Shower thought: if employers changed sick days to wellness days it would remove the stigma with having a day off work for mental health reasons.
I rarely take a ‘sick’ day, simple because I rarely get sick physically sick. However, I like most people experience fatigue or burnout during high stress situations. Sometimes I don’t feel 100%, and that itself is damaging since I can’t perform my best which I think my employer deserves in exchange for the financial remuneration.
Language is a powerful force, and this simple adjustment to the narrative would provide people with confidence to take leave which helps maintain their wellness.
It may even reduce the abuse of fake ‘sickies’ by removing the connotation that anyone can pretend to be sick. However, everyone at some point needs a dose wellbeing, and there shouldn’t be any shame attached to it.
Photo by Chandler Cruttenden on Unsplash