How to request a mental health day at work

Mental health days involve taking a day off to reduce stress or manage mental health symptoms, such as anxiety or a low mood.

Employers in the United States are not legally required to allow mental health days. They are also not required to offer paid sick leave.

However, under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), companies are required to provide up to 12 weeks of job-protected leave to employees with severe symptoms who work in an eligible workplace.

Some workplaces also voluntarily offer paid sick leave, mental health days, or both as an employee benefit.

Depending on the workplace, there may be several avenues for taking a mental health day. These include:

• Sick leave: Paid or unpaid sick leave may be an option for some people.
• Designated mental health days: Some companies offer a specific type of leave for mental health and well-being. This may be in addition to sick leave.
• Paid time off (PTO): PTO, or vacation time, is leave an employee can use for any purpose. Many people use it to take breaks from work or to travel.
• FMLA leave: The FMLA entitles U.S. employees to 12 weeks of job-protected leave per year for severe conditions. A person’s job-related benefits will continue during this time, and their job when they return will be the same or nearly identical. However, to be eligible, they must:
  • work for a covered employer, meaning the employer had 50 or more employees for at least 20 work weeks in the current or preceding year. Alternatively, they may work for a local state, public, or government agency, or a school of any size.
  • work at a location where the employer has at least 50 employees within 75 miles
  • have worked there for a minimum of 12 months and for at least 1,250 hours within that time

People can ask their workplace for information about their policies to determine which might apply to their situation.

Before requesting a mental health day via any of the options above, it can help to:

A person may want to ask a manager or the human resources (HR) department for information on:

• the number of mental health days, sick days, or days of PTO they currently have
• when those days renew or reset
• how far in advance they need to request them
• any information they need to have ready when they make the request

Alternatively, a person may find this information in employee handbooks, employee or benefits portals, or other documentation.

This may help a person decide when to request leave and which type to use.

The decision to disclose mental health experiences is a personal one that can have both benefits and risks. In many situations, revealing a diagnosis is not legally necessary in the workplace.

Employers can only ask for a person’s medical information if:

• an employee or job candidate is asking for disability accommodations
• they are engaging in affirmative action for people with disabilities
• there is evidence that a person may not be able to do their job, or do it safely
• they have made a job offer and have also asked everyone else in the same job category

A detailed explanation is usually unnecessary for a single mental health day.

To decide how much to disclose, it may help to consider whether an explanation is necessary, safe, or likely to lead to positive outcomes, such as more support from a manager.

If the answer to these questions is “yes,” some disclosure might be beneficial. If the answer is “no,” people may prefer to keep the request vague.

Employees should know how a workplace is required to respond to requests for time off. A workplace could be breaking the law if it:

• discourages or pressures people not to use leave they are legally entitled to
• punishes or retaliates against employees who use leave they are entitled to
• treats employees differently because they have mental health conditions
• demands medical information when it is not necessary
• shares details about an employee’s mental health condition with others

How people request a mental health day will depend on the workplace’s policies.

Workplaces that have mental health days allocated to each employee may have a process people need to follow to request one. This may involve:

• asking a manager
• contacting a specific person or department, such as HR
• using software to request or track leave

A simple, polite message to ask for a mental health day, or to let a manager know that a person has requested one, may be enough. For example, a person could say:

• May I take a mental health day today?
• I think I would benefit from using a mental health day. Is that alright?
• I would like to use one of my mental health days, if possible.
• HR approved a mental health day for me today.

People can adjust their message according to the formality of their workplace.

In workplaces that do not offer designated mental health days, people may be able to use other types of leave. This will look different depending on the options available to them.

For example, a company may require a person requesting sick leave or PTO to:

• ask a manager
• fill out a form
• contact a person or HR department
• use software for requesting and tracking leave

If a person needs to write a message with the request, they could say:

• Could I request a day of sick leave?
• I think I need a day to recharge. May I use some PTO?
• I am not feeling great. May I take a day off?
• I need to request a day off for personal reasons.

Remember to adjust the message according to the recipient and the type of workplace.

A company official may need to approve the leave before the employee can take it. In some cases, the employee may also need to ask for it in advance.

FMLA may be an option for people with severe mental health symptoms. The FMLA defines “severe” as any condition requiring:

• inpatient care at a clinic or hospital
• ongoing medical care for a condition that prevents a person from working at least twice a year

Conditions such as anxiety disorders, depression, bipolar disorder, and dissociative disorders may fall into this category.

Employees may need to provide evidence of their symptoms, such as a doctor’s certificate, to apply for FMLA leave. The information must prove the symptoms are severe, but does not need to include a definitive diagnosis.

Mental health days can be an opportunity to rest and recharge when stress, anxiety, or other symptoms develop. They may help people take a break from work and come back refreshed.

However, while some companies offer designated mental health days, others do not. It is important that people look into their workplace policies to understand how best to take time off for their mental health.