts and figures on the benefits of taking a mental health day and how to recognise the signs a mental health day is needed.

Isn’t that what the weekend is for?

This is a relevant question.  What are Saturday and Sundays for if not to unwind from the pressures of the working week? It is important to recognise how we work and structure our lives has changed considerably.  In our work we see the impact technology, change to family structures, productive measures in the workplace and flexible workplace policies have on how people work.   We can work anywhere.  The boundaries between work and home life are very fluid.  

 Olivia, single mother of two children, one a pre-schooler the other in his first year of school, working in an executive leadership role.   To the question, “How do you make it work?”  Olivia answers “Flexibility is the key, while I make use of childcare, I still like to be able to pick my children up and take them in after school activities a couple of days a week.  Gone are the days where I could do ten hour plus days.  I try to get seven to eight hours work in and when the children are in bed, return to my computer to finish off and when I have to use weekends to catch up too.”

 While Olivia acknowledges that she is making flexibility work for her and her employer she acknowledges it comes at a cost with little down time, time for exercise and not enough sleep.  

Olivia’s story shines a light on the social changes that have occurred and which impact on how and when we work.  Increase in single parent families, greater geographical distance between immediate family members once the cornerstones of our social supports and an aging population (resulting in an increased number of people, primarily women who are working and caring for parents) are factors facing many people in the workforce.  These ‘outside –of- paid work’ factors add to the stress experienced by the modern workforce.

According to a ComPsych survey, 82 per cent of us have called in sick to work when we weren't really physically ill

Isn't a mental health day like ‘having a sickie’?

Not at all.

Dr. Nerida Hillberg, Organisational Psychologist has noticed a shift within businesses in understanding what constitutes an illness

“There is more of an understanding that illness is not only limited to physical conditions, but include psychological illness.  In fact, a psychological illness where the symptoms are apathy, decreased motivation, poor focus and concentration can be as contagious within a business as a cold or a tummy bug if left untreated.”

At Working Savvy, we encourage our people to take a day to refresh themselves following a period of time when they have been stepping up and over-delivering.  Our experience is our people come back after a mental health day, full of energy and more than ready to do more.