Are You Using Sick Leave Because You are Stressed

I have a few questions for working women who have multiple home and work responsibilities.

The Questions

Did you go to sleep last night thinking about what you needed to remember the next day?
When you got in bed, did you go through a mental checklist of the items on tomorrow’s action plan?
After dozing off, did you wake up suddenly remembering an important contact that you failed to make?
While in bed, did your mind rev up and go into overdrive?
Did concerns and worries start flowing?
Could you not turn your thoughts off?
Have you called in sick because you were stressed and needed a mental health day?
Did you share with your employer that your day off was because you needed a mental and emotional break?

We go to sleep with the expectation of waking up refreshed and excited to greet the day. Unfortunately, for many of us, that is not what happens. We wake up tired, frustrated and feeling like we could use a day off.

The Research

In the article HRE’s Number of the Day: Employee Sick Days, it was reported that 32% of employees used a sick day due to stress. This was the outcome of a survey of 1000 employees by Aetna International. The survey also found that employees used sick leave for physical concerns twice as often as they did for mental health concerns.

The article goes on the suggest that employees do not share their struggles with mental or emotional issues due to the stigma it evokes. In the era of COVID 19 it is incumbent upon employers to consider providing supports for employees who are experiencing overwhelming stress.

“Instead, employers can work toward a culture of support when it comes to employee health and well-being.”

Kathryn Mayer HRE’s Number of the Day: Employee Sick Days

Most employers provide guidelines regarding health disclosures for sick day usage. The organizations I have worked for required a doctor’s note for extended absences only. Employees could “write their own note” so to speak for one or two day out.

Stress Results

Many working women, like you and me, wake up feeling exhausted having had a poor night’s sleep. We have trouble falling asleep within 20 minutes of lying down. Some of us toss and turn, waking up repeatedly. A few of us wake up between two or three o’clock in the morning, unable to fall back asleep.

The stress of meeting expectations keeps working women up at night. Whether we are married or single, we are expected to meet the needs of our partners, children, and aging parents 24 hours a day, five days a week, 365 days of the year. We do not get vacation, holidays off or personal leave when it comes to taking care of our families.

We also must make sure bills are paid, the roof does not leak, the water flows, the toilets flush, and the house continues to stand. Although we are viewed as “liberated” the same expectations that were in place for women 100 years ago remain for women today. These expectations and the responsibilities that go with them cause us to experience extraordinary stress.

Who do you go to for support? With whom do you confide about the causes and level of stress your experience?

A Solution

We will launch a new free support for working women who are approaching burnout. It is called Take the “ISH” Out of Selfish and Put Self First. This support will be available in November. It guides working women to create space for their own self-care and stress relief.

Take a sneak peak by following the link to our services page. You may view the segment and sign up to receive more information.

“I want to be happy, whole, satisfied and successful. What about you?”

Visit the M.L. Bailey Consultants website. We are sprucing it up, so please be patient with us. You may join the conversation like our Facebook page, follow me on Instagram and connect with me on LinkedIn.