Taking a break to reset their mental health is becoming popular in the United States. Many people suffering from symptoms like anxiety, depression, and panic attacks due to work pressure are now opting for mental health leave—a possibility not widely known.
According to experts, many workers, when talked about the existence of such a leave, say they feel guilty when they take a leave of absence when it is mental health related. However, despite a fear of repercussions, more adults are recognising that stepping back from work to deal with emotional or psychological conditions affecting their lives is a necessary step – one that a growing number of employers recognise.
One such company – ComPsych Corp., a provider of employee mental health programs and absence management services—encourages its business clients to make the well-being of workers a priority before the workers get to a breaking point while also having processes in place for those who require leaves of absence.
“Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, collectively we’ve just been in this constant state of turmoil,” Jennifer Birdsall, the senior clinical director at ComPysch, told the Associated Press. “We just have had this barrage of change and uncertainty.”
What are the top reasons why employees seek mental health breaks?
What are the top reasons why employees seek mental health breaks?
According to companies, the top psychological mental health symptoms for which most people are seeking leave include:
- Depression
- Anxiety
- Adjustment disorder, which involves excessive reactions to stress
How is mental health leave structured?
Depression Anxiety Adjustment disorder, which involves excessive reactions to stress How is mental health leave structured?
According to doctors, mental health leave lasts weeks or months, and in a few cases, workers even get approval to work a reduced schedule or to take short periods off when needed, using an approach known as intermittent leave. Intermittent leave, under the Family and Medical Leave Act in the US, allows employees to take leave in separate blocks of time for a single qualifying reason, like a serious health condition or to care for a family member. This is different from continuous leave, where the leave is taken all at once.
Intermittent leave also involves a reduced work schedule, where the employees’ regular work hours are reduced. The federal law entitles workers with serious health conditions to paid or unpaid leave of up to 12 weeks, depending on state and local laws.
Some employers require people to use sick days or accumulated vacation days to continue receiving a pay check while out. For longer leaves, workers can access short-form disability plans if their employer offers one.
Being open about mental health struggles in the workplace
Being open about mental health struggles in the workplace
Mental health issues lead to a lot of social stigmas, which cause many people to avoid seeking treatment or requesting a leave of absence. Many top professionals are now opening up and sharing their struggles, hoping to turn things around for others.
“It was just totally horrifying to me because, one, I had just cried in front of my coworkers, and I was definitely taught as a professional — and as a man — you do not do that,” recalled Newton Cheng, director of health and performance at Google. Due to work-related burnout, Cheng said he had become paralysed in 2021 and could not get out of bed after being diagnosed with symptoms of major depression and anxiety.
He later took mental health leave to help turn things around.
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