A CEO's Response To A Worker's Request For A Day Off 'To Focus On My Mental Health' Gets Praised
Not all bosses are bad!
We all need days where we just have to hit the pause button on reality and take a breather for our own well-being, whether it be turning off the phone, staying in for the day, or not going to work.
It is beneficial to our mental health to set aside some time for ourselves to recharge. Even some of the highest people in the workforce would agree.
After a woman sent out an email to her colleagues informing them that she would be missing two days of work for mental health days, she was surprised to receive a response from the CEO of her company.
The woman’s boss stressed the importance of mental health days and encouraged other employees to take them.
When Madalyn Parker decided to take a few days off from her job to focus on her mental well-being, she sent out an email to her company to give them a heads-up that she would be out of the office.
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“Hey team, I’m taking today and tomorrow to focus on my mental health,” she writes. “Hopefully I’ll be back next week refreshed and back to 100%.”
While Madalyn knew that her colleagues would likely understand, she was not expecting the response she got directly from the CEO of her company, Ben Congleton.
“Hey Madalyn, I just wanted to thank you personally for sending emails like this,” he wrote. “Every time you do, I use it as a reminder of the importance of using sick days for mental health. I can’t believe this is not standard practice at organizations. You are an example to us all, and help cut through the stigma so we can all bring our whole selves to work.”
Madalyn was overwhelmed by the compassion her boss demonstrated in his response and shared a screenshot of the email to her Twitter account. “When the CEO responds to your out-of-office email about taking sick leave for mental health and reaffirms your decision,” she captioned her post.
Other Twitter users praised the boss for his understanding of mental health.
“Ben deserves a coffee if you go in Monday morning!” one user commented. “This is great! Mental health should always be your top priority!” another user wrote.
Mental health days have proven to be essential when it comes to an employee’s work productivity.
According to the American Institute of Stress, 80% of U.S. workers experience work anxiety. This can have detrimental effects on both their mental health and their work performance. Taking mental health days allows one to decompress, focus on self-care, and return to work recharged and motivated.
In the long run, this improves productivity in the workplace. More and more companies are recognizing this fact and providing their employees with paid mental health days.
96% of employers on LinkedIn’s list of Top Companies in the United States in 2022 offer mental health days.
Megan Quinn is a writer at YourTango who covers entertainment and news, self, love, and relationships.