Yes they do. As well, Ppl think a mental health day is an excuse for "retail therapy". When one suffers from an illness like depression or anxiety the last thing you want to do is go out shopping!

Most companies in the US only give 2 weeks' paid vacation per year, and that often only starts AFTER you've been with the company for a full year. It also used to be common to additionally have 5 sick days per year, but many companies now do not offer this and instead have you use your vacation time towards being sick. They often require a doctor's note if you don't put in for time off in advance. On top of that, supervisors and managers will often criticize workers for taking sick days, and sometimes even for taking vacation days. It is a really messed up system here!

Not everywhere in the U.S. is as nice as above. Actually, last place I worked at I only had one day off a year. If I changed shifts with someone it'd be okay but everyone was too overworked to take your shift. I also had to stay late every day, but no overtime pay except on holidays which we work every holiday. :(

In Italy is the same.

I just interviewed for a job that says in the first year, they give 8 DAYS MAXIMUM. That's for vacation and sick time...

The only way I can take a legit vacation is if I disable my work email and block all phone calls from my office.

Same here in Switzerland, we also have 4 to 5 weeks of VACATION per year. If you fall ill during your vacation and a doctor gives a certificate for your boss and then you can take back the days you where ill into a vacation time! Also vacation is never linked with being off for illness. Thank God I live in very civilized country.

Wow what... irrelevant comment here but Germans get 5-6 weeks of vacation per year? You guys are super lucky!

Sadly many companies in Canada & the US don't really "allow" sick days...And many do not give any vacation time at all.....

Really? I don't know how it works in the US. Where I live you have a yearly amount of days of paid vacation, but sick days don't get into the count. Sick days are whenever you need them, given that a doctor certifies you are really sick.

I'm not writing to dispute what Lauren has said, I'm genuinely curious - never had more than two weeks PTO, with sick days counting for the total - two different states, both "right to work" states. Wondering how others compare.

I have never had a job that had any PTO days and most of them didn't even have a week of vacation until you worked there 2 years and it was not paid vacation either, My husband, on the other hand, has worked his current job for 4 years and is up to having 2 PTO days and 2 weeks paid vacation. ( He has a job that he has to carry a gun and wear a bullet proof vest and make barely over minimum wage)

I live in canada, and the most time off I have ever gotten is 2 weeks at most jobs I've had....Assuming you get it that way. Many places when you aren't full time just give you the equivalent in pay with your regular paycheck.....so you don't really have "vacation". 3 weeks is considered primo at the lower end of the job market. Luckily I have often had good bosses, but myself have pulled the "sick" for a mental health day.There are days it is not wise for me to be at work if you want me to work, or not cause a scene(tears, pissed off, hopeless, whatever...it varies =])

You can look it up on the Bureau of Labor Statistics website. The average PTO for vacation at 25 years for all full-time employees is 15.7 days. Since that duration is becoming increasingly rare, let's look at 10 years, which is 13.9 days. Now this is vacation only, but the average sick leave at 25 years is 10.9 days, while it is 10.3 days at 10 years. That means that ~50% offer less than this. Also, if you work in blue-collar and service industries, your time off is about 10% less than the average. Your company giving you 20 days per year of vacation is a major exception, usually reserved for those in positions of significant power within the company (executives, upper management, etc.). Most companies with entry positions start you out with no paid leave for one year, and then give you between five and ten days PTO, including sick leave. It takes another four to five years for you to increase that.

Every place I ever worked either starts you with 5 or 10 days of paid leave. It takes a few years to get 15 days, and generally you only ever get 5 days of sick time EVER. It's pretty standard with everyone I know. I know there are companies that don't fit this mold, but I've had lots of experience with multiple companies and their PTO/Sick policies, and starting with 10 days was the biggest I ever saw - and often that was AFTER a year of employment.

My bother was born in the States and has lived there all his life. His company gives only 10 days off a year, that includes sick leave and vacation time. I have worked all my adult life here in Switzerland and had sick leave separated from my vacation time. It's the law that the two can not be one. I had 4 weeks of vacation per year until I reached 50, then it was 5 weeks of vacation time. I have never regreted to have made the choice to come back to my country.

I've worked at some places where you only got 10 days of PTO (both sick AND vacation!) not 2 weeks. Might have built up to 2 weeks after a year or 2 I don't know. The rules for contractors and full time employers are sometimes different.

I totally agree with you. I recently had to use my annual leave as a mental health break for one week. Everything got too much.

To clarify - I agree with the employee's choice to take time off for her mental health, and applaud her honesty. I do not agree with those comments which try to imply that 'mental health' issues should not be considered 'health issues'.

For one, the medical industry is setup this way. You don't go to see a Dentist when you have depression. Bad teeth can affect your physical and mental health adversely. Medicine as a whole is highly ambiguous. I will say, from personal experience, mental health (anxiety) can and does affect your physical well being. That being said, taking off a month on a whim for de-stressing just would not cut it in the industry that I am in. Back to the Medical Industry and Law Enforcement, Fire, EMT, etc. Oh, I think I need to take a month off to de-stress. 1 team ember gone, for that long in any of these scenarios, just won't work.

It's today's snowflake society, I doubt the dishwasher at a diner gets days of for "stress" deal-59687...c69226.gif

Hahaha hilarious. And true.

I am sure it would have been the same. You do realize he didn't have to write anything at all, but he obviously has a human side that pushed him to do so. I bet that that very human side would have made him feel the same towards any employee. Here's the problem in the workplace: insinuating comments from those who are envious when they witness efficiency, success and kindness in one single package.

If they feel the need to use it as an excuse perhaps on some level they did need it.

Yeah, Kjorn, f**k you! What are you, middle management in some pathetic corporation? Time off is up to the individual, you sad pathetic a*s-kisser.

As someone that suffers from mental health issues, I can attest to fact that most doctors, or at least the ones I can afford, have no clue on how to treat mental issues. They usually just prescribe some s****y meds that make me more sick. A year or two ago, I decided that whenever I feel some mental illness brewing, I take a day off from work, chill at home, smoke weed and play games. This has worked really great for me and actually allows me to be at work more often. Previously, I would have endured the agony until I land myself up in hospital and have to take an entire week, sometimes 2, in order to recover. FYI: Software developer here and if you're wondering why I can't just wait for weekend to chill... weekends are not chilled, weekends are for cleaning and taking care of life's admin, for being happy so that you don't make the people around you miserable thus making yourself even more miserable.

I agree...I think once people get the idea in their head, there will be "mental health" days taken all over the place. It's just too easy to take advantage of this one.

Nailed it.

I have what you have, and anxiety disorder, so I know exactly how you feel. I hope you heal soon.

Well that's because nurses are angels on earth and are the hardest working people I've ever seen. Seriously, you guys are amazing and deserve it.

Why exactly should she try that? Lol.