Chucking the sickie: no-questions-asked ‘doona days’ give workers a break
Employers are increasingly seeing the wisdom in offering staff days off for mental health – no leave application or medical certificate required
Mark Johnson first encountered the concept of an unscheduled, company-approved day off for wellbeing when he lived in London over 10 years ago. Known as a “duvet day” in the UK, it sounded like a good idea to Johnson, one he would have appreciated as a busy recruitment consultant.
But it was offered by a competitor’s company and wasn’t an option for him. So when he founded Edwin George Merchant and Partners (EGM), a recruitment and HR consultancy in Adelaide in 2016, Johnson made “doona days” part of his organisation’s culture. Employees are encouraged to take one doona day per quarter.
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Sometimes we just need a day off
Openly talking about how organisations can better support the whole person at work is a great start
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