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More companies are giving employees extra time off for personal days in an effort to address concerns about worker stress levels, according to The Wall Street Journal (subscription).

What’s going on: “The decision to offer these types of personal days … reflect[s] executives’ belief that addressing mental health directly with their workers is a crucial way to retain and attract the best employees in a tight labor market.”

• More businesses have started offering unlimited paid time off plus volunteer days. Deciding more was needed, one company has started giving its entire team four designated “self-care” days each year, during which the entire operation shuts down.
• Another firm started giving employees “timeout days” following the 2020 murder of George Floyd, while others have built craft, wellness and “respite” rooms for worker mental-health breaks during the workday.

Why it’s important: “Recently published data from Gallup shows disengagement at historic highs, and it’s largely attributed to ‘not feeling cared for at work.’ Meanwhile, studies from the American Psychological Association and Ernst & Young found that employees who suffer from common mental-health conditions such as anxiety, burnout and depression are more likely to quit.”