Member Article

What HR Can Do to Fight Depression in the Workplace

Nobody is safe from mental problems. Just like our physical health, our mental health can undergo its weakest moments, too. What is bothering is the increasing number of mental health issues, especially in the workplace.

It is not hard to think why. We spend many hours at work that our jobs can affect our wellbeing. There are different cases of mental problems that are observed in the workplace. However, a certain mental health issue stands out from others.

According to Great Britain’s Office for National Statistics, 1 in 6 workers is dealing with a mental health problem such as anxiety, depression or stress. The number continues to grow. In 2012, a survey reflected that 44% of employers have increased mental health problems in just a year. Most of the participants said that job insecurity causes serious stress. This issue cannot be ignored.

Depression is the most common mental health issue in the workplace. One in 10 individuals is affected by this condition, a great amount, which could lead to serious consequences.

What is depression?

A large portion of the population is diagnosed with clinical depression. In fact, 1 in every 4 people in the UK is affected by this mental health problem.

Symptoms of depression range from persistent weeks of gloom, to life-threatening thoughts and behavior. A person with depression either finds it difficult to perform tasks, or cannot function at all. There are different cases of depression, but the most severe cases can affect the person on how they feel, think, sleep, eat, and work.

Some employees who suffer from depression may find it hard to find the motivation to do tasks, including getting to work on time. They are frequently irritated, frustrated, or they find it difficult to make decisions.

Most of the depressed individuals are not comfortable in sharing their thoughts or feelings. Thus, their actions have typically misinterpreted that root from laziness or unprofessionalism.

The root of depression varies. However, the usual culprits are medications, stress, lack of sleep, life events, or physical conditions. Work related factors such as fear of losing jobs, redundancy, working in extremely long hours, dealing with difficult people or situations, or unreasonable targets may cause or worsen depression.

Though it’s usually rare to get a depressed person to talk about his condition, it is essential to perform steps to address the issue. Workers who are suffering from depression, when offered help, can make valuable contributions to the organization, too.

A workplace that supports mental wellness

Any smart employer knows the significance of mental wellness in the organization. They are fully aware that the mental health of the staff can affect the performance of the organization as a whole. Thus, they are proactive in nurturing each person’s mental health.

Positively supporting mental wellness is one efficient way to achieve this goal. Strong bonds between staff and leaders result in better productivity, profitability and commitment to work. A public sector proved that encouraging mental health results in better customer service, and better outcomes.

A group called Mind has been taking steps to promote mental wellness in the workplace. They created the campaign ‘Taking Care of Business’, which helps and teaches employers how to promote mental health within organizations.

Mind provides tools as well as techniques to target this aim. They created a three-pronged approach to ensure that mental wellness is encouraged among workers. These steps will help employers in managing the cognitive health of their staff: first, they raise awareness regarding mental wellbeing. Second, they tackle every possible work-related roots of mental issues. Third, they make sure that workers who are having mental issues are receiving support.

What HR can do

One of the major roles of HR is communicating with all the people in the organization. Thus, to resolve any issues regarding mental health, HR can give the biggest contributions. HR could give support to employees who are having mental health issues, whether they are at work, off work or about to return to work.

Talking with employees through an open dialogue is the most effective way to encourage the employees to share. This way, a system of support may be developed that can improve the understanding between employers and employees.

Handling people correctly, and practicing an open communication are some of the most effective steps that HR can do. To achieve these goals, HR may consider doing the following:

• Motivate the people to talk HR can encourage people to share what they feel and think by creating an environment where it’s comfortable to talk. Ask open questions, or disclose a similar diagnose mental health problem if the situation requires. When creating an open environment, it’s important to focus on the person, not the problem. Be interested in what causes their distress, and offer help for the issue.
• Never assume Don’t make assumptions that a person who suffers from mental conditions won’t be able to perform well. Many employees with mental health issues are able to manage their tasks, and still produce high quality work.
• Assure confidentiality The HR must know that confidentiality is crucial when handling information about a person’s mental health. It’s vital to value confidentiality, as it’s a major factor of trust between HR and employees. Failing to do so may negatively impact the person’s mental condition.
• Develop an action plan Responding effectively is paramount when handling people with mental health issues. Anyone can have mental issues, and these are different people with different cases. To make sure that HR is offering an efficient response, creating a personalized action plan for each individual could lend great contributions.

Creating an action plan

The HR and managers can work together when developing action plans to encourage mental health wellness in the workplace. The goal of the action plan must be to detect work-related triggers of mental problems, and seek resolutions to counteract the issues.

The plan must contain:

• Work-related causes and early symptoms
• How the person’s mental health issue can affect his performance
• What the employees and managers must do for the issue

Adjustments in the workplace

Adjustments in the workplace are necessary if an employee is suffering from a mental health problem such as depression. These adjustments could be about changes in attitude or culture, which would not require costing. Example of adjustments may include:

• Permitting flexible hours
• Change of work area
• Temporary or permanent changes in work responsibilities
• Changing the usual break times
• Providing quiet rooms where workers can spend time alone

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by The Stark SEO .