When Depression is Affecting Your Work: Signs to Recognize

When it feels difficult to just get through the day, facing challenging tasks at work can be overwhelming. And the feeling that you're not doing your best on the job may exacerbate your symptoms, especially if you tie your identity to your work.

If depression is affecting your work, it can feel isolating—but it's actually more common than you'd think. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in any given year, roughly 10 percent of American adults will experience depression, translating into nearly 200 million days of missed work due to mental health sick days.

However, there is hope. First, it's important to understand how depression is affecting your work specifically, since there's a range of factors with both short- and long-term effects. There are also a number of support and treatment resources you may have access to through your job that can help.

Navigating Depression at Work

Most people are familiar with the emotional symptoms of depression, and it's not difficult to see how they might affect your work performance. Especially in a culture that rewards keeping emotions out of the workplace, putting your head down, and getting things done, emotional symptoms can be challenging to navigate at work.

You may feel sad, empty, or hopeless, wondering what the point of anything is, especially work. Feelings of worthlessness and a lack of confidence may hold you back from accomplishing tasks and projects because you feel like your contributions don't matter. And even if you are typically a self-starting high performer, finding the motivation to get started on a project may feel impossible.

The emotional effects of depression can also impact your relationships with those you work with, from colleagues to clients. You might withdraw from or be short with others, and if you interact with other people frequently, this may start to affect your reputation around the workplace.

Understanding the Physical Symptoms

Physical symptoms of depression sometimes go overlooked, but they're equally liable to present challenges at work.

Depression symptoms can sometimes cause you to feel as though you're trudging through molasses to get the most basic of tasks done. Fatigue is a common symptom, often going hand in hand with either insomnia or hypersomnia (sleeping too little or too much). You may just feel like you want to nap all the time, making it hard to get work done. Frequent dull tension headaches are possible as well and can lead to difficulty concentrating.

You may also experience psychomotor agitation or psychomotor retardation at work. Psychomotor agitation might look like endlessly pacing the room or fidgeting externally; internally, you may be experiencing racing thoughts. Frequent staring off into space, slow walking, and decreased cognitive ability and focus are all signs of psychomotor retardation. Both of these symptoms can make it hard to get work done, either because you are too fidgety to sit down and focus or because your brain is too sluggish to find motivation.

As you might expect, sometimes work itself can cause or contribute to depression. You may be feeling spread too thin by an overload of responsibilities and duties, or the sheer pressure of your work may be taking a toll. On the other hand, you may not be feeling challenged enough, and you're bored without a clear path of career advancement.

With many people spending 40 hours a week or more at their jobs, tension and disputes with coworkers can worsen depression and undermine your quality of life. Not only can work thoughts take up mental space after hours, but smartphones and an always-on culture—not to mention the remote work trend brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic—mean there's a good chance that your work stress is persistent and pervasive. Compensation might also be a point of contention if you feel you're being undervalued or struggling to make ends meet.

Looking to the Future

Depression can mean seeing the future through a gray, foggy filter. You may believe things will never get better, and so your only focus is making it to the weekend so you can have a break. But while depression can make each workday a challenge, it can also take a toll in the longer term.

It can be difficult to set the career goals you're truly capable of when you're struggling with forward thinking and making an accurate assessment of your skills. A lack of faith in yourself may prevent you from engaging in self-advocacy or lobbying for a deserved promotion—and then you may feel guilt because you didn't speak up for yourself when you know you should have. With your confidence rattled, these may be bigger risks than you are ready to take, even though you have the skills and ability.

Finding Treatment—and Hope

The good news is that depression is highly treatable and, more than ever, workplaces recognize the need to focus on their employees' mental health. Many large corporations even offer free or low-cost mental health resources, in addition to health insurance coverage.

If you're navigating depression at work, consider talking to your manager. Certain accommodations, such as a more flexible work schedule or extended deadlines, where feasible, might be a good place to start. Additionally, they may be able to point you to how or where to get help within the company. They can vouch for you and your performance to their higher-ups, if necessary. Or, if your performance has only been minimally affected, perhaps you are just looking for a little empathy and understanding so that you feel less alone.

If your company has a human resources representative, they can also help you navigate your options. Many companies have Employee Assistance Programs that offer short-term counseling, as well as referrals to mental health professionals, such as therapists or psychiatrists. Further, HR can help you demystify your mental health benefits by highlighting what is covered. Your health insurance may cover more of your mental health treatment than you think, thanks to the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act that requires insurers to provide mental health benefits with equivalent limits and coverage to physical benefits. If you've already tried talk therapy and medications, treatments like transcranial magnetic stimulation may even be covered in full.

Even if depression isn't holding you back from performing at work and advancing your career, you deserve to feel your best. Getting help isn't about getting by—it's about getting the most out of life.