Running a business has its ups and downs. It can be very stressful and throw anyone over the edge. Businesses take time to get it going, to actually make money and waiting for that point can be depressing. Everyone can feel sad from time to time which is a normal experience, but when these feelings last for a long time, it may be because of depression.

Canadian Mental Health Association points out the factors one needs to pay attention to in order to recognize depression in the workplace. Depression is an illness, which means it can be cured. It can affect men and women of any age, occupation, education etc. but most often people in their working years suffer from it. The thing is, four out of five people can be treated but they need help to do it. If left undetected, employees can call in for increased sick days and their productivity is decreased. The sooner depression is recognized the easier it is to get over it, otherwise people will become withdrawn and feel down for months or even years. It is necessary to support each other and seek professional help.

An article referring to a recent Danish study indicates that workplace depression is not caused by high workload; instead it is associated with working environment and the feeling of being treated unfairly by the management. If this is the source of an employees’ depression then changing the management style to which everyone feels treated justly can help to avoid it. From the entrepreneur’s perspective, there can be other reasons – being the leader of or an employer in a start-up company is not all moonlight and roses. There was a time when entrepreneurs tried not to show what they were really feeling, now that time is over, they are encouraged to share. The psychological price of building a company is brutal, but it can be reduced. Please find an article by Jessica Bruder about some entrepreneurs’ stories of hitting rock-bottom and get guidelines from them and also from psychiatrists and psychologists on how to get over it. One example was Bradley Smith, who had to face depression in 2008 when his company was sinking deeper into debt. He had to sell some of his valuable belongings and really cut his expenses, finding out that he was going to be a father didn’t really help. 8 months later, things started to change and his company began to make money, placing it at No. 310 on Inc. 500 of the year 2013.

By Joosep K. Kuljus

Sources:

Canadian Mental Health Association. Depression in the Workplace. URL http://www.cmha.ca/mental_health/depression-in-the-workplace/#.UvpDh_mSz7Q

Sjøgren, K. 2013. ScienceNordic. The Boss, Not The Workload, Causes Workplace Depression. URL http://sciencenordic.com/boss-not-workload-causes-workplace-depression

Bruder, J. 2013. INC. Magazine. The Psychological Price of Entrepreneurship. URL http://www.inc.com/magazine/201309/jessica-bruder/psychological-price-of-entrepreneurship.html