More than 300 million people suffer from depression globally. Many of those suffering from depression also suffer from anxiety. According to a research by WHO, both depression and anxiety cost $1 trillion to the US economy.
Depression is a widespread problem in the workplace as it costs employers billions of dollars. Finding out if an employee is truly depressed is a challenging task for any manager. Given the workload that they have to deal with, most managers don’t have the time to closely observe the actions of an employee.
Usually management takes cue from fellow employees that notice changes in the behaviour of a person and shows symptoms of depression. However, according to psychologists absenteeism and presenteeism are common symptoms that all depressed employees display.
Absenteeism is when an employee stays away from work at the slightest excuse, and presenteeism when an employee works for more hours than required. The insecurity of losing the job and the anxiety that comes with it is one of the major reasons for growing cases of presenteeism in the industry.
Once an employee shows these signs for an extended period, the management should intervene before the situation escalates into something serious.
What Should You Do?
First and foremost, stay away from making assumptions that the employee will get over the phase on his/her own. Sometimes people are not aware that they are suffering from depression, the sooner you take action, the sooner the employee will be able to take help.
Call in the employee and question the decline in performance. When having such discussions it is imperative to take the employees aside to ensure no one can overhear the conversation. Look to protect the privacy of the employee while being as diplomatic and specific as possible.
Now that you have the employee in a position where they feel comfortable talking, you should carry on the conversation without making any assumptions. Listen to the concerns of the employees and don’t make clichéd comments like “it will all work out”, for a depressed person it does not work out.
Additionally, you should also not try to diagnose the problem during the conversation. Your job is to recognize that there is something wrong with the employee while steering them to a helpful resource.
Show them love and respect, tell them how much you and your team values team. Encourage them to talk with someone and reach out to available resources to help them feel better.
Once the employee starts getting the help he/she needs it is imperative to develop a strategy to manage their mental well-being at work. The plan should also involve officials from the HR and counselors in the company.
The purpose of the plan should be to identify workplace triggers and warning signs. The plan should also include actions that you can take to intervene and help the employee in giving the performance you expect from him/her.
