April 1, 2008

HR Magazine

Family Issues Top Reason for Taking ‘Mental Health’ Days

Family and relationship issues top the list for why employees would take a so-called mental health day, according to a poll by ComPsych. Thirty percent of those surveyed cited family or relationship issues as the reason they would take a mental health day, followed by work stress or workload, at 20 percent.

It’s not surprising that family/relationship issues top the reasons people take a mental health day, says Richard A. Chaifetz, ComPsych chairman and CEO, given what he called “the growing complexities of family and personal life.”

“Whether the employee is married, a caregiver or is facing the challenges of single life, relationship stress can be a major cause of distraction at work … and relationship problems are consistently among the top two reasons for calls to our employee assistance program,” he said.