Depression is one of the most common mental illnesses in the United States. It affects almost 7% of American adults alone – that’s more than 16 million people – each year. In addition to this, only a third or so of those suffering from depression will seek out treatment for this condition. Depression is very real, and can be very serious – it can severely impact one’s day-to-day functioning. This is sometimes most obvious in the workplace, where productivity is extremely important. These facts about depression for managers can help you identify it and properly respond to it.

Facts About Depression for Managers

As a manager, you may ask yourself, “What am I supposed to do about it?” While it is true that employers are not responsible for the diagnosis or treatment of depression, it is absolutely your duty to recognize issues that may be negatively impacting your employees’ productivity – and to take whatever steps you feel are necessary to improve the situation.

So you want to help out any employees possibly suffering from depression (and recognize it in yourself if that is a concern!). The first step is to learn what depression looks like. That can be tricky – depression is notorious about presenting in different ways depending on the person and individual situations. It’s a lot more complicated than someone looking ‘sad’ – although a constant sad look can be a sign! Keep in mind that many people with depression don’t even realize that they have it – they assume there’s a different reason for their symptoms, or think their mood is just the norm.

Here, however, are the most common signs of depression: if any of these signs last more than 2 weeks, you may consider stepping in and having a word with your employee.

Fatigue
Unhappiness
Forgetfulness
Irritability
Indecisiveness
Lack of enthusiasm
Restlessness
Slowness
Changes in appetite
Feelings of worthlessness

As a manager, you should also ask yourself: am I doing everything in my power to make the work environment a positive and happy place? Contrary to popular belief, ruling over employees with an iron fist is not the way to success – it has been proven time and again that open-mindedness and empathy is the way to not only ensure that your employees enjoy the work they do, but to keep productivity at a maximum.

Avoiding Workplace Depression

Keep your work conditions as pleasant as possible, allow your employees to voice their thoughts and opinions, engage with them in a positive manner as often as possible, and make it clear that you are there to help and support as a leader – not a dictator. Educate them on the importance of a healthy mindset, and encourage them to seek help if they feel they need it. Learn how to be comfortable with starting a conversation about mental health – make it less of a taboo topic!

Above all, pay attention to your employees. They are people, every bit as complicated as yourself. If you are attuned to your employees, you are far more likely to recognize something like depression in a person, rather than simply seeing subpar work productivity and assuming the employee possesses a bad work ethic or is inherently lazy.

Building a Positive Environment

Depression is an unpleasant and costly problem to ignore. You should care about the mental wellness of your employees. Do so and you will start to see the benefits of a mentally fit, positive workplace. With treatment, employees suffering from depression often see huge boosts in productivity. This includes (but is not limited to) more than a 50% decrease in absenteeism from depressive episodes!