Workplace Depression: What Every Employer Must Understand

The health of your workforce is always a fragile matter. Employee health of a company influences operational efficiency and success to a huge extent. Therefore, it is imperative for employers to handle this aspect with maximum care and attention. Be it physical or mental health.

While the first is easy to spot, the latter isn’t. When it comes to mental health, most employers are oblivious to its adverse effects. This neglect has given rise to many mental illnesses, one being workplace depression.

Since the pandemic, 81 percent of organizations have started to take employee wellness seriously. After all, just like the saying, "With crisis comes clarity."

So, the question here is, what causes depression at work? The reality is that many employees fall prey to depressive disorders due to the toxic work environment. Also, stress at work is escapable. Some employees survive just fine. However, some employees end up battling depression.

Work-induced depression is becoming a big concern by the minute. It is one of the many factors that can impact a business negatively. So, employers should take steps to manage and prevent depression at work (both for the company and employee well-being).

In this blog, we will dive into everything you need about workplace depression. Let's begin with the statistics.

Depression in the workplace statistics

Reports suggest that 60 percent of the world's population is employed. Out of 60 percent, around 14 to 15 percent of employed individuals are reported to have mental health troubles.

Depression is the silent killer of not only productivity and employee health but also the working environment. This is a problem that requires immediate attention to prevent it. As employers, you must keep a watchful eye out for this drastic mental health issue.

For this, you must understand certain necessary points regarding the matter.

What are the signs of depression in the workplace?

Depression is a mental health issue when someone suffers from the following symptoms for more than two weeks. These symptoms involve the feelings of

• Sadness
• Lack of interest in activities that previously brought pleasure
• Lack of focus
• Insomnia
• Mental block at work
• Fatigue
• Restlessness
• Guilt
• Thoughts of self-harm

Below are some of the early signs or symptoms of depression at work.

• Withdrawal of an employee from their peers is one of the first signs of impending depression. It can be the complete unwillingness to participate in activities or engage with anyone at the office.
• Employees with declining productivity and interest in office activities are also signs of depression at work.
• Expression of guilt and the constant feeling of hopelessness with any hurdle along the way.
• Self-esteem taking a hit at work.
• Continually putting off work, irritable behavior, restlessness, frustration, and being cut out are some more common signs of depression.

These are a few of the signs that employees show while fighting workplace depression. If you see such workplace depression symptoms, you must take the following corrective measures immediately.

Suggetsed read: 5 Ways to Overcome a Mental Block at Work

What Triggers Depression at Work?

Toxic work culture:

A toxic work culture is when employees face bullying, discrimination, favoritism, or any other form of embarrassment. Peers subtly bullying new joiners or other peers under the context of ice breaking is a common trigger behind workplace depression.

Unrealistic workload:

Management expects their employees to do their best at work all the time. With this, they end up allotting an undesirable amount of workload. This causes the employees to panic and stress about meeting deadlines.

Unreasonable demands at the office for deadlines, rules, overtime, and workplace stress disconnect an employee from the outer world. This takes a toll on the freedom of the employee and may cause depression.

Lack of work-life balance:

Every now and then, we see in the news about organizations announcing work hours of 14 hours or more. Coming across such news itself is upsetting. However, the real struggle is faced by employees working long hours in such organizations.

Working more than 9 hours means the employees will have no window for personal time. This ultimately leads to job dissatisfaction, which contributes to workplace depression.

Related reading: Can a 6-Hour Workday Schedule Boost Employee Well-Being, Productivity & Work-life Balance?

Unhealthy competition among peers:

Humans have an innate nature to be competitive in any situation. The feeling that one gets on being the number 1 is out of the world.

This is usually a good nature to nurture, as this is how we can move up the corporate ladder. But, sometimes, the need and desire to be at the top may take a wrong turn for some.

This leads to unhealthy competition at work and unnecessary stress. In the worst-case scenario, amidst all this, some people develop feelings of depression.

How do you deal with depression in the workplace?

1. Awareness

You must spread awareness of this problem in your office. Educate your staff on the matter and urge them to come forward for help. You can achieve this through seminars with health professionals at your office.

2. Resources

You should have proper resources lined up to fight workplace depression whenever it may arise. These can be depression screenings of your employees, telephonic help on demand when required, employee counseling, etc. These are a few of the resources you must have at the office.

3. Talking to your workforce

You should also talk to your employees from time to time. If you find employees suffering from depression, don't attempt to diagnose them, as said earlier. Just talk to them and see what's bothering them. Be supportive and concerned without being judgmental.

4. Working Environment

You should also invest in improving the working environment by making it calm and relaxing. A great idea here is to develop a workplace to be in terms of ecotherapy. It can lift an individual's mood and help alleviate stress.

A few suggestions include having plants around the office, an aquarium, full-spectrum light bulbs, a personalized workspace, healthy snacks at work, a step tracker, etc. You can also organize fun Friday games to lighten up the employees' mood.

5. Act Quickly

Lastly, the most important strategy here is to act quickly. Whenever you see or suspect someone battling a mental health condition, act immediately. For that matter, be quick to adopt these strategies as preventive measures, too.

These are the strategies that you must use against depression at work.

Impact of Workplace Depression on Employees Health and Productivity

The mind and the body are interconnected. In fact, studies show that stressful emotions can decrease the body's immunity.

So, depression, being a mood disorder, can impact the entire body's functioning. It can cause many health issues, from joint pain to changes in appetite. Moreover, depression affects productivity. It can even shatter a person's zeal to show up at work.

This disorder impacts a person's ability to concentrate, motivation, and even decision-making skills. As you can see, these are all necessary for an employee to function productively.

Reports suggest depression costs employers a whopping $44 billion each year due to lost productivity.

How can employers create a supportive work environment?

Employers can bring in particular changes to create a safe and supportive work environment. Below are some changes to integrate:

Foster a positive work culture

Keeping transparency about the organization's ethics and goals is a stepping stone towards a positive work culture. Management should encourage open communication among all and bash the existing workspace stigmas. Giving employees a decent duration to have a lunch break will do wonders.

Promote work-life balance

Employees nowadays prioritize organizations that respect the concept of work-life balance. Offering flexible working hours and arrangements is a great way to create a comforting workspace for all.

Additionally, perks like mental health day off and no overtime policy can assure employees that they are being taken care of.

Providing resources for employees struggling with mental health

Employees should have easy access to resources to help them during stressful times. An in-house or remote workplace counselor is something worth investing in this regard. Additionally, offering employees yoga classes or other fitness memberships can help create a supportive workspace.

Suggested reading: How Workplace Counseling Can Transform Work Life?

Resources for Support

Mental health worries should not be taken lightly. If not taken care of on time, the condition may worsen, causing major depression. So, if you come across someone who seems to be going through a rough patch at work or if you are looking to help your employees in this regard, then follow the list below.

Here, you will find resources that will offer mental health professional support and more:

• Workplace wellness

• Depression

• Mental health counselling

Final Words

Workplace depression is an issue, and a growing one at that. Given the harsh implications that it has in the workplace, it must be dealt with swiftly. As employers, you must take care of this raging health issue. Your employees may be already affected or vulnerable to it.

So, it’s high time to take action and prevent work-induced depression as much as possible. While this will take time, it is not unattainable. With time and effort, this silent killer of the work culture will perish if proper actions are taken.