Workplace mental health and stress days praised by Aussie experts

The idea of taking a mental health/stress day as stick leave has been praised by Australian experts.

Mental health illness affects one in four adults each year and many of those cases go untreated.

US web developer Madalyn Rose took to social media to show her CEO’s approval of her taking a couple of days to focus on her mental health.

See the twitter post below

When the CEO responds to your out of the office email about taking sick leave for mental health and reaffirms your decision. 💯 pic.twitter.com/6BvJVCJJFq

— madalyn (@madalynrose) June 30, 2017

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3AW’s Tony Jones said it raises a very serious issue, should we be allowed to use sick days for when we’re stressed or frazzled?

Or should we have separate mental days?

Peter Wilson, Chair of the Australian Human Resources Institute, told Tony Jones mental health days could greatly benefit many people.

“Mental health illness is now affecting one in four adults in any one year. One in two in a lifetime,” he said.

“People are working a good 48 – 60 hours in many professions and they need time, that accumulates on an individual.

“I think it’s a very innovative suggestion coming out of that case in the states.”

Click PLAY below to hear more from Peter Wilson

Program psychologist, Dr Michael Carr-Greg, told Tony Jones high levels of stress can greatly impact productivity in the workplace.

“Stress has actually been found to improve the efficiency of your performance up to a certain point,” he said.

“If you go over that point, called ‘the critical line’, then in becomes distress and that impacts on your productivity, that impacts on your ability to do the job you’ve been hired to do.”

Click PLAY below to hear more from Dr Michael Carr-Greg