Mental disorders are one of the main causes of absenteeism in Brazil. The aim of the present study was to describe the occurrence of mental and behavioral disorders (MBD) among federal civil servants, present the data to managers and suggest measures to reduce absenteeism in this population.In the present cross-sectional study performed from January through December 2016 we analyzed medical records of employees at a public institution in the state of Ceará, Northeastern Brazil, who were granted sick leaves for MBD. The data were obtained from the Integrated Subsystem of Workers' Health Care (Subsistema Integrado de Atenção à Saúde do Servidor - SIASS) platform and the Federal Government's Transparency Portal.Mental disorders were the main cause of sick leaves along the analyzed period. Ninety-two employees were away from work for this reason, corresponding to 3% of the institution's employees and accounting for 5,081 working days lost. Mood and stress-related disorders were the most frequent causes of sick leaves. Mental disorders due to psychoactive substance use and physiological disturbances accounted for longest average number of sick leave days per employee.The results reinforce the notion that mental health and work are indissociable in regard to productivity and efficiency within federal public service. The institution's management backed the creation of a multidisciplinary service of psychological support for employees on sick leave.