Sometimes, you just need to take a step back.

Sometimes, you need to switch off. Literally AND figuratively – switch off your mobile phone, emails, and everything that comes along with it. Give your brain a chance to relax, rejuvenate.

And sometimes, it’s important for us to write about matters like this, rather than the usual recruitment talk or leadership advice.

The importance of taking a mental health day… It just can’t be overlooked.

As recruiters, we’re used to a fast-paced daily life. Work begins early, often ends late, and it’s not often you’ll find time for clock watching. Between phone calls, interviews, client meetings, and all the management that comes along with these tasks, things can be pretty non-stop. And through the work we do, we understand better than most that many professions are very much the same.

So our only advice to you today is this: when your brain, and/or body, tells you it’s time to do so, take that mental health day.

And what should a mental health day look like? Well, the first and obvious point is that it should absolutely not involve work. Instead, it should involve good, old-fashioned downtime. Getting some fresh air, exercise, even just taking a walk. A mental health day should mean no checking work emails, even “just this one time”. It shouldn’t be taking the odd call here and there, even though you aren’t in the office or clocked in.

All that being said, taking a mental health day isn’t just about switching off and getting away from work. It’s about taking the time to focus on the things – and people – you love. We can all admit that our families, hobbies and interests often take a back seat when it comes to work, deadlines, pressures of the everyday. So, taking a mental health day doesn’t just have to be about switching off – it can also be about engaging different parts of our brains and personalities, which don’t get enough attention in the schedule of life.

As a business leader, the importance of taking a mental health day is twofold. By doing so yourself, you’re setting the example to your staff: this is how we’re doing things. This matters. If we can do it, so can you.

Also, fundamentally, taking that day off – as difficult, in some cases near-impossible as it may seem to do sometimes – is going to help. It’s going to give you time to reflect; to become a more happy, healthy leader. The betterment of your own mental health is akin to that of your team.

Trust us – they will thank you for it later.

We love what we do here at NLG; our team is a passionate one. We find jobs for people which we know they too will be passionate about. But, much as you may love the job you do, it’s crucial to step away regularly, if not often. To reflect, refresh, reenergize. To remember why you do what you do, and what about it you love.

If this resonates with you, here’s the go ahead to give yourself a break. If you run a team or business and this inspires you to take a day for yourself, or to encourage your team to do so, let us know. Hopefully we’ve provided at least someone out there with a simple reminder: mental health matters.