It’s the start of a new work week. Maybe you considered a mental health day today because you just can’t face Monday at the office. You’re not the only one, and new research shows these mental health days add up.
To lost productivity, specifically. Researchers say a single extra mental health day per month was linked to an economic of $53 billion between 2008 and 2014. But more importantly, these mental health days we take would not be what our parents or grandparents would have done.
“I do think the older generation thinks we are soft and light in work ethic compared to them,” family therapist Julie Nise told KTRH.
Nise says what's going on now is a far cry from what it used to be like. Back then when it was time to go to work there was no such thing as a mental health day.
“In my opinion the reason we have had this kind of shift is that we have gotten away from the core values that made us strong, great and productive,” Nise explained.
The researchers at Penn State described a mental health day as work days missed because of "depression, anxiety, excessive stress, and emotional problems.”