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Jobs for People with Anxiety and Depression: 5 Tips To Deal With It

January 22, 2025

7 min read

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Author : Nikita Khosla
Jobs for People with Anxiety and Depression: 5 Tips To Deal With It

Introduction

Individuals enduring mental illnesses like depression and anxiety can find it arduous to achieve small tasks of daily functioning, let alone showing up at work. Achieving and fulfilling work responsibilities can seem very demanding due to the nature of the illness. Health risks associated with depression and anxiety include fatigue, feelings of apprehension, lack of concentration, and disturbances in eating and sleeping patterns. The mentioned symptoms together can make the whole working experience very daunting and overwhelming.

Jobs For People with Anxiety and Depression 

One of the radical contributing factors for people feeling depressed and anxious is their experiencing a lack or acknowledging a sense of inadequacy in life. This awareness can hail from the essence of what we have achieved and what the greater purpose in life is. Being employed or earning a living is associated with having a good quality of life and to some extent it is true. Rates of depression have been rising, as have rates of work stress. (Melchior et al., (2008). Finding a job stressful is a very subjective experience but there must be a few universal and preventive measures that should be taken for all individuals. Research exhibits that among unemployed participants, over 90% wanted to work and identified psychological, mental illness and work-related barriers to employment. (Khare et al., (2021). Measures taken by the individual and the company together can help make the job experience worthwhile.  Measures on the part of the individual and the company together can help the purpose of making the job experience worthwhile. 

What Should Be Done for People with Anxiety and Depression in Workplace

According to WHO, Anxiety disorders are the world’s most common mental disorders, affecting 301 million people in 2019 and globally, an estimated 5% of adults suffer from depression. These facts are alarming and serve as a wake-up call for us as a community to be better and to do something for the well-being of individuals. 

People report that work anxiety impacts their day-to-day lives. Having anxiety and low mood can affect job preferences. Some people may dwell on how anxiety can make job searching difficult. Instead, they should shed light on the beneficial traits linked with anxiety, such as negative mood, which has the potential to propel creativity (Du et al.,2021). 

People living with anxiety perceive and process threats differently, allowing them to give quick reactions. This aspect helps individuals be more productive, efficient and resourceful. Focusing on an individual’s positive traits may help them unearth satisfactory roles.

There are scenarios which can activate anxiety responses like meeting deadlines, striking a work-life balance, maintaining functional relationships, work environment. It is pivotal to understand that it may not always be possible to pinpoint or steer clear of certain instigators, people can gauge which jobs may be less suitable for them. For example, people who may find their anxiety worsening in tumultuous surroundings may prefer a calm job in a quiet environment.

Supportive Work Environment for People with Anxiety and Depression 

The experience of clinical depression represents a significant challenge to stable employment and professional success (e.g., productivity, achievement and advancement, financial compensation). On average, workers with depression reported significantly more lost productive time at work due to health-related problems compared to those without depression, with 77.1% reporting at least some lost productive time. (Stewart et al., 2003).

A systematic review of work environment and depressive symptoms concluded that employees who report a lack of decision latitude, job strain, and bullying experience significantly increased depressive symptoms over time (Theorell et al., 2015). In addition, prior research provides strong evidence for a link between depression and exposure to high job demands, low control, and low social support. (Andrea et al., 2009)

Burgeoning evidence shows that the work environment can also buffer the negative effects of job demands on workers’ psychological health problems. For example, a workplace with a stronger psychological safety climate (e.g., provides supportive practices such as opportunities to debrief after emotionally challenging experiences) may enable employees to cope with job demands (Bakker et al., 2005). also found that job resources were strong buffers of the relationship between emotional demands and burnout. Finally, occupational prestige, the social status afforded by one’s occupation, may also be protective against depression as research has found that higher prestige is associated with lower odds of reporting poor or fair self-rated health. (Fujishiro et al., (2010).

Tips for Jobs for People with Anxiety and Depression-5 tips

Jobs for People with Anxiety and Depression: 5 Tips To Deal With It

Identifying signs and symptoms of anxiety and depression-

Be aware of the kind of symptoms that affect you or situations that instigate anxiety responses, take preventive measures, and resort to early intervention by your healthcare provider. 

Implement time management and be organized- 

Having a set routine or a plan keeps uncertainty at bay. Having a specified time for particular activities ensures the achievement of the same. Achievement of tasks motivates one to accomplish more and gives a good feeling. 

Setting boundaries and taking regular breaks-

It is paramount to draw lines to avoid exploitation, fatigue and burnout. Knowing what your job responsibilities are and what are not is essential to prevent stress. Taking short and mindful breaks between tasks can revive and restore. 

Savour the moment-

Pause and appreciate the small and large successes of life. Practising gratitude for how far life has taken you. Be mindful of the growth and changes within you and around you. On tough days, practice the “3 good things” activity before going to bed. (As you are calling it a day, pen down on a piece of paper three good things that happened with you or around you during the day).

Provide Psychological First Aid-

If you or people around you are struggling, provide them with psychological first aid (Look, Listen and Link)  

Look for signs of distress, listen actively and empathetically and lastly link them with someone they confide in or a mental health professional. 

In tough times, it is essential to include people and make them feel safe rather than excluding them. 

Conclusion

Mental illnesses like depression and anxiety can hinder daily functioning and work due to symptoms like fatigue and stress. High job demands and feelings of inadequacy exacerbate these challenges. Supportive work environments, flexible arrangements, and employee assistance programs can help. Effective strategies include setting boundaries, taking breaks, practising gratitude, and understanding triggers to foster well-being, productivity, and resilience.

References 

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2020.113673

Melchior M, Caspi A, Milne BJ, Danese A, Poulton R, Moffitt TE. Work stress precipitates depression and anxiety in young, working women and men. Psychol Med. 2007 Aug;37(8):1119-29. doi: 10.1017/S0033291707000414. Epub 2007 Apr 4. PMID: 17407618; PMCID: PMC2062493.

https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.600837

Stewart, W. F., Ricci, J. A., Chee, E., Hahn, S. R., & Morganstein, D. (2003). Cost of lost productive work time among US workers with depression. Jama289(23), 3135-3144.

Theorell, T., Hammarström, A., Aronsson, G., Träskman Bendz, L., Grape, T., Hogstedt, C., … & Hall, C. (2015). A systematic review including meta-analysis of work environment and depressive symptoms. BMC Public Health15, 1-14.

Andrea, H., Bültmann, U., van Amelsvoort, L. G., & Kant, Y. (2009). The incidence of anxiety and depression among employees—the role of psychosocial work characteristics. Depression and anxiety26(11), 1040-1048.

Bakker, A. B., Demerouti, E., & Euwema, M. C. (2005). Job resources buffer the impact of job demands on burnout. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology10(2), 170.

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Author : Nikita Khosla

Nikita Khosla works as a counselling psychologist in Delhi.

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