Mental-Health Days Are Only a Band-Aid for Burnout
Two and a half years into the pandemic, burnout is still here. It is reportedly widespread across industries such as medicine, teaching, and child care; by some measures, workplace stress has only increased even as day-to-day routines have looked more “normal.” To cope, Americans—especially younger generations—are turning to the “mental-health day”: an occasional day off, perhaps with little advance notice, justified as necessary for maintaining well-being.