At some time everyone might experience the blues or feel down and not quite themselves. But when the bad days start outnumbering the good ones, and an employee begins to have attendance and performance issues, then this employee might have depression. Depression is a serious medical condition that affects nearly 15 million adults each year. It’s one of the top three workplace issues impacting employers each year and costs businesses $83 billion annually (SAMSHA). The symptoms of depression include:
- Persistently sad or irritable mood
- Pronounced changes in sleep, appetite, and energy
- Difficulty thinking, concentrating, and remembering
- Physical slowing or agitation
- Lack of interest in or pleasure from activities that were once enjoyed
- Feelings of guilt, worthlessness, hopelessness, and emptiness
- Recurrent thoughts of death or suicide
- Persistent physical symptoms that do not respond to treatment, such as headaches, digestive disorders, and chronic pain (Source: http://nami.org/)
Depression can be treated: Medication and psychotherapy can rehabilitate more than 80% of those diagnosed with this condition. Diet and exercise can promote a healthy lifestyle to combat the effects of depression. You can provide a number of workplace accommodations to help employees with depression perform their job. Job Accommodation Network (www.jan.wvu.edu ) Lead Consultant Kendra Duckworth, M.S., recommends specific steps for dealing with depression-related problems.
Stamina during the Workday:
- Provide flexible scheduling
- Allow longer or more frequent work breaks
- Let the employee work from home during part of the day or week
- Provide part-time work schedules
Concentration:
- Reduce distractions in the work area
- Provide space enclosures or a private office
- Permit the use of “white noise” or environmental sound machines
- Allow the employee to play soothing music using a cassette player and headset
- Increase natural lighting or provide full-spectrum lighting
- Plan for uninterrupted work time and allow for frequent breaks
- Divide large assignments into smaller tasks and goals
- Restructure the job to include only essential functions
Memory Deficits:
- Allow the employee to tape record meetings and provide written checklists
- Provide typed minutes from meetings
- Provide written instructions and allow additional training time
Difficulty Staying Organized and Meeting Deadlines:
- Make daily TO-DO lists and check items off as they’re completed
- Use several calendars to mark meetings and deadlines
- Remind the employee about important deadlines
- Use electronic organizers
- Divide large assignments into smaller tasks and goals
Difficulty Handling Stress and Emotions:
- Provide praise and positive reinforcement
- Refer to counseling and employee assistance programs
- Allow telephone calls during work hours to doctors and others for needed support
- Permit the presence of a support animal
- Allow the employee to take breaks as needed
Attendance Issues:
- Provide flexible leave for health problems
- Offer a self-paced work load and flexible hours
- Allow employee to work from home and provide part-time work schedule
- Let the employee make up time
The recent California Supreme Court case Lonicki v. Sutter Health focuses on one of the major challenges under the ADA and similar state laws: How do you manage a depressed employee? In this case, a nurse essentially claimed that her job was too stressful. The employer argued that she did not have a medical condition, but rather, the stress that comes with being a nurse. As evidence, they cited the fact that she was able to work as a nurse in a similar job at another hospital on a part-time basis.
