Depression affecting job performance -what if anything to tell boss?
Depression affecting job performance -what if anything to tell boss?
(OP)
I've struggled with pretty severe depression for a decade now. Prior to about a year ago, I was able to keep it from affecting my job performance much. But for several reasons, in the last six to twelve months, it has gotten worse and really been affecting my job performance. I've dug myself into a deep hole, falling way behind on most of my projects, missing deadlines and letting budgets fall apart. I've really ticked off a couple clients and we've lost work that I feel 100% responsible for losing. I miss a little time at work because of this, but the main problem is that I still go to work but am often so dysfunctional/unproductive there.
No one at work knows about my depression, though they're definitely noticing my job performance now. Before this, I (sorry to toot my own horn a bit) was consistently rated one of our department's top performers. Now I feel like I'm on the verge of getting canned or demoted if this keeps up.
I'm about to start some new treatment and make some other changes that I'm pretty confident will improve my depression and therefore my working habits, though I'm not sure how quickly I'll progress. Here's my dilemma:
Do I say anything to my boss, other managers, clients, etc. about my depression, in hopes of explaining my recent poor job performance?
I interact a lot with clients and manage projects, and I've seen how my clients' perceptions of me have lowered. I like most of them personally and am tempted to apologize for my performance and explain what has (partly) caused it. But mostly I feel like I should keep my mouth shut to my clients. It's probably not professional to involve them with this and it's not their role to listen to me on this. So I don't think I'll try to explain anything to clients, though I'd be open to your thoughts on this.
But I'm debating whether to tell my boss about my struggles with depression, and how I think this has been a big reason for my recent poor job performance. Maybe it will helpful if he understands the (main) reason for my poor job performance. I also want to tell him that I realize this is a big problem and that I'm taking steps to get better. I think now he's just wondering what the heck is going on with me, why have I slipped so much, and he may not have hope of me making any changes. But I also know that once I open my mouth, his perception of me will forever change. There's a chance I will be stigmatized as someone who is no longer reliable, who's looking to make excuses, who should be treated with kid gloves. I don't think I need major time off of work or anything like that; mainly I'm hoping for some patience and understanding about recent past performance and a hopeful recovery.
So do I:
1. Say nothing, hope that if I overcome my depression, my job performance will recover, and rely on hopefully good future performance to overcome any current negative perceptions of me?
2. Tell my boss about my depression. Say I know I've been performing really poorly recently, and I'm taking steps to get my depression treated more effectively.
3. Be more vague but still bring up the issue- attribute my poor performance to some sort of personal issues or medical condition and say I'm making steps to improve this, but not go into details about the depression and treatment.
Thanks for any advice. Anyone been in a situation like this, on either end? If you are a manager, how would you respond to an employee in this situation? I know the law says you're supposed to be very understanding and not discriminate, but realistically how would this affect your view of the employee and their performance?
Thanks
No one at work knows about my depression, though they're definitely noticing my job performance now. Before this, I (sorry to toot my own horn a bit) was consistently rated one of our department's top performers. Now I feel like I'm on the verge of getting canned or demoted if this keeps up.
I'm about to start some new treatment and make some other changes that I'm pretty confident will improve my depression and therefore my working habits, though I'm not sure how quickly I'll progress. Here's my dilemma:
Do I say anything to my boss, other managers, clients, etc. about my depression, in hopes of explaining my recent poor job performance?
I interact a lot with clients and manage projects, and I've seen how my clients' perceptions of me have lowered. I like most of them personally and am tempted to apologize for my performance and explain what has (partly) caused it. But mostly I feel like I should keep my mouth shut to my clients. It's probably not professional to involve them with this and it's not their role to listen to me on this. So I don't think I'll try to explain anything to clients, though I'd be open to your thoughts on this.
But I'm debating whether to tell my boss about my struggles with depression, and how I think this has been a big reason for my recent poor job performance. Maybe it will helpful if he understands the (main) reason for my poor job performance. I also want to tell him that I realize this is a big problem and that I'm taking steps to get better. I think now he's just wondering what the heck is going on with me, why have I slipped so much, and he may not have hope of me making any changes. But I also know that once I open my mouth, his perception of me will forever change. There's a chance I will be stigmatized as someone who is no longer reliable, who's looking to make excuses, who should be treated with kid gloves. I don't think I need major time off of work or anything like that; mainly I'm hoping for some patience and understanding about recent past performance and a hopeful recovery.
So do I:
1. Say nothing, hope that if I overcome my depression, my job performance will recover, and rely on hopefully good future performance to overcome any current negative perceptions of me?
2. Tell my boss about my depression. Say I know I've been performing really poorly recently, and I'm taking steps to get my depression treated more effectively.
3. Be more vague but still bring up the issue- attribute my poor performance to some sort of personal issues or medical condition and say I'm making steps to improve this, but not go into details about the depression and treatment.
Thanks for any advice. Anyone been in a situation like this, on either end? If you are a manager, how would you respond to an employee in this situation? I know the law says you're supposed to be very understanding and not discriminate, but realistically how would this affect your view of the employee and their performance?
Thanks





RE: Depression affecting job performance -what if anything to tell boss?
If I were your boss, I'd want to know, and I'd simply keep tabs on you to help monitor your progress, and to ensure that the workload is handled, by you or others.
But I think my reaction is based more on personal experience (see para 1), and may not be typical.
RE: Depression affecting job performance -what if anything to tell boss?
RE: Depression affecting job performance -what if anything to tell boss?
My marrage tanked in parallel with my Dad's cancer death. That was a bad year.
HR deal with numbers. Managers deal with their people.
- Steve
RE: Depression affecting job performance -what if anything to tell boss?
If I didn't know, and suspected that you'd just lost focus or didn't care any more, I'd be more likely to lay you off the next go-round.
Not to mention, many places have policies about dealing with people who have medical issues- protections put in place for just such an eventuality. They don't kick in UNLESS you tell management what's going on.
Do you involve HR? Dunno, since I use the presence of an HR department as an indicator of whether or not the business is too large to treat its employees as human beings. Helping employees with this sort of thing is what HR departments are SUPPOSED to be there for, but my experience with HR departments in past has been poor to say the least. I know I'm not the only one here with that kind of experience.
Working with clinical depression is surely no picnic, but trying to FIND a new job while clinically depressed would be tougher still. What's important here is that you take care of yourself. It sounds like the job itself is a source of joy and pride to you, so it's worth hanging onto.
Sincere best wishes to you. I hope it works out for the best.
RE: Depression affecting job performance -what if anything to tell boss?
If you tell your boss, you are also telling him that you are aware that there is a problem, and that you are working to a solution, that you will be able to return to being a performer.
Good luck, clinical depression is a medical issue, and I think it is in your best interest to let at least your boss know about it.
RE: Depression affecting job performance -what if anything to tell boss?
Depression is real. The Pollyannas that think all you need is a positive attitude really need to get acquainted with the underside of a fast-moving bus.
In autumn, I try to get out for a walk every day to staave off seasonal depression. Believe it or not, some people have tried to use that to make me look bad. "How come he has time for a stroll?" Never mind that it clears my head and improves my afternoon work.
RE: Depression affecting job performance -what if anything to tell boss?
At the moment if you are falling behind you could be fired for underperforming. If there is a medical condition behind it, not only you would be protected against being fired but also explain the situation to management.
In my case, I work with several people and I would like to know if something like that would be happening. However, I think if it was me and I told my boss, I am sure he would be much less simpathetic. Hard to tell.
RE: Depression affecting job performance -what if anything to tell boss?
http://www.ada.gov/pcatoolkit/chap1toolkit.htm
RE: Depression affecting job performance -what if anything to tell boss?
Chris
SolidWorks 09 SP4.1
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SolidWorks Legion
RE: Depression affecting job performance -what if anything to tell boss?
Good luck - Morten
RE: Depression affecting job performance -what if anything to tell boss?
I am getting medical care and counseling, so I have a lengthy file of background information should anyone in my company need that.
I think I am going to go to my boss rather than HR. I personally get along quite well with my boss, and though you're never totally sure how someone would react, I feel fairly confident he will be understanding so I'm willing to take the chance and open up to him about this. HR seems quite nice, but the only work-related interaction I've had with them in years at this company is related to people starting employment and ending employment. I maybe will also talk to them later though. I know we have some sort of Employee Assistance Program, though I'm not sure if that would offer me anything beyond what I'm already getting from a doctor and therapist.
Thanks again for your thoughts.
RE: Depression affecting job performance -what if anything to tell boss?
You typically get a toll-free number. Call it.
Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA
RE: Depression affecting job performance -what if anything to tell boss?
I would talk to my boss about depression. Maybe there are ways he can change your workload that will make life better for you temporarily and keep the company in the good graces of your clients. But if he doesn't have all the info he cannot help. Also, don't assume that people at your office don't know anything. They might not guess depression, but surely they have noticed something is different.
If your boss is a decent person, he will deal with HR on any issues that need to be handled. I am sure there are HR people that are kind and decent, I just haven't met them yet.
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RE: Depression affecting job performance -what if anything to tell boss?
If you know your performance has been dropping off badly, and you think your boss will have noticed it, chances are he has noticed and said and done nothing.
That could be because he values you and the work he knows you can do and hopes you will get it back together again. he may not want to pry, he may not really want to know about personal problems, but he may want to have a reason he can understand and address.
If you think he is the sort of boss who would notice, but he has said anything; you have to conclude that he has been covering for you and/or turning a blind eye, and thus it would be best if he hears it from you and not from HR.
If you are concious that your work has deteriorated, and perhaps you are feeling pretty guilty about it, then is this a negative feed-back affecting your work even more?
Is it possible that by speaking with your boss you will be treated sympathetically and get rid of a further negative you really don't need? If nothing else he may be able to help by taking some of the pressures off you for a while to help you get back in the groove.
After all, from what you have said, this is a problem you have managed for a good while and even with his problem you have been a valued employee so you have to believe that you can get it back together but maybe with a little help and understanding.
Is there an advice group you can turn to who can give you good and informed advice?
JMW
www.ViscoAnalyser.com
RE: Depression affecting job performance -what if anything to tell boss?
RE: Depression affecting job performance -what if anything to tell boss?
If there is a lesson here, it's that not saying anything is not the way to go. You have my best wishes.
RE: Depression affecting job performance -what if anything to tell boss?
I had a similar problem back in 2006-2007, but not with depression. I have severe ADHD and my work got boring as heck. Thus my performance dropped like a stone. I went to a psychiatrist and got prescribed medication. Then I scheduled a meeting with my boss and explained that I knew my performance had dropped, that I had a problem, and showed him the steps I was taking to fix it. Taking a walk (or more like a run) up the 13 stories of stairs twice a day helped me quite a bit and even became a competition between us on our floor. Last time I checked, my 53 second record still stands
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If it is broken, fix it. If it isn't broken, I'll soon fix that.
RE: Depression affecting job performance -what if anything to tell boss?
Good luck,
Latexman
RE: Depression affecting job performance -what if anything to tell boss?
As an owner, I'd want to know (but I'd have figured it out by now). I think if you go to an employer and tell them you have a condition you want treated, the company is kind of bound to keep your position open for you if you have to take time off.
My advice is to get to a doc to lay out your options as far as treatment is concerned, ask his opinion on discussing it with your boss (he'll probably be familiar with the laws in your area), and then proceed with telling your boss or not telling your boss.
RE: Depression affecting job performance -what if anything to tell boss?
I had an employee who was stellar-then his performance dropped off the map. My youngest son was also going through treatment for dysthymic disorder (or NOS depending on the psychiatrist or psychologist). My recommendation at the time was to get treatment, and to document status under ADA to protect him and me in case any event occurred outside of the office.
Both a good and bad ending, he recovered to normal stellar form, but then I could not compete on salary scale and he got hired out from under me. We're still good friends, only now he makes more than I do.
RE: Depression affecting job performance -what if anything to tell boss?
Often admitting that you have a problem to your peers can worsen the problem. And there is a huge misunderstanding of mental health issues and mental disabilities.
If you were my reportee, I would beg you to tell me and would do my best to assist in any way possible. Again this can extenuate the problem by admitting that you are not up to your job. Perhaps the easiest time to tell is once you are on the road to recovery, but that only helps the next time around.
I do not think that I would tell my client if I had a problem, but there is no reason not to, I would tell him if I had a cold or a broken leg.
Practical ways to overcome the problem may include – breaking down the tasks to manageable chunks; completing one task before starting another gives some sense of achievements; if one task is bogging you down then get a colleague to help; saying no my workload is too high at the moment.
RE: Depression affecting job performance -what if anything to tell boss?
Second, I absolutely think you should talk to either HR or your boss or eventually both about this.
Why? Because you could get protected status, which will allow you time to get treatment and help and improve.
If not you could get laid off.
Depression is a real issue.
I had a co-worker who came into work drunk a few times. He got protected status for that as well because he was going to drug and alcohol counseling.
Depression isn't your fault. Drug and alcohol abuse is but that guy still got protected when layoffs hit.