Career Depression

Career depression may sound like another fancy word from the corporate world like burnout, work stress, etc. But as more and more of the population struggles with their mental health, it is important to understand the different things that have the potential to affect us and what their impact could be. To understand career depression, let us take a closer look at both the words separately first.

Career

Your career is loosely understood to be your work. We all aspire to have successful work lives or careers and get the money, fame, and whatever else we might desire. So career essentially is that which we do for financial gain and social status. It is something in which we hope to gain progressive achievement throughout our lives.

Depression

Depression is a mental health condition marked by prolonged periods of feeling sad or down with little to no energy, sometimes even hindering our daily activities and schedules.

When this feeling of sadness or disinterest can be traced back to your work or job or even your whole career, a person is said to suffer from career depression. Some scientists have suggested that there exists an inextricable link between career problems and mental health concerns (Betz & Corning, 1993; Swanson, 2002). However, there is limited research on this due to the affected people being reluctant to accept such a diagnosis.

Depression Vs. Burnout

It is possible to mistake depression for burnout. Since both result in a lack of energy and motivation towards your job, people might mistake one for the other. But the biggest difference is that burnout is only related to your work. Depersonalization and exhaustion as seen during work. Depression, even if caused by work, is all pervasive in your life and is something a short break from work might not be able to fix. Burnout doesn’t signify a disinterest in other aspects of life, whereas depression might cause you to lose interest in the things that you once enjoyed.

What causes career depression?

There are several different reasons which can cause workplace depression. Let us take a closer look at some of them.

Lack of Person-Job Fit. Person job-fit refers to the congruence between individual knowledge, skills, abilities, and job requirements (Zhou et al., 2011). When a difference exists between what you are trained for and the work you do, or what is of interest to you vs. your job description.
Family Expectations. Family expectations can often set the course for your career. If this course is misaligned with your interests, it can cause a feeling of disillusionment at the workplace leading to depression.
Financial pressure. Especially in a country like India, we often have a certain financial pressure to support ourselves and our loved ones. This pressure can lead to a dissonance at work and cause dissatisfaction which could lead to depression.
Perception of Inequity. The perception of having received unfair treatment at the workplace is often a major source of job dissatisfaction and subsequent career depression.
Work-Life Conflict. Work-life conflict refers to the perplexing situation where individuals find themselves in a tug-of-war between their professional and personal lives. Nowadays professionals face a lot of pressure at work which barely leaves any time for them to have a personal life. This can drastically affect their mental health.
Lack of Intrinsic Satisfaction. Intrinsic satisfaction refers to the satisfaction that is derived from the characteristics of the job itself rather than from factors external to the job such as its rewards. Even when fortunate enough to find high-paying jobs, many individuals become dissatisfied due to a lack of intrinsic motivation. In some situations, people feel that the work they are doing is not meaningful and does not contribute to broader organizational and/or societal goals.

How to know if you have career depression?

According to Healthline, some of the more common signs of work depression include:

increased anxiety levels, especially when managing stressful situations or thinking about work when you’re away from your job
overall feelings of boredom and complacency about your job
low energy and lack of motivation to do things, which can sometimes manifest as boredom in tasks
persistent or prolonged feelings of sadness or low mood.
loss of interest in tasks at work, especially duties that you previously found interesting and fulfilling
feelings of hopelessness, helplessness, worthlessness, or overwhelming guilt
inability to concentrate or pay attention to work tasks and trouble retaining or remembering things, especially new information
making excessive errors in daily work tasks
an increase or decrease in weight or appetite
physical complaints like headaches, fatigue, and upset stomach
increased absences or coming late and leaving early
impaired decision-making capacity
irritability, increased anger, and poor frustration tolerance
crying spells or tearfulness at work, with or without any apparent triggers
trouble sleeping or sleeping too much (like taking naps during regular work hours)
self-medication with alcohol or substances

Managing your Depression

If you do find yourself struggling with career depression, the first and foremost step should be to seek professional help. They not only will help you diagnose effectively but can also provide you with the necessary support to feel better. Along with this, there are a few other things you can do to help yourself get better.

Don’t quit yet

It’s tempting to quit, but that may not be your best option. Its is a big decision which should only be made after careful consideration. However, you may be able to arrange accommodations at your current job that will make it better. Think about changes at your current job that would make it more workable and try to make them or ask for accommodations.

Meditation and Relaxation

Learning meditation and other relaxation techniques can be very helpful in the long term. Practicing these techniques regularly can help you immensely with your depression.

Along with this, creative expression is often known to boost your mood immensely. Activities like drawing, painting, singing, dancing, and for that matter even exercising can help release the feel-good hormones.

Turn your tech off

Too much time spent watching TV and using a computer outside school or work has been associated with moderate or severe depression. At work, you may have to use screens. If so, it’s important to take breaks and avoid screens as much as possible when you get home. Too much screen time can also mess with your sleep schedule and throw off your entire lifestyle.

Find a support group

It can be helpful to connect with other people who are going through struggles similar to yours. Find a support group gives you the community which can provide help and support.

Take a break

It can help you reconnect with yourself if you take a break. You can use this time to either go on a vacation or just use it to rejuvenate yourself, which can help to manage the symptoms of depression.

Prevention And Early Identification

As with most diseases, early identification of the problem can be extremely helpful. With workplace depression, it becomes even more important as it can affect almost everything in your life. There are many simple practices that you can incorporate into your daily life to ensure your regular workplace stress and burnout don’t evolve into depression. A few things to do when you feel anxious or depressed are:

Take a 10-minute break away from your desk or office.
Take a lunch break and get outdoors.
Go for a quick walk during a break — even if it’s indoors, exercise does wonders for mental health.
Take a mental health day.
Practice a few minutes of mindfulness meditation.
Incorporate deep breathing exercises into your day.
Say no to one small thing that allows you to experience less stress during the day.
Watch a funny video.

These can be also useful to get you out of particularly bad depressive spells. If none of these or any other known techniques are useful for you, it might be time to evaluate your workplace and choice of work altogether along with treatments for depression. Along with this, for long-term prevention, you can consciously make a few changes in life.

Create a supportive environment

It can be in your workplace or outside of it, but creating a support network is crucial. It could be friends, family, or professionals. You need to have a group of people you can turn to in times of need.

Regular self- care

Taking care of yourself and listening to your body and mind is incredibly important and can provide you with the nourishment your mind and emotions need to feel good and stay happy.

Continuous learning

Never be afraid to skill-up or even skill-laterally. Find things you are passionate about, learn, and try them. It could be related to your current work or even completely different. Along with this, create time and space for interests outside of work and regularly indulge in those activities.

Conclusion

Workplace depression can often seem daunting, especially if you are struggling with it. With timely help, it is very much possible to both manage and alleviate it. The important thing is identifying it and asking for help, silently suffering is not going to benefit you or your loved ones in the long run. Moreover, cultivating a healthy life outside of work can more often than not prevent the occurrence of workplace depression altogether. As with all mental health issues, the key is being willing to help yourself and change your lifestyle to support yourself, being your own best friend.