Woman Gets Perfect Reply From Boss After Asking For Some Time Off For Mental Health

#1

Usually, mental health in our society is not taken very seriously. If a person is physically ill then everyone would be concerned about him. But if a person says that they are struggling mentally, then this issue would be brushed aside, as if it is not that important to notice.

#2

And if you ask your boss for a leave on the basis of mental health, then it could be a daunting prospect, one which would not leave with very much good consequences.

#3

But surprisingly and well also amazingly, this is not what happened to Madalyn Parker. Parker is an engineer at Olark, a live chat platform service based in Palo Alto, California. Parker recently wrote an e-mail to her boss for two days leave, to focus on her mental health and to come back to office to work in better spirits.

#4

Parker's boss instead of bashing her for her "not-so-important excuse" (note the sarcasm) actually replied back in a very encouraging manner. Parker in her email wrote, "I’m taking today and tomorrow to focus on my mental health. Hopefully, I’ll be back next week refreshed and back to 100%."

And what her boss Ben Congleton replied was something none of us could imagine. He wrote, "I just wanted to personally thank you for sending emails like this. Every time you do, I use it as a reminder of the importance of using sick days for mental health – I can’t believe this is not standard practice at all organizations. You are an example to us all, and help cut through the stigma so we can bring our whole selves to work."

#5

Parker has also been a vocal advocate for supportive workplaces since writing an emotional essay in 2015 about her harrowing battle with mental health issues and how they affect her career. Parker's mail and her boss's response have shown the world that how important it is to address the issues related to person's mental health seriously. As this is not something which affects a person's personal life only but it also affects the working capability of an individual and makes them less active and less enthusiastic about their professional work.

#6

Parker was actually so impressed by her boss's response that she shared the message on Twitter and her message not only got viral but it also got shared on different social media websites and was viewed by thousands of people.

#7

Since the post became so viral, Ben Congleton, Parker's boss, also shared his views and penned an essay on Medium in which he wrote, "I had no idea my response would become so visible — the reactions revealed that my stance on mental health in the workplace is unconventional, to say the least,’ he wrote. I started realising how impactful [sic] my email had been after I began reading some of the responses to Madalyn’s tweet. Some of the responses brought tears to my eyes."

#8

He further wrote, "There were so many stories of people wishing they worked at a place where their CEO cared about their health, and so many people congratulating me on doing such a good thing,’ he added. This should be business as usual. We have a lot of work to do."

#9

With her efforts, Parker wants to break the stigma that is related to mental health and wants the world to realize that it's ok to suffer mentally and it's also ok to have a break every once in a while because after all, we all are just humans.