Corporate America is tired and burnout is very common. in fact, Moodle’s 2025 Research It turns out that 66% of American employees experience burnout. This is exactly why Mental Health Day is so common.
However, people outside of this country do not seem to fully understand the need for mental health day. One African admitted that he had fallen into the camp. He didn’t know why Americans needed to take time out of their work to maintain mental health – until he started working in the United States.
An African working in the US has apologised to Americans who teased her to spend their mental health day.
With heartfelt admission, Zambians, Known online as “Big Sam” He apologised to an American who had previously laughed at mental health day. He once confessed that he thought Americans were complaining about a lot of complaints, but since moving to America and working in the country, he has gained new understandings.
“I’ve been asking for a break from mental health day,” Sam said with a laugh. “Well, we need mental health leave. They didn’t lie.”
The “hustle culture” in America is often tired.
Sam quickly discovered that the constant “hustle culture” promoted by American society is unsustainable. Many corporate environments are fast-paced, high-speed and often accompanied by irrational expectations.
There is also a prominent competitive culture in many American workplaces. Employees may find themselves fighting for promotions, pay raises, or prominent opportunities. This competitive environment can promote high performance, but it can also lead to stress and poor mental health.
Occupational safety and health management reports Approximately 83% of US workers suffer from work-related stress, and 54% claim that work stress affects family life. Additionally, workplace stress is reported to cause 120,000 deaths in the US each year.
Prolonged stress and untreated mental health issues can lead to serious physical health issues, such as high blood pressure, heart disease, and sleep problems. By spending time on mental health, employees can avoid these long-term health complications and improve their overall well-being.
Mental health days are extremely beneficial when done correctly.
By taking a break in the form of mental health day, you give your body the opportunity to recover, revitalize and restore mental clarity.
Written for Mayo ClinicAngela Theisen’s LCSW discussed mental health day, defining it as “a limited time away from normal liability with the intention of recharging and rejuvenating your mental health.” She said, “It’s a deliberate act to alleviate pain, discomfort and motivation while improving attitude, morale, functioning, efficiency and overall well-being.”
Theisen also noted that such days have many benefits, including reduced burnout substances, increased morale, increased resilience, reduced mental health crisis, and improved physical health. A little counterintuitively, mental health days have also been shown to increase productivity.
“On Mental Health Days, it’s not just about getting a latte and taking a nap. Or sleep until noon, then scroll through social media with all your heart in the afternoon. These are easy ways to waste your day, but not improve your mental health,” Theisen warned. “You should intentionally benefit and improve your health with full benefits in the activities you do on Mental Health Day.”
She suggested unplugging from social media, spending time outside, being active, or doing creative things.
Sylvia Ojeda is an author with over 10 years of experience writing novels and scripts. She covers topics of self-help, relationships, culture and human interests.
