Workplace Depression is Real and Here’s How to Deal With It!

Depression is among the most common mental health issues around the world, especially in the US. According to statistical figures, around 16 million adults in the United States are suffering from depression, and surprisingly, most of them are currently at the prime working years of their life. By using this data, the median age at which depressive disorder of a major kind arises in US adults stands at 32.5 years as of now.

While at this age people are busy climbing the corporate ladder, trying to excel at their jobs to secure good promotions or better-paying jobs in the future, the onset of depression can make it all very difficult. With depression your concentration levels significantly decrease, you start experiencing consistent fatigue, and everyday tasks start to seem too overwhelming. Although workplace stress also results in similar symptoms, however you know you have a problem when these symptoms don’t end as soon as you leave the workplace and start impacting your personal life.

Depression is among the most common mental health issues around the world, especially in the US

The Case Against Depression

Although it may seem like depression is a personal issue, it should actually be a national concern. According to research conducted by Mental Health America, absenteeism resulting as a direct consequence of employees experiencing clinical depression incurs a loss of up to $51 billion to the US economy because of loss in productivity. On a personal level, persistent depression can have a domino effect and ruin your entire career.

However, it is never too late to fight depression and emerge victorious, although just like any other medical condition, it is recommended that you seek help. The following tips offer a good place to start.

According to research conducted by Mental Health America, absenteeism resulting as a direct consequence of employees experiencing clinical depression incurs a loss of up to $51 billion to the US economy

Have a Conversation with your Boss

We understand why you want to keep your mental health issues a secret, especially from your boss: you are afraid that they would perceive you as weak and therefore incompetent to perform your job well. This is a very common perception, and also rather incorrect. To do your job well, you need an environment at the workplace which is conducive to productivity, and what seems to work for most may not work for you.

Besides, if you don’t speak up now, your job performance will eventually start to decline (if it hasn’t already) and your performance at the workplace will come under question anyway. So, it’s better to be pro-active, and schedule a meeting with either your boss or the human resource department in your organization to speak to them about your mental health.

The purpose of this conversation is to help them understand what kind of problems you are going through, and also what kind of adjustments to your schedule or the workplace environment need to be made in order to ensure your performance does not suffer because of your condition.

Think About Your Well-being

Convincing yourself to work-out or eat a cleaner diet may not be easy if you are depressed, but forcing yourself to do these things will help your mind cope with everything in a much better way. Apart from these, getting the right amount of sleep at night, and meeting with the people you love or socializing with new ones on a regular basis are also some of the most recommended ways to cope with the onset of depression as well as anxiety.

Plan Your Day

The onset of depression may be triggered due to a sustained belief that you are not good enough, or that the effort you put into anything does not translate into the results you expect. To improve your performance as well as your evaluation of your performance, it is always recommended that you arrange your tasks according to priority and then schedule them in a manner that you also incorporate a few breaks in between to clam your mind.

With projects that are large in size, psychologists recommend that you break them down into smaller projects and then schedule them in a manner that you know exactly what component of the project you need done at what time and also get an estimate of when you should be able to complete your project.