How often do you spend at your workplace and how engaged are you at work. Do you find your work involved that you sometimes lose it?
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Stress is part of human life and we are all prone to feel worn out or exhausted about going to work once in a while.
We may feel like the workloads are too much and our bosses aren’t fair to us.
Truth is no matter what happens we are humans and we break down at a certain point in time and that should be seen as a normal experience.
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It however becomes problematic when it persists and turns into something more serious than normal stress. Depression can set in.
Dealing with depression while at work can be close to impossible. That is this article will serve as a resource for knowing about depression at work and how to deal with it.
Table of Contents
What Is Work Depression?
Work depression is the persistent or prolonged feelings of sadness or low moods at the workplace. This may be due to some factors.
Depression does not only come out of the workload at a workplace. The environment also counts at certain times.
If the environment is not welcoming it can create a sense of being uncomfortable and this can result in mental conditions such as sadness, loss of motivation, anxiety, and difficulty in concentrating in the workplace.
Depression impacts over 17 million American adults each year.
According to the data collected from the State of Mental Health in America, the number of people seeking help for depression increased significantly from 2019 to 2020.
Signs Of Depression
A lot of things at the workplace can lead to depression at work. The depressed victims may show some signs of depression at the workplace. Some of these signs include;
- Loss of interest in tasks at work.
- Inability to concentrate on work and perform assigned responsibilities at work
- Feeling useless and worthless at work. This may result in not doing things right at work. The company can be at loss due to this
- Poor customer service due to lack of concentration.
- Persistent and prolonged feelings of sadness and low mood
- Lack of motivation to carry out responsibilities
- Low self-esteem
- Poor self-hygiene
- Isolation from work colleagues
- Procrastinating and the missing deadline for activities
- Coming to work late
- Less or no effort at work
- Forgetfulness
- Getting angry over little things
- Being overwhelmed
- Getting too emotional over unnecessary things
- Stress
- Lack of confidence
- Disappointments
- Attempting suicide
Factors That Causes Depression At Workplace.
- Stress
- Persistent workloads
- Lack of communication
- Inconsistent teamwork. Poor teamwork can lead to poor work and negative results
- No understanding
- Poor decision making
- Working in a toxic work environment
- Discrimination in the workplace
- Lacking balance between work and home
- Poor or unsafe working conditions
- Working without benefitting
- Low work payment
- No added value
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), a negative working environment can result in;
- Absenteeism
- Lost productivity
- Mental and physical health concerns
- Increased substance abuse
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Can Depression Make You Unable To Work? I Am Too Depressed At Work.
Depression deals with the mental organs and if you are experiencing depression you undergo a series of changes that changes your behavior and mental pattern.
This may affect your response to work and the responsibilities assigned to you at work. The environment could also play a part in this feeling and it may be very difficult to cope with work and depression at the same time.
Differences Between Work Stress And Work Depression
Most people confuse work stress to work depression. Both are not the same even though they may look or have similar traits. It is important to know the differences, however.
Work stress decreases in intensity when the stressor passes and occasional bouts of feeling anxious and irritable. It also causes muscle tension and headaches.
While work depression increases the feeling of sadness and crying all the time.
It also causes a persistent feeling of anxiety and a lack of focus and concentration. You may sometimes feel bored and not fulfilled in your job.
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Is It Okay To Call Off Work For Mental Health?
Mental health is a key to successful work done and progress. You need to be mentally fit to work out responsibilities at work.
Therefore it is very important to seek mental help or support if you are going through depression at work.
Ways To Deal With Work Depression
It may look difficult to have to deal with depression personally but you should have in mind that when you get what you want when you work towards it or put in an effort.
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Apart from seeking medical support, here are some ways you can deal with work depression at home or the workplace.
- Practice 5 minutes of mindfulness meditation in the morning before stepping out to the workplace.
- Try to have some fun after a long week’s work. Embrace the new opportunities and new ways of doing things. This adds up to your ability to make work easier than it used to be.
- Talk to a friend about your depression. A friend who is outside of your workplace.
- Step away from the working screen when stress or anxiety is detected. Don’t feel you have to finish the work at all course so you will stay and do all before anything else. No, that alone can cause you a great deal of care isn’t taken. It may even result in poor work done. You must be able to identify your energy level and work toward/according to it.
- Go in for jobs that match your mental and physical energy.
- Find value in the job you are going in for.
Is Depression A Protected Disability?
The good news is that an employee is eligible for FMLA benefits.
What Is An FMLA?
This is the Family and Medical Leave Act that legally provides employees with 12 weeks of unpaid leave every calendar year, for meeting a certain agreement.
FMLA protects individuals who are drug addicts by securing their job even as they seek treatment from rehab.
With the FMLA, you can decide not to tell anyone about taking time, you choose to or not to and it all depends on you.
An employee benefits from FMLA if;
- The company has more than 50 employees.
- For the past 12 months, they have worked for a minimum of 1,250 hours
- They have worked in the company for at least one full year.
There is also the ADA. The Americans with Disabilities is a federal law that protects employees who are faced with physical, mental, or psychological challenges.
Under this law, an employee takes a leave for treatment without being fired.
In Summary
Work depression can make you lose focus and centration at work leading to low productivity and other mental condition.
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It is normal to feel stress at a point but when it becomes normal, you should seek mental attention as soon as possible.
FAQ
Can Depression Make You Not Want To Go To Work?
If you're going through a depressive episode, you could discover that your lack of energy or exhaustion makes it difficult to get through the workday. Disruption of mental processes may indicate a restricted attention span. It may make it difficult to accomplish work or meet deadlines.
What To Do When Your Job Is Depressing You?
What can you do if you're depressed at work? Take a 10-minute break from your workstation or workplace. Take a lunch break and get some fresh air. Take a brisk stroll during a break - even if it's indoors, exercise is beneficial to mental health. Take a day for your mental wellness. Spend a few minutes practicing mindfulness meditation.
Can Your Job Make You Depressed?
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