DEPRESSION: THE NEGATIVE EFFECT ON PRODUCTIVITY IN THE WORKPLACE.

Depression is a disease that needs to be tackled from the roots.

According to W.H.O

• Depression is a common mental disorder. Globally, more than 264 million people of all ages suffer from depression.
• Depression is a leading cause of disability worldwide and is a major contributor to the overall global burden of disease.
• More women are affected by depression than men.
• Depression can lead to suicide.
• There are effective psychological and pharmacological treatments for moderate and severe depression.

The latest figures released by the World Health Organization (WHO), show that Nigeria has 7,079,815 sufferers of depression. That is 3.9 percent of the nation’s population. With an additional 4,894,557 Nigerians (2.7 percent of the population), suffering from anxiety disorders.

With the above figures, we all pass through depression at one stage in our life.

THE NEGATIVE EFFECT OF DEPRESSION IN THE WORKPLACE ARE;

• Employees at work but not engaged
• Employees missing days of work.
• Adversely affect areas of employee performance, including focus and decision making, time management, completing physical tasks, social interactions, and communication.

We’ll discuss how depression can be curbed at the workplace.

1.Educate your staff about depression

Create an awareness program, so as to enable your staff to recognize the signs of depression and get help immediately. Be open towards your staff, if possible have an in house counselor who your employees can meet during office hours if they are overwhelmed by work, personal relationships, or mental fatigue.

2. Talk to your staff about how they are feeling

When a staff is going through a depression or exhibiting signs of depression, you need to talk with him not to diagnose but find out how and what they are going through.

3. The work area should be conducive to work in

We should strive to make the workspace comfortable to work in. open and friendly. the air should be inviting. let them be comfortable to work and talk with you if the needs arise.

4. Learn when to ask for help

There are times when it becomes worse, don’t be frightened to ask for clinical help if it’s beyond your power.

Also, create activities that are stress relievers.

The workplace is the second home for most employees, treat it as one, to enable them to do their very best.