It’s 2022 and depressed employees are now more common than ever. Regardless of the reasons behind depression, an employee may be compromising a lot on their productivity and potential and also on their health. Depression may not necessarily arise from the nature of the job itself but it could be due to the environment and other external factors that may worsen circumstances for those who are already depressed.
If you or your colleagues are going through signs of depression, we suggest you seek immediate assistance or reach out to a professional.
This article will go over some of the symptoms that indicate you may be depressed at your workplace.
You’re always procrastinating
There may be several reasons why you’re probably feeling gloomy. This could be due to financial constraints, family/marital problems or academic problems, or issues at work, regardless of what is triggering your mood, you may experience mood swings and the inability to concentrate.
Lack of focus due to your mind being consistently preoccupied with negative thoughts could be a sign that you are depressed. Depending on how negative those thoughts might be could even indicate how depressed an individual may be.
You may even experience increased levels of anxiety, especially when you are shifting back and forth between tasks, and may still be thinking of work even if you’re away from your workplace.
You feel lethargic
If you’ve been feeling quite lazy lately, it may probably be because of your routine or sleep patterns. However, if you still feel like you lack energy even after getting sufficient hours of sleep and rest, it could probably be due to depression. Depression is infamous for triggering loss of motivation and to do just about anything in life, and that includes work or executing tasks properly and on time.
Your loss of motivation could lead to boredom in tasks and you may be unable to complete or do anything that your job requires you to do. Being lazy is also often accompanied by feelings of guilt, loneliness, worthlessness, or helplessness.
If you’re feeling too lazy to get anything done, you should consult a professional or speak to one of your trustworthy colleagues. You could also opt to ask your boss if you could have a few days off to yourself or if the burden at work could be shared temporarily.
You must take some time off as it could worsen your health and you may even commit the same mistakes over and over again.
You stay isolated
Staying isolated and enjoying being alone could be because you prefer privacy or that you may be an introvert, however, if you’ve gone from being social to an anti-social all of a sudden it may be a sign that you are depressed. An individual that is depressed may avoid meeting people and crowded areas. They prefer staying in their own space where they are often lost in their thoughts. If you or your colleague may have been avoiding your circle lately, a good idea may be to check on them just to ensure everything is okay.
Staying isolated for too long can cause one to develop negative thoughts while also believing that they may be lonely. A light-hearted conversation or meeting up with colleagues every day is good enough to keep one motivated at work and is also a great way to show compassion for one another.
You develop bad eating habits
Unhealthy eating habits could also be a reason why you may be feeling lazy or ill during working hours, but it could also trigger your depression in case you may already be suffering from it. Experiencing a loss in appetite or developing an eating disorder could be because you are depressed. By that, we do not mean skipping meals for a few days, but something a lot worse when you start to notice a sharp increase or decrease in weight
You notice changes in your health
Untreated depression can go as far as you experiencing a decline in your overall mental and physical health, and in worse cases, it may even be fatal. If headaches, fatigue, upset stomach, increased frustration levels, and irritability have increased for you in the past few days or weeks, you should seek medical assistance.
Depression is a serious concern in workplaces. Employers must give out mental health improvement training and sessions now and then to encourage employees to speak out against any discrimination or issues they may have while they are at work.
