Clinical or major depression is the diagnosis given for severe depression. It is a unipolar (one directional) mood related condition involving a prolonged state of intense sadness or despair that can affect functioning in all aspects of life, including in the workplace.
Symptoms and characteristics
Typical symptoms for clinical or major depression include:
- an unusually sad mood that does not go away
- difficulty concentrating or making decisions
- a loss of enjoyment and interest in activities that used to be enjoyable
- a lack of energy and tiredness
- loss of confidence or poor self-esteem
- feeling guilty when not really at fault
- moving more slowly or, sometimes, becoming agitated and unable to settle
- having sleeping difficulties or, sometimes, sleeping too much
- suicidal thoughts (in severe cases).
In relation to employment, clinical or major depression may be characterised by the following performance factors:
- decreased productivity
- morale problems
- difficulty making decisions or problem solving
- safety problems or accidents
- absenteeism
- frequent complaints of being tired all the time
- complaints of unexplained aches and pains
- alcohol and/or other drug misuse.
Statistics
Clinical or major depression affects approximately 16 per cent of the general population. Up to one in four females and one in six males will experience clinical depression in their lifetime (beyondblue 2004).
Workplace solutions and adjustments
In the workplace there are various factors that would greatly assist those with clinical or major depression to better manage their symptoms. These include:
- flexible work arrangements, including leave
- reducing responsibilities or workload and subsequent stress levels
- restructuring the work environment (for example, using privacy screens and reducing colour schemes to plain colours—not bright
- a good support network.
A psychologist can provide advice and discuss ways for managing depression in the workplace (see the related links on this page to search for a psychologist in your area).
There are solutions and adjustments for the following job requirements:
References
Australian Government Department of Employment and Workplace Relations, Mental Health Council Inc. & Kitchener, B., A. & Jorm, A., F. at ORYGEN Research Centre, University of Melbourne 2006, Mental Health First Aid in the Workplace – an e-learning course, Australian Government Department of Employment and Workplace Relations, Canberra.
beyondblue 2004, What is Depression?, beyondblue: the national depression initiative, Sydney, viewed 24 February 2007 <http://www.beyondblue.org.au/index.aspx?link_id=1.3>.