If you find it difficult to motivate yourself to go to work, or you're finding yourself consistently feeling low on the job, you could be dealing with workplace depression. Let’s examine some causes.
Causes of workplace depression
- The wrong fit: If you feel very strongly you're working a job that you shouldn't be in, you can begin to feel trapped, and depressed.
- Feeling trapped: “This happens when you're working in a job you dislike, but feel you can't leave. It could be that you feel you must work here in order to pay your rent, or to keep up appearances. Either way, it can cause you harm,” says Allen Miller, an HR manager at Paper Fellows.
- Working parent guilt: You want to be spending valuable time with your children, but you must work to keep a roof over your family's head. Keeping the balance is difficult.
- Financial issues: If your pay is too low, it can cause you to feel stress and worry, which can lead to depression.
- Unreasonable demands: Say you have to work more and more overtime. If this keeps happening, it can interfere with your home life. This poor balance will lead to feelings of depression in many people.
- Bullying at work: Amber Coburn, a recruiter from Essayroo company comments, “Workplace bullying is a real problem, and it's only getting worse as many workers don't report that it's happening. If you're being made to feel worthless or small at work, then this can easily lead into depression.”
- Low morale: If your hard work is being ignored, low morale is a big contributor to workplace depression.
How to prevent depression
Here are strategies that you can try:
Recognize when you're becoming depressed: Depression looks different to a bad day at work. You'll find you're dreading going into work, may become tearful while in the workplace, and find it difficult to interact with anyone.
Try and get peer support: If you get on with somebody in the office well, see if you can talk to them about what's happening. Talking can help you get your problems into perspective.
Get help: If you were physically ill, you'd seek out help, and the same goes if you're suffering with depression. Look into speaking with a therapist or other professional about your problems.
Decide whether to tell your boss: Not everyone has the best relationship with their boss; it could be what's contributing to your depression. If you can, though, share what's happening with them. They'll be grateful to know how you are, and they can start making changes to help you out at work.
Try and take care of yourself: “When you're suffering with depression, it's easy to let your self-care go south. Get enough to eat, and try to get a good eight hours of sleep every night,” says Thomas Reed, an Organizational Psychologist at Ukwritings.
