Unfortunately I'm not in possession of a crystal ball that will tell me why you object and googling for whatever it is you think I may find won't necessarily lead to the same opinion as yours.
Employee's "mental health day" goes viral
- Thread starter dowie
- Start date
Unfortunately I'm not in possession of a crystal ball that will tell me why you object and googling for whatever it is you think I may find won't necessarily lead to the same opinion as yours.
Associate
Soldato
- Joined
- 18 Oct 2012
- Posts
- 8,333
i think he's referencing how it seemed like a premeditated event, which does kind of give the impression of cheesing the system.
i can't speak for every disorder obviously, by my own experience of mental health issues is i'm lucky if i get hours to premeditate this sort of thing, let alone days. normally i get seconds and have been known to just get up and walk away from a situation with no warning.
do you perhaps want to expand on your post a little, at least try to present something vaguely resembling an argument or an opinion of some sort?
But that would very much depend on why and what. If she was working at an extremely high level for a/2/3 month(s) and had just finished (day on a difficult project) and felt completely drained, it doesn't seem unreasonable that she may premeditively decide she needs a day or two off so she can unwind before getting back at it. Especially so if she knows this has helped her in the past and not doing so will lead to problematic situations down the line.
Soldato
- Joined
- 18 Oct 2012
- Posts
- 8,333
well, that depends on her specific condition, as i said in a caveat my own experience is very short term notice, and that i can understand how this could be interpreted as cheesing it.
without experiencing her specific difficulties personally, or reading a professional medical report, i can't comment on the legitimacy of her claim.
I feel drained after pushing to meet big project deadlines. My annual leave is there to be used for me to 'unwind for a couple of days'.
I can see why people struggle with the concept, where do you draw the line between 'I need to unwind, so taking 2 days mental health leave' vs 'I need to unwind, so I'm taking a couple of days leave'.
Surely half the point of annual leave is to take breaks to look after your mental health, most people would have a meltdown without any time off.
As you say where is the line. If your work has made you ill should you really be forced to take your annual leave to recover from it? Should your days off physically sick be taken off your annual leave too?
IMO annual leave is just that, leave to do what you want. It's not for helping you get over work, it's for enjoying yourself.
Perhaps this is one of the big differences between those that live to work and those that work to live. I work so I can enjoy my time off, I certainly don't have time off so I can work harder.
Soldato
- Joined
- 17 Jun 2012
- Posts
- 5,951
We're all different, mine builds up over time and I can preempt it by a good couple of days when it will be at it's worse.
I've never taken time off with it in my current job but I would do it how she has done it and preempt the worst of it.
Just resting fixes the worst of my problems, I literally live for the weekend but not in the respect of how most party animals live for the weekend, I spend it all in bed!
Somewhat talking beyond my experience here, as I wouldn't consider myself to have trouble with mental health but I see the 'live' part as the same thing as the wind down.
I can't get my head around the idea you would need time off to recover before you could then have time off enjoying life.
Having time off to enjoy life is fulfilling that recovery process by default if you see where I'm coming from.
But then as you rightly say, you wouldn't take the leave for physical sickness.
It's one I find hard to get all the pieces to fit together without something seeming out of place.
Soldato
Not usually one for 'us and them', but how well do you think she (from the OP) would have reacted (or the CEO) if all the staff lower down the ladder did the same and gave themselves a long weekend? I have a feeling it would not have been looked upon the same way.
nah I think it can be a valid objection, if you're stressed partly because you've not been taking your annual leave and have let it build up/roll over then there is some blame on your own part tbh... obviously if your employer/work has prevented you from being able to take any leave for say the last 6 months then that is different and where I could see time off that doesn't need employer approval to be useful
yes annual leave is for enjoying yourself - if you go for a long period of time constantly working and not enjoying yourself then perhaps you increase the risks of having some mental health issues - stress etc...
someone advocating people taking time off (in part to prevent this sort of thing and improve mental health) is advocating that you enjoy your time off
Well, it happens all the time that employees use holiday to cover sick days
Soldato
I still reckon best one like this was the story some years back about a murder squad (forget the actual name of the team, it was something like serious crimes) detective who had to take a few weeks off for 'mental issues' because he'd seen a dead body. Seriously? Why apply for, or accept, a job that involves you being in contact with numerous dead bodies if you don't have the stomach or head for it?
Associate
Sorry me and the people after me See
"i think he's" <you are>"referencing how it seemed like a premeditated event"
are trying to work out your
"something vaguely resembling an argument"
based upon your very strong opinion of
Which you believe is not a strong misrepresentation of the situation
you've just done it again, you've quoted me because you seem to be upset by something I've posted yet you're seemingly unable to offer any form of opinion or argument yourself?Could you perhaps try to construct something a bit more coherent else I don't think there is really much discussion to have here?