Although working is great, at times it can lead to a lot of stress, perpetuating and even directly causing mental health issues. Mental illness in the workplace causes people to work dysfunctionally. They may be sluggish and be unmotivated, demanding and self-critical, or completely numb to their thoughts and feelings, among other responses. Depression is one of, if not the leading cause, of workplace absenteeism in the U.S., as well as disability worldwide. Furthermore, a new study by Lancet Psychiatry suggests that up to 14 percent of mental health issues could be prevented by reducing strain at work. On average, those with mental health issues miss an average of 8.7 days of work each year. So how do you know when your job is getting too strenuous? Today, we will cover the symptoms of a work overload and how it can affect your job performance.
Common Mental Health Problems at Work
About 10.8% of the full time workers in the nation have been diagnosed with depression at some point in their lives. Typical depression sufferers may seem withdrawn, apathetic, fatigued, or defeated. Being depressed makes it extremely difficult to maintain normal levels of productivity, and that can cause problems at work. For people with anxiety, feeling restless, distracted, overstimulated, critical, unsafe, and panicked at work are also huge obstacles.
A survey polling 1,000 working adults showed that 26% of them have taken a day off due to mental health problems. Have you been feeling unmotivated, tired, wound up, or resentful at work for an extended period of time? If so, you may want to have a conversation with someone you trust about making changes to your schedule or responsibilities. Even if changes aren’t possible for now, communicating openly about your struggles is important.
Talking to Your Boss About Mental Health
Support from upper management or your HR department can be a critical component of feeling less strain at work. Being open with your manager is important in any case, especially if you feel yourself slipping or are unable to keep up with your daily tasks. Speaking to them directly, honestly, and with a consideration for timing will help your supervisors understand what you are going through, and maybe even make it safer for others to come forward with their feelings and keep a healthy conversation going. You shouldn’t need to prepare a lengthy explanation–you are protected by the law if you are treated poorly or otherwise discriminated against because of a mental health condition.
Get affordable health insurance quotes by clicking here.