Regardless of how long an employee stays in a job, he or she will endure many ups and downs, personally and professionally. A supportive workplace culture, comprehensive benefits, and access to Employee Assistance Programs (EAP) will help employees stay resilient through challenging times. However, individuals with mood disorders such as Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) and Bipolar Disorder (BD) experience the same highs and lows at an intensity that can be especially difficult to work through. As workplace conversations around mental health become increasingly normalized, more people are sharing their stories of high-functioning depression or experiences living and working on the bipolar spectrum. In this context, it is important for both employers and employees themselves to understand and appreciate the impact and prevalence of mood disorders, consider what types of accommodations can be put in place, and how to combat stigma to create a truly inclusive workplace.
Identifying Mood Disorders in the Workplace
According to the National Institute of Mental Health, around 1 in 5 U.S. adults experience a mood disorder at some point in their lives. Mood disorders can take a variety of forms, including MDD or BD as mentioned above, as well as depression that is a result of substance use or medication; Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD); or cyclothymic disorder, which causes unpredictable emotional swings. Importantly, the symptoms of mood disorders vary widely and manifest differently from person to person – and they can present differently in a work versus a home setting. Some signs are easy to spot – a person with MDD might be visibly sad or apathetic at work, while someone experiencing a classic expression of bipolar 1 might demonstrate obvious manic behavior such as higher energy levels, agitation or unusual talkativeness. Other employees might conceal their depression or conflate symptoms of a serious psychiatric problem with job-related burnout.
This connection between mood disorders and work is especially salient in today’s “knowledge economy,” which relies on human ability to creatively solve problems, apply information and collaborate intellectually with others. When the mental skills of employees are an organization’s greatest asset, an employer might overlook emotional or mood disturbance as long as the project gets done, the problem gets solved, or the deal gets closed. Conversely, such mentally taxing work may strengthen the causality between mood disorders and burnout – a classic “chicken or the egg” question. Is an employee experiencing depression because he or she is burned out from work, or is the “burnout” actually depression (or another mood disorder) in disguise? This is one of many important questions that employers – especially managers – that take the wellbeing of their workforce seriously may be asking themselves.
Be Transparent About Accommodations
However, employers face a barrier in that they cannot legally ask an employee to disclose a mental health issue. Employees have the right to keep their condition private, and often do, in large part due to stigma. By the same token, employees with mental health conditions also have a legal right to request reasonable accommodation to help them perform. Many such accommodations, as described by the U.S. Department of Labor, align with the shifts that have occurred in the workplace in the past year as a result of Covid-19, such as the option to telecommute; flexible work hours; and permission to take breaks depending on individual need. Other accommodations might include special equipment such as a “white noise” machine; specialized software that reduces distraction; or additional forms of written, visual and verbal communication to help the employee stay focused.
Combat Stigma Through Science
Being transparent about the availability of such accommodations is one way to communicate to employees with a mental health diagnosis that they are valued. But it is still a challenge for many employees to accept the fact that they may have a “disabling” condition in the form of a mood disorder. Results from a 2020 MetLife survey illustrate this. The survey asked workers if they felt depressed, and only 17% reported “yes.” However, when asked about symptoms, 41% of workers indicated that they were experiencing at least five signs of depression. Such dissonance between the perception and reality of an employee’s own mental health speaks volumes about the importance of awareness and education about mental health, and especially mood disorders, in the workplace.
While the challenges of 2020 opened up many new conversations about mental health, there is still a long way to go in terms of embracing neurodiversity in the workplace and collectively understanding that mental health conditions are valid medical conditions – not a character flaw. Fortunately, as more and more exciting research emerges to shed light on conditions like Bipolar Disorder, employers can leverage science to lead the way in positioning mental health alongside physical health. The outcomes of higher productivity, lower absenteeism, and the reduction in stigma and perceived discrimination are achievable and benefit employees and shareholders alike.
