When Work Weighs You Down, Take a ‘Sad Day’
当工作让你身心疲惫，不妨请一天“悲伤假”

Have you ever felt nervous or afraid to take time off from work to look after your mental health?

为照顾自己的心理健康而请假不上班，你是否曾为此感到过紧张，或没有勇气提出？

Marisa Kabas, a writer and political strategist who lives in New York City, recently posed a similar question on Twitter, inspired by Simone Biles, who bowed out of Olympic events this week to protect her mental health.

“It was so shocking to so many people,” Ms. Kabas said on Wednesday in an interview. “Because the whole mentality is be strong, and push through the pain.”

“这令许多人感到震惊，”卡巴斯在周三的一个采访中说。“因为大家的心态都是要坚强，克服痛苦。”

The tweet drew thousands of responses, many from employees who said they do not disclose the real reason they need time away from work, or feel pressured to lie about it because they are embarrassed. Others said they had never taken a mental health day.

这条推文引发了上千条回应，许多雇员称他们不会说出想要休假的真正原因，或者觉得不得不说谎，因为他们为此感到尴尬。其他人则说，他们从来没有因关心自己的心理健康而休假。

As a freelancer who has written prolifically about her health problems, including anxiety and depression, Ms. Kabas said she sometimes wakes up and decides, “I can’t do it today,” and takes the day off, a luxury she didn’t feel she had as an employee.

作为一名自由职业者，卡巴斯曾大量撰写关于她的健康问题——包括焦虑和抑郁——的文章，她说她有时醒来并决定“我今天没法工作”，然后放一天假，这是她以前作为员工时没有过的奢侈。

About three-quarters of people in the United States who work for private industry, state or local government have paid sick leave, but surveys suggest that a number of these employees are unlikely to use sick days for mental health reasons or are scared of being punished for doing so.

在美国的私营企业、州或地方政府的工作人员中，有四分之三的人拥有带薪病假，但调查表明，其中一些员工不太可能出于心理健康原因请病假或害怕这样做会受到惩罚。

If you’re among the hesitant, experts say it’s time to start thinking about how to protect and prioritize your mental well-being, especially as millions of employees who worked remotely during the pandemic start returning to the office.

专家认为，如果你也犹豫不决，那便是时候开始考虑如何保护和优先考虑你的心理健康了，尤其是在大流行期间数百万远程工作的员工开始重返办公室的时候。

“You wouldn’t feel bad about taking time off when sick. You shouldn’t feel bad about taking some time off when you’re sad,” said Natalie C. Dattilo, a clinical health psychologist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston and an instructor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. “Your body needs a rest, your brain needs a break.”

“你不会为生病请假而感到愧疚。因为心情不佳而请假休息同样不应该让你感到愧疚，”波士顿布莱根女子医院的临床健康心理学家、哈佛医学院精神病学讲师娜塔莉·C·达蒂洛(Natalie C. Dattilo)说。“你的身体需要休息，你的大脑需要休息。”

How do you know if you need a ‘sad day’?

如何知道自己是否需要一个“悲伤日”？

There’s no official definition for a “sad day,” also known as a mental health day. Typically, it is paid time off drawn from sick days (or personal days) to help employees who aren’t feeling like their usual selves, offering an opportunity to refresh their minds; do something meaningful; or simply take a break from daily stressors. The “sad day” is only a temporary fix, and not meant to address deeper problems, but sometimes a little time away can make a big difference.

“悲伤日”，又称心理健康日，没有官方定义。通常是算在病假（或个人假期）里的带薪假，用来帮助那些不在状态的员工，提供一个让他们放松心情的机会；做一些有意义的事情；或者干脆从日常压力中休息一下。“悲伤日”只是暂时的解决办法，并不意味着解决更深层次的问题，但有时离开一段时间会产生很大的不同。

Your company may not specify that sick days can be used for this purpose, but “mental health is health,” said Schroeder Stribling, the president and chief executive of the advocacy group Mental Health America. “The two are inseparable.”

倡导组织美国心理健康(Mental Health America)的主席兼首席执行官施罗德·斯特里布林(Schroeder Stribling)表示，你的公司可能没有指明病假可以这样使用，但“心理健康就是健康”。“两者密不可分。”

The signs that you need to take time away from work may not necessarily be obvious, Ms. Stribling said. Indicators include changes in your mood, productivity or ability to concentrate. You may also notice that you are less patient and more irritable than usual, or are having trouble sleeping.

斯特里布林说，一些迹象说明你需要请假休息，但它们可能并不明显。这些迹象包括你的情绪、工作效率或专注力的变化。你可能还会注意到，你比平时缺乏耐心，易怒，或者入睡困难。

You might also have physical symptoms. For example, “if I start getting headaches, that’s a sign of stress for me, and I need to address that with a mental heath day,” Ms. Stribling said.

你也可能有身体症状。例如，斯特里布林说：“如果我开始头痛，这对我来说是压力的迹象，我需要通过心理健康日来解决这个问题。”

The bottom line: Given the extraordinary stressors of the last year and a half, regardless of your specific symptoms, “if you feel like you might benefit from a mental health day, you have earned one,” said Adam Grant, an organizational psychologist at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton business school, whose recent podcast explored the benefits of the “sad day” and the importance of building a culture of compassion within the workplace.

归根结底，宾夕法尼亚大学沃顿商学院的组织心理学家亚当·格兰特(Adam Grant)说，考虑到过去一年半的特殊压力，不管你有什么具体症状，“如果你觉得自己可能从精神健康日中受益，你就应该过一个精神健康日。”他最近的播客探讨了“悲伤日”的好处，以及在工作场所建立同情文化的重要性。

Some companies may require employees to provide documentation, such as a doctor’s note, when they use sick days, so make sure you understand what the law says in your region. In New York City, for example, an employee is not required to provide documentation unless more than three consecutive days of sick leave have been used.

有些公司可能会要求员工在请病假时提供证明文件，比如医生证明，所以一定要了解所在地区的法律规定。例如，在纽约市，雇员不需要提供文件，除非已经请了连续三天以上的病假。

How do you ask for a mental health day?

你该怎样要求休一个精神健康日？

Your workplace culture and your relationship with your manager will dictate how open you choose to be about why you’re taking time off. You should not feel compelled to divulge more than necessary.

你是否公开自己的休假原因，这由你的工作场所文化，以及你和经理的关系决定。你不应该感到有必要被迫透露更多信息。

“I think sometimes we over-share when we’re anxious or perhaps feel a little bad about having to take time,” Dr. Dattilo said.

“我认为，有时当我们感到焦虑，或者可能因为不得不花时间而感到有点不好的时候，我们会过度分享，”达蒂洛说。

In most situations, just say that you need to take a sick day, and leave it at that, the experts advised.

专家建议，在大多数情况下，只需说你需要请一天病假，然后就到此为止。

“I think the safe advice is not to be upfront,” said Andrew Kuller, a clinical psychologist at McLean Hospital in Belmont, Mass. Not everybody values mental health, he added, and “unless you’re close with your supervisor, it is a risk.”

“我认为安全的建议是不要太坦白，”马萨诸塞州贝尔蒙特市麦克莱恩医院(McLean Hospital)的临床心理学家安德鲁·库勒(Andrew Kuller)说。他补充说，并不是所有人都重视心理健康，“除非你和上司关系密切，否则这是一种风险。”

But say you work at the type of organization where you can tell the truth without fear of being punished. In that case, you are still under no obligation to reveal why you want to take a sick day. However, if you want to share (or are interested in reducing some of the stigma around mental health) you might approach your manager and say, “I think I would really benefit from taking a day just to recharge a little bit,” Dr. Grant said. “I would like to come back to work with all of my energy.”

但如果你是在那种可以说实话而不用担心受到惩罚的地方工作。在这种情况下，你仍然没有义务透露你为什么想请病假。然而，如果你想分享（或者有兴趣减少精神健康方面的污名），你可以跟经理说，“我觉得花一天时间充电真的会对我有好处，”格兰特说。“我想带着我全部能量回到工作岗位上。”

When employees are mentally and physically exhausted, it affects the quality of their work, their productivity and the people around them, Dr. Grant added.

格兰特补充说，当员工身心疲惫时，他们的工作质量、工作效率和周围的人都会受到影响。

“I think it’s easier to have a conversation about burnout than it is about feeling sad or depressed or anxious, so I would probably play it safe there, and highlight why this is good for the organization, not just good for you,” he said.

“我认为，与谈论悲伤、沮丧或焦虑相比，谈论职业倦怠要容易得多，所以我可能会谨慎行事，强调这对公司有好处，而不仅仅是对你自己有好处，”他说。

If you’re feeling up to it, you can also try to assemble a coalition of people within your department who are concerned about mental health fatigue, said Dr. Grant, whose latest book, “Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don’t Know,” challenges readers to shift long-held thought patterns. As a group, you can discuss concerns like missed deadlines or errors that might be compounded by burnout, then bring these issues to your manager, who may be motivated to find a solution. That way, you can try to change the system for everyone, including yourself.

格兰特说，如果你觉得能做到，你也可以尝试在部门里为关注心理健康疲劳者们组织一个联盟。他的新书《再想想——知道你所不知道的东西的力量》(Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don’t Know)挑战读者们改变长期以来的思维模式。作为一个团队，你们可以讨论一些问题，比如错过了截止日期或因工作倦怠而加剧的错误，然后把这些问题交给你的经理，他可能会有动力去寻找解决方案。这样，你就可以试着为每个人改变这个系统，包括你自己。

What do you do during a ‘sad day’?

在“悲伤日”你会做什么？

In deciding how to use a mental health day, it helps to think about what brought you to this point in the first place. Do your personal relationships need attention? Are you exhausted from your workload and desperate to disconnect from everything? Did you have a particularly stressful week and want to spend some time decompressing? Maybe it’s a combination of several things.

在决定如何利用心理健康日时，首先应该思考是什么让你走到这一步。你的个人关系是否需要关注？你是否被你的工作量搞得筋疲力尽，急切地想与一切事物断开联系？你是否度过了特别紧张的一周，想花些时间减压？也许是几种元素的组合。

Thinking it through ahead of time will help you use your day in the most helpful way possible. While one person might benefit from a massage or a day of pampering, another person might want to paint or garden. Others will find the most value in reconnecting with friends or family members.

提前想清楚可以帮助你以最有益的方式度过这一天。有人可能喜欢按摩或是一整天的放纵，也有人可能喜欢绘画或是园艺。还有人会觉得与朋友或家庭成员重新联系最有价值。

The day might also provide an opportunity to rethink your day-to-day activities. “Are they giving you pleasure or meaning?” Dr. Kuller asked.

这一天也可能提供一个机会，让你重新思考自己的日常活动的机会。“它们给你带来快乐或是意义了吗？”库勒问道。

Next, think about ways to take care of yourself on a regular basis, he added, like meditation, yoga or cooking a healthy meal. Make a plan to do more of those things going forward.

他还说，接下来，要想办法定期照顾自己，比如冥想、瑜伽或做一顿健康的饭菜。制定一个计划去做更多这样的事情。

Whatever you do, don’t spend the day checking your messages or feeling guilty, the experts said.“Self-care is not a selfish act,” Dr. Grant said. “People who are selfless to the point of self-sacrifice end up burning out.”

专家们说，无论你做什么，都不要花一天的时间查看信息，或是感到内疚。“照顾自己不是一种自私的行为，”格兰特说。“那些无私到自我牺牲的人最终会精疲力竭。”

So instead of thinking, “I should be at work right now,” try to reframe your thinking in a more positive way, Dr. Dattilo said. For example, she added, try saying: “It would be great if I could be at work right now. But today is a day that I need to take care of myself, so that’s what I’m going to do.”