Health employee reports sick and is praised by the boss for this

Mental Health: Woman is praised by the boss for her sick leave
Permanent stress in the workplace makes us sick. It is therefore not surprising that employees are sometimes sick. What has happened to a woman in the US, however, is very unusual. She announced that she would miss a few days at work because she cares about her mental health. But she was praised by her boss.

Boss praises employees for sick leave
Long working hours and constant stress at work make more and more people physically and mentally ill. Actually, you should stay at home, but research shows again and again that many workers go to work sick. American Madalyn Parker, however, decided to call in sick when she was not feeling well. She was praised by her boss.

Stress at work is often a huge burden and causes workers to get sick. So also a woman from the USA. She got sick for two days - and received praise from her boss. (Image: Kaspars Grinvalds / fotolia.com)

Employee and employer with exemplary behavior
Managers should be role models for health.

Ben Congelton of the software manufacturer Olark has indeed behaved exemplary. His employee, developer Madalyn Parker, had been on sick leave for two days to take care of her "mental health.".

Your employer thanked you for the message and described it as a "role model for all of us".

Focus on mental health
A report by the online magazine "medium.com" reports on the course of the story.

Madalyn Parker wrote in an e-mail to her colleagues: "Dear Team, I take off today and tomorrow to focus on my mental health. Hopefully, next week, I'll be back in my freshness to devote myself to 100% of the work again. "

According to media reports, she had already been sick for a few days in the past for this reason. In addition, she posted on Twitter texts on topics such as anxiety and depression and how to deal with it.

Personal thanks of the boss
The special feature of her last illness was the reaction of her employer. She got not only an "okay" from her boss, but a message she published:

"Hey Madalyn, I just wanted to personally thank you for sending e-mails like this one. I always use her as an opportunity to remind myself how important it is to take time off now and then for mental health, including illness, "writes Congelton.

"I can hardly believe that this practice is not standard in all organizations. You are a role model for us all and help break the stigma so that we all come to work in harmony with ourselves. "

His reaction also showed the boss how to be a role model in case of illness.

Jobs constantly demand top mental performance
The reactions of the net community were overwhelming. Tens of thousands of Twitter users responded to their tweet. Many used the news for a discussion on mental health.

A few days after the first entry, her boss spoke again: "We have the year 2017. We are a knowledge society. Our jobs require us to constantly deliver the highest levels of mental performance, "says Congelton.

"When an athlete is injured, he sits on the bench and recovers. Let us reject the idea that it behaves differently with our brain. "

Mental illness increases
In some countries around the world, as well as in the United States, in some employment relationships, there is the opportunity to take a few days off to focus on their mental health. In Germany, there are no such "Mental Health Days".

But even here in Germany, there are more absences due to mental illness.

For example, the days of absence due to depression have increased. According to numerous studies, the reason for the increase in such illnesses is the congestion, constant accessibility and generally increasing demands in the job.

In order to counteract the problem, it makes sense, among other things, for employees to practice relaxation exercises during breaks in their leisure time and, if possible, during breaks to reduce stress. Yoga or autogenic training is one of the options. (Ad)