Don't let work pressure kill
you
Stress at the workplace triggers depression that
many find difficult to cope with. Don't succumb to it, find the way out.
Workplace-related depression is common. Work
place suicide is a small but growing challenge world wide. While depression is
debilitating, suicide leaves behind shattered families and shocked colleagues
whose emotional lives, financial ability and productivity are hugely impaired.
Are you, your colleagues, friends or family at risk of workplace-related
depression or suicide? What can you do to minimise your risk as well as the
impact from external negative incidents?
Causes
of workplace depression
Depression and its extreme outcome--suicide, are
caused by multiple factors including workplace stress, financial distress, poor
physical or mental health, low coping abilities, substance abuse and easy
access to means of ending one's life.
If your work involves high physical risk, low
job security, strenuous labour or extensive exposure to human suffering, then
your work content is a primary cause of underlying stress. If your work culture
includes nonnegotiable deadlines, long hours, abusive colleagues and low
control over resources or circumstances, then the environment may cause a
stressed out existence. Stress will manifest in hypertension, poor sleep,
general irritability etc. One in four people suffer from poor mental health
which is largely unreported because of the social stigma attached. If you face
psychological or physical health challenges and do not have access to medical
support or training in coping skills, your chances of being depressed are high.
If your friend is suffering from chronic depression, a single incident like
getting fired or sustained pressures like an abusive boss could trigger
suicidal thoughts. If your colleague is a victim of drugs or alcohol abuse, his
depression will intensify and may lead to suicide. Incidentally, the largest
predictor of suicide at work is easy access to firearms or weapons and not
stress. Thus a colleague is more likely to pick up an available gun and shoot
himself in a fit of despair over other means which require more logistic effort
and affords more time to reconsider his decision.
High
risk professions
Your friends working in fields like defence
services where there is a high degree of physical risk are prone to depression.
Since firearms are easily accessible, they are also at the highest risk of
workplace suicides. Farmers, fishermen and forest workers who engage in
strenuous labour, deal with tough physical working conditions and financial
uncertainty, are equally at risk of depression. If you are a seaman, labourer
or trucker, then physical stress coupled with isolation and a difficult home
life balance increases chances of depression and substance abuse. Similarly,
someone working as an industrial worker dealing with chemicals or hazardous
materials may suffer from environment-induced health challenges. Long working
hours, severe deadlines and lack of sleep brings depression to the doors of
highly paid executives in management and finance. The largest segment of
depressed people is those who are unemployed, facing lack of income and a lack
of identity.
How
do you recognise danger signals?
Depression is rarely recognised as a serious
medical issue, which if left unaddressed may lead to suicidal thoughts. It can
be temporary, caused by a failed project at work, or cyclical, caused by say end-of-year
deadline for accountants, or chronic caused by financial, emotional or physical
uncertainty. If you have lost motivation to go to work, are feeling trapped or
are dealing with chronic pain, it may be depression. Is someone around you
depressed? Check if his behaviour shows reckless actions, increased alcohol
consumption, aggression or complete social withdrawal. If a known person is
constantly suffering from negative moods, then he is probably also unable to
resist suicidal thoughts. If the depression exceeds his ability to cope, he may
take drastic steps.
How
to help?
If you or a friend is dealing with depression,
recognise that you need support and help.Do not think of it as professional
incompetence or emotional immaturity. Start discussing it with trusted people.
Talking helps in building emotional connect and venting out frustrations. Find
a good listener in your family or among friends. Provide a non-judgmental ear
to your depressed colleague and use open ended questions to get him to talk.Thereafter
seek out counsellors to take it forward. Help in creating a space where your
colleague can communicate without fear of losing his job, breaking
confidentiality norms or risking his reputation. Reframe life circumstances and
add a sense of perspective to deal with your own and others' negative emotions.
Recognise that what really matters is the quality of human relationships you
enjoy. Your workplace is merely another job and the deadlines and promotions
are temporary issues. If they turn unmanageable, seek another role. The
trade-off between additional money and power vs depression is always a poor
one. As a decision maker at work, train team leaders to recognise and support
victims. Create an environment where individuals feel that they are doing meaningful
and impactful work, where people can bond and where there is adequate space and
comfort in being vulnerable.
Devashish Chakravarty.
ETW 15JUN15
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