How to Manage an Employee with Depression

an article by Kristen Bell DeTienne, Cristian Larrocha and Annsheri Reay (Brigham Young University, USA) and Jill M. Hooley (Harvard University, USA) published in Harvard Business Review [grateful thanks to the World of Psychology blog for this item)


Baskoro Lanjar Prasetyo/EyeEm/Getty Images

Depression is the leading cause of disability worldwide. One in five Americans are affected by mental health issues, with depression being the most common problem. A recent report by Blue Cross Blue Shield found that depression diagnoses are rising at a faster rate for millennials and teens than for any other generation. All told, the disorder is estimated to cost $44 billion a year in lost productivity in the U.S. alone

Yet despite this enormous and growing toll, many employers take an ad hoc approach to handling depression among employees. Many managers become aware of mental health issues only when they investigate why a team member is performing poorly. A better scenario would be if employees felt empowered to report a mental health problem and ask for a reasonable accommodation so that their manager can intervene to minimise the damage to the organisation and help the employees return as quickly as possible to full health.

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I wish, oh how I wish, that this advice was available to my managers during my years of employment.
Please, make it available to your employer if you have one. 

Labels:mental_health, depression, advice_for_employers,

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