You worked your whole life to get where you are- climbed the ladder and landed the promotions. Yet, something still does not feel right.
Or maybe, you feel a predictable pit in your stomach every Sunday afternoon, the dread about the work day that is about to roll around. As hard as you try to connect to your job, you do not find the success and fulfillment to keep you going.
If you identify with feeling depressed, unmotivated, or burned out at work, you are not alone.
A negative work environment can exacerbate symptoms of anxiety and depression. It’s not uncommon to feel negative emotions like anxiety and frustration in fast-paced, modern work places. However, career depression can creep in even if you are surrounding by a supportive work environment.
Understanding career depression can help you manage the signs and symptoms and find ways to overcome them. So, this post is dedicated to career depression and tips to deal with it so that you can find the right path forward.
What Is Career Depression Syndrome?
Career depression refers to persistent negative feelings at or related to work. These feelings can include:
- Depression
- Demotivation
- Anxiety
- Frustration
- Hopelessness
Career depression is fairly common. Research shows that certain fields, like social services and manufacturing, have particularly high rates. Data trends have identified a correlation between low physical activity and difficult interactions with the public (e.g., “thankless jobs” like healthcare) and high levels of depression.
Yet, most jobs involve aspects that can lead to high-stress situations that result in negative emotions. Most of us have experienced terrible days at work that leave us feeling burned out and demotivated, even disengaging from other parts of our lives.
Several factors may lead to career depression:
- Lack of fulfillment in role- responsibilities do not feel purposeful
- Misalignment- between personal and organizational values
- Job insecurity or instability- fear of loss or changes in structure
- Toxic workplace- pressure, ineffective leadership
- Burnout- long term stress
What Are The Signs Of Work Depression?
The signs of workplace depression are similar to those of major depressive disorder. Some of the signs might be easy to identify. Yet, others can be easier to mask. Common signs of workplace depression include:
- Lack of motivation
- Low energy and boredom in work tasks
- Loss of interest in tasks or goals you once found meaningful
- Increase in mistakes or errors
- Fatigue and brain fog
- Hopelessness about achievement of career goals and progression
- Dread about going to work (“Sunday Scaries”)
- Lack of engagement
- Persistent stress and anxiety
- Decreased quality of performance
- Physical symptoms like lack of sleep, headaches, chronic stress
- Missing work or arriving late
- Withdrawing from colleagues
While career depression has negative impacts on an individual’s mental and emotional health, it also has devastating consequence for the organization.
Depression has a meaningful impact on productivity in the workplace. Depression is the leading factor for employee absenteeism, which has cost the United States economy $51 billion annually.
Feelings of depression also reduce cognitive capabilities and creativity, leading to declined quality of work, efficiency, and problem-solving. Resulting physical health concerns and a lack of engagement also lead to negative organizational culture and product outcomes.
How To Overcome Career Depression
Identify Your Values
Core values are the ideals and principles we wish to live out our lives. Rather than goals, which are measurable and behavior-oriented (the “what”), values focus on the way we wish to live (the “how”).
In order to explore the roots of career depression, spend time exploring and identifying your own values as an individual, in your role, and in an organization you become a part of.
Assess Alignment
Career depression can originate from a misalignment of values between person and company. Review your personal values and evaluate whether they align or clash with the values in the organization you work for.
Consider not only the values they state, but your lived experiences of the way the culture of the company operates.
Set Goals
The goals that you set for yourself should line up with your values. A mismatch between values and goals can lead to cognitive dissonance and depression.
For example, if you value growth and learning, a value could be: Obtain a mentor, develop mentorship skills, and pursue certification that furthers knowledge in the field. If you value time with family and work life balance, a goal might be: transition to a role that allows working from home for greater time with family.
Starting with values to identify goals that are meaningful to you will help you observe whether your current career trajectory is on the right track for you.
Work Life Balance
Depression at work can lead to a lack of engagement outside of work. However, this lack of personal life outside work can lead to more depression and demotivation at work and become a vicious cycle.
Set the boundaries that work with your job and allow you to disconnect from work to take care of yourself and foster the important relationships in your life. Improvement of depression outside of work can have positive impacts on depression experienced at work.
Break Up Your Day
Split up long days of completing tasks with breaks. Step outside at lunchtime to see the sun and breathe fresh air. Take five minute breaks from your workspace to stretch and refresh. Incorporate short breathing exercises if you can. Take a five minute break to consume some good news.
All of these activities are easy to implement but can have huge impacts by breaking up periods of depression due to work and offer moments of relief.
Self Care
If you experience stress at your job, it is critical that you complete the stress response cycle. The experience of stress releases stress chemicals like adrenaline and cortisol into your body. Left unprocessed, these chemicals can build up and cause depression and burnout.
Process these chemicals (i.e., complete the stress response cycle) each day by moving your body, practicing breath work, or leaning on your social supports. Engaging with friends- laughing and hugging- can be effective ways to complete this process. Sleeping for an adequate amount of time each night is also an important part of your body’s ability to regulate emotions.
Seek Support
Depression is a mental health condition that may require additional support to manage. A depression therapist can help you to unravel the emotions you are experiencing, determine how to move your life in the direction of your values, and release negative emotions.
A mentor that can relate to where you’ve been in your career can also serve as a supportive resource in navigating periods of career depression.
Many companies also have employee assistance programs that can pair you with a mental health professional.
Explore Changes
As you become clear on your values and goals and commit to caring for your mind and body, you can observe whether it’s appropriate to make changes to the external circumstances of your current job.
Maybe you are able to reconnect to certain aspects of your job that refuel you with meaning and hope. Maybe, you realize your values do not like up with your current position and decide you need to make a bigger change and career choice.
Experiencing depression at work can lead to overwhelm. Notice the signs and know that resources are available and that you have choices if you are interested in getting help.
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