Why Mental Days off are beneficial to your long-term success.

Maintaining good mental health at the workplace ensures your employees are focused and committed to giving you their best work. Creating a work environment that is committed to employees good mental health ensures your business gets top-notch employees, satisfied clients, and a consistent financial flow.

According to the Office of National Statistics, during 2016, the corporate British world saw a loss of 30.4 million sick days for minor health issues such as coughs and colds. Another 30.8 million sick days were taken for musculoskeletal problems such as backache, tension, neck problems, etc. When it came to mental health day off, a mere 15.8 million sick days were for mental health issues such as anxiety, depression, and stress.

What is a mental health day off?

Most company’s offer their employee’s sick leave which is usually perceived relevant to physical illness or minor ailments. However, taking a day off to recharge and care for employee mental health is not as common.

A mental health day off is for those days when an employee’s anxiety, stress, pressure or other mental health issues are interfering with their ability to be efficient and productive at their job tasks.

Benefits of a mental health day off

Mental health days off benefit both your employees and company in the following ways:

Minimize costly mistakes

Susan Taylor from Generson International told Forbes that a mental health day offs give employees a chance to recharge which in turn reduces the number of costly mistakes and accidents on job tasks and projects.

Improved productivity and employee satisfaction

Employees who have regular mental health day offs, especially in those workplaces which require high levels of dedication, commitment, and excellence, show an improvement in mental acuity, improved stress management, well-rested, and stand to boost your productivity.

Reduction in sick days off

Our brains communicate our mental well-being to the rest of our bodies. If an employee’s mental health is not being addressed, it will then manifest in physical ailments and illness.

By allowing your employees to have the necessary mental health day off your company can save on the cost of regular sick days taken by staff.

Fairness in time management

Often work tasks, projects, and client demands require a substantial amount of time invested by employees. Increased time demands often bring with it increased employee pressure and stress. By creating a trusting relationship with your employees, they are able to take care of their mental health in a non-stigmatised way while having the support of their employer.

Tally Pro’s time tracking system will help you ensure your employees receive a balance between time spent at work versus time spent on personal days or other non-work related tasks. You can easily track employees who are taking on too much, failing to take their annual leave, or working excessive hours. You will also be able to easily identify which areas your team has the capacity. This will help you maintain fairness and trust between you and your employees.