What is a Mental Health Day: When and How to Take a Mental Health Day Off Work 

What is a Mental Health Day?

A Mental Health Day is a single day that someone devotes to looking after their mental health. In most cases, it’s when someone takes a day off from work or study–or any usual activities–to focus on rest. Many people choose to take a day of annual leave or may take a sick day. Others may use weekends or take a day off during recognised periods like Mental Health Awareness Week or World Mental Health Day. Whenever it’s taken, the aim is the same – to rest and recover from the stressors of daily life.   

So what would a Mental Health Day look like in practice? For most people, it’s a day spent avoiding usual tasks or responsibilities to reduce stress and focus on resting. Specific activities that may help someone get the most out of a mental health day include meditation, massage, yoga, walking in nature, and other physical activities that can improve mood. 

While these activities can reduce the impact of stress, a single day is unlikely to address any severe or long-term mental health issues. Instead, a Mental Health Day offers the chance to pause and protect your mental health during intense and stressful periods. 

When Should You Take a Mental Health Day Off Work?

When someone experiences high levels of continued stress they will need some time out. Occasional stress is not usually harmful and can be helpful. But when stress continues over long periods it can become destructive. Triggering a fight-or-flight response too often can lead to the release of hormones like adrenaline and cortisol. And when they’re not shut off, they can lead to health problems. 

In 2022 and 2023, stress, depression, anxiety, and musculoskeletal disorders accounted for the most days of absence due to work-related ill-health. So if you find yourself feeling continually overwhelmed, tense, anxious, lethargic, or struggling to concentrate, it could be a sign you need to take a Mental Health Day. 

Some other reasons you may want to take a Mental Health Day off include: 

• Burnout symptoms: Chronic occupational stress can lead to burnout and show up with symptoms such as mental and physical exhaustion, emptiness, and feeling drained or overwhelmed.  
• Problems sleeping: Increased stress hormones can interfere with sleep patterns as can worries and concerns about work. 
• Working longer hours: People who start early, work late, and have few breaks may be struggling to manage their workload.  
• Feeling angry: Chronic anger can produce symptoms such as an increased heart rate and blood pressure. Over time it can lead to anxiety and depression. 
• Not wanting to go to work: Working in pressured or toxic environments can create a sense of dread and despondency with your job.  

What Causes High Stress for Employees?

The HSE suggests six main drivers lead to work-related stress for employees:

1. Excessive workloads and not feeling they can meet the demands of a job
2. Lacking a sense of control over the work environment or how they do the job
3. Not getting enough information or not feeling supported
4. Experiencing workplace bullying or difficult workplace relationships
5. Confusion over their role or responsibilities
6. Feeling disengaged when a business undergoes a period of change

A 2023 report conducted by CIPD also showed how over three-quarters of organisations experienced some stress-related work absences, citing heavy workloads and management styles as the main causes. The same report also revealed how mental ill health, musculoskeletal injuries, acute medical conditions, and stress were the most common causes of long-term work absences. 

Organisational cultures, uncomfortable working environments, job insecurity, and workplace commutes can also be significant factors that increase feelings of stress and pressure on employees. Newer identified causes of stress include techno-stress, where employees can become overwhelmed with new, unfamiliar, or excessive uses of technology for communication purposes.  

How to Take a Mental Health Day

So what’s the best way to take a Mental Health Day to help reduce your stress levels? This is worth giving some thought since stigma exists around mental health. Some workplaces may be more open to discussing and offering a day to focus on reducing stress. Or they could have a formal mental health and wellbeing policy that states the agreed or appropriate action. 

So what are the main options available to help you take a Mental Health Day?  

Booking Time Off Work

Paid annual leave is a legal right for workers in the UK, so booking time off through your annual leave allowance may be an option. This is helpful if you want to plan how you’ll care for your mental health. For instance, you may take a day to rest or to do specific activities like getting wellness treatments or taking classes. 

If your employers are open to a discussion about mental health, and they have an existing policy, this may make it easier to broach the subject. Check your annual leave and mental health or well-being policies before you go with this option.   

Calling in Sick

Stress can catch up on us and when it starts to show we may find ourselves more exhausted, depleted, anxious, or unhappy. If these symptoms begin to show, it may be more helpful to take a day off sick. 

You can tell your employers you need to attend to a personal health issue, which wouldn’t be untrue. Many employers will ask for a reason for your absence and making it clear it was a personal health issue that you need to attend to should be acceptable. 

Using a Weekend or Public Holiday

Planning to decompress or find effective ways to relax for the day may be easier done at the weekend or on a public holiday. A bank holiday, for example, may be a good opportunity to focus on your mental health with specific activities like walking in nature, getting extra sleep, or finding appropriate ways to focus on improving your mental health. 

What to Do During Your Mental Health Day

How you choose to spend your time during a Mental Health Day is up to you. But to get effective relief from stress and make a focused effort to improve your mental health, there are some specific actions you could take: 

• Engage in stress-reducing activities such as breathwork and meditation. 
• Commit to a day with no technology. This may include turning off phones, not checking emails, not engaging in social media, or even watching TV. 
• Spend time outdoors, in green areas, or nature either walking or hiking. 
• Plan a few self-care activities like taking a bath, burning a candle, getting a massage, or getting an early night. 
• Have a day of relaxation by listening to a podcast, cooking a healthy meal, reading a book, or curling up on the couch. 
• Go to a cafe to read or people-watch. 
• Do some gardening or some focused exercise in a gym.
• Spend the day in bed with no particular agenda, doing as you feel. 

The Cost of Poor Mental Health in the Workplace

Poor mental health is a very costly problem. According to Deloitte, UK employers spend as much as £51 billion per year to manage employee mental health. But their report also found how employers can achieve a return of £4.70 for every £1 spent supporting employees’ mental health. 

Investments may include packaged or off-the-shelf programmes to support employee mental health. But a Mental Health Day is not something they need to pay for, since employees can take it of their own accord, in ways that fit around the benefits they already have. And it’s worth using a Mental Health Day to prevent issues from worsening, which could lead to long-term issues like chronic illness and burnout. 

A 2023 report showed more than 60% of organisations reported mental ill health problems like depression and anxiety as the main reason for work absences. Plus, almost 40% reported stress as the primary reason for time away from work. Employees have many extra stressors to manage these days too, from managing their cost of living to raising children and caring for friends and family. To balance them, they need employers to support better flexible working styles and accommodate their need for time to rest and recuperate. 

Other ways that employers can promote better workplace mental health outside of costly investments: 

• Create workplace cultures that encourage staff to be open with their managers about their mental health
• Give employees guidance on the best ways to have a conversation on tackling mental health issues
• Offer managers training on the best ways to support mental health and build their confidence
• Provide best practice advice on managing mental health and employee time off 

What Are the Benefits of Taking a Mental Health Day?

We’ve already explained how taking a Mental Health Day is a very effective way to reduce stress, prevent, burnout, and promote relaxation. While this is a form of temporary relief of mental health symptoms, there are many other benefits worth considering: 

• Resiliency: It can be harder to find the internal resources to push through problems when you’re already very stressed. A Mental Health Day can help to restore energies and provide better resilience when returning to work.   
• Better sleep: Problematic sleep can lead to stress and stress can lead to problematic sleep. A Mental Health Day can help to break this cycle and reduce insomnia symptoms. 
• Fewer physical symptoms: Stress can result in a wide range of physical symptoms including headaches, muscle tension, gastrointestinal disturbances, and increased heart rate. Taking a day out can help reduce tension in the body and ease these issues.   
• Improved mood: Feeling stressed can impact a person’s mood and may have negative consequences on the people around them. Taking a day out to look after yourself can lower the intensity of these feelings. 
• Increased self-awareness: Negative thoughts and feelings can lead to feeling overwhelmed by stressful situations. A Mental Health Day offers a chance to reflect on these feelings and find ways to manage them better. 
• Helps to identify underlying issues: There are links between mental health problems such as depression and neurodivergent conditions. For instance, 50% of people with OCD also experience depression. So it is worth considering how undiagnosed neurodivergence can lie at the root of some mental health problems. And this makes it important to address longer-term issues with a Doctor or appropriate professional.

Taking a Mental Health Day offers short-term relief from mental health symptoms, reduces stress, and promotes a healthier work/life balance. Any persistent or longer-term issues may need professional support or help from a Doctor, so it’s important to work with your employers to find appropriate help and make a plan that works for you.