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If you\u2019re burned out, stuck in a toxic job, and too financially stretched to just quit, TikTok has a suggestion: Take medical leave.\u00a0Instead of quiet quitting or burning through PTO, a growing corner of the internet is advising workers to take up to 12 weeks off\u2014fully protected and, depending on your benefits, even paid.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you have a full-time job with benefits and you are really struggling with your mental health, take FMLA (Family and Medical Leave Act),\u201d one TikToker, @lexi.inks, told her followers in a viral video.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The former kindergarten teacher took FMLA during a period of severe mental health crisis, enrolling in a 10-week intensive therapy program that she says \u201cliterally saved my life.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Under FMLA, eligible full-time employees in the U.S. can take up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave per year for a serious health condition\u2014and crucially, that includes burnout and mental health. In the U.K., workers can use Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) for up to 28 weeks.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And some workers say they\u2019re even getting paid while they decompress and job hunt. Lexi, for example, claimed short-term disability allowance while she was off\u2014and by the time she was due to return to work 12 weeks later, she\u2019d had another job lined up. \u00a0<\/p>\n
But others (like this TikToker) are openly admitting to abusing the system and using medical leave as bonus PTO days.<\/p>\n
Using medical leave as a vacation might raise red flags, says HR<\/p>\n
Seven weeks into medical leave for her mental health, one TikTok user filmed herself hiking picturesque mountains. Her comment section sparked outrage. But she\u2019s not alone\u2014many of these videos are full of workers treating the FMLA less as a mental health resource and more as a workplace loophole to legally buy more time off.<\/p>\n
As one TikToker put it: \u201cTake the FMLA, take the disability, take you a break\u2026 There\u2019s so many people out here who are going on FMLA and using that time as like a nonpaid PTO vacation.\u201d<\/p>\n
And according to a HR consultant who weighed in, what they\u2019re doing isn\u2019t technically illegal. Just because someone looks okay on the outside\u2014and is posting from a beautiful nature trail on TikTok\u2014doesn\u2019t actually mean they weren\u2019t genuinely struggling when they filed.<\/p>\n
\u201cVery generally, you can take vacations and actually have fun even if you\u2019re on FMLA,\u201d the creator @hr_explained explains. \u201cIf you take FMLA because you have mental health struggles or you just had a baby or many other reasons, you are allowed to have fun. You\u2019re allowed to take a vacation, and it is not considered FMLA abuse.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The only time it would raise a red flag with HR, she says, is if your leave reason and your activity are obviously incompatible\u2014if you claimed you\u2019d broken your leg, for instance, and then posted a skiing video. That would raise eyebrows and invite an investigation from your employer. <\/p>\n
FMLA does not fix a toxic workplace<\/p>\n
To be clear: taking FMLA for genuine mental health reasons is entirely legitimate. The law has covered mental health conditions since its inception in 1993. Burnout, severe anxiety, or stress caused directly by a toxic workplace can qualify, as long as a healthcare provider signs off.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Creator @theanonymousemployee, whose video on FMLA and toxic workplaces has racked up over 101,000 likes, stresses this point.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf your job is causing severe stress, anxiety, (or) burnout\u2014and your healthcare provider agrees\u2014FMLA may be an option for you to protect your job while you take some time off or while you update your r\u00e9sum\u00e9 and go look for something,\u201d she says. \u201cFMLA does not fix the toxic workplace but it can give you that space and that time to breathe, to heal, to plan without the fear of immediate termination. It\u2019s going to protect you for the time off, it\u2019s not about being weak or lazy or trying to scam the system\u2014that\u2019s not what it\u2019s about.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her advice: document everything, see your healthcare provider, and know your rights before your body (or mental health) makes the decision for you.<\/p>\n
Her advice resonated. One commenter on @theanonymousemployee\u2019s video summed up how it played out for them: \u201cI took FMLA from a toxic job for 2 months, came back with 2 weeks\u2019 notice and a new job!\u201d<\/p>\n
At the Fortune Workplace Innovation Summit, Fortune 500 leaders will convene to explore the defining questions shaping the workforce of the future\u2014delivering bold ideas, powerful connections, and actionable insights for building resilient organizations for the decade ahead. Join Fortune May 19\u201320 in Atlanta. Register now.
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#Burnedout #workers #medical #leave #vacation #escape #toxic #bosses<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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