How to ask for extended time off?

Question

I'm in a difficult situation right now and feel I need some time off to recover and manage, but am also concerned with optics.

I've been interviewing for new roles recently and spent my time off over the holidays (~2 weeks) preparing for a particularly stressful onsite interview. The team I was originally interviewing with no longer has an opening and I'm stuck waiting for headcount to open up and find a new team.

The stress of this situation has been taking a toll on me mentally and physically, and I've been dealing with a lot of health issues over the last month. I think it would be best for me to take at least a couple of weeks off to help reduce my stress and focus on maintaining my health. This isn't extremely extended, but amounts to more like a month off when factoring the recent 2 weeks off for the holidays.

After writing this out, it seems more cut-and-dry that I need to just ask and cite the health issues. I'd be curious to hear how others have navigated asking for extended time off.

Rahul Pandey · Accepted Answer

Yep, I think being candid about your mental health struggle and figuring out a transition plan makes sense. I'd come into the conversation with your manager with the answer already decided (you're not asking for permission), but you're trying to be a good teammate in terms of timing and transitioning your work while you're out.

In big companies, you'd be surprised how often this happens (it's just not talked about that often), and there's a pretty well-documented path to proceed.
At a small company (not sure how large your series B company is), the process might be more ad-hoc.

There may be some way to figure out the optimal timing to maximize pay / ability to switch teams in a series B company. If it's easy for you to casually talk to others on the team, you could consider that. But given the paramount importance of your health, I wouldn't worry about this.

How to ask for extended time off?

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