As we can assume, depression can have a huge effect on those who work for a living. There are statistics out there that can talk about lost productivity in the workplace, but there are not necessarily numbers on the emotional toll that accumulates when someone has depression. Some people will end up not being able to work at all, which was the case for my dad. Some people might be able to work part time, if that is even an option. Still, others might be able to work but may have issues, including feeling like they have to work even if they don’t feel like it.
Since I have not personally experienced depression I cannot comment on how it feels to live through a depression while working. My assumption is that it is very, very hard. It may be hard to concentrate, and performance may suffer. It may also be hard to interact with others. Is there anything that can be done at work to help the situation? Here are some potential ideas I have that may help.
Have you told your boss and/or co-workers about your depression? This may be hard to do, but may be an option. If people understand that you have an illness, that may help with your day to day working experience. Also, many employers have employee assistance programs (some may use a different term), to help employees with a wide variety of concerns. It may be worth checking to see if your company has such a program. You could start by contacting your boss and/or human resources department, if you have one.
Overall, you may be surprised by the resources that are available to you as an employee with depression. I encourage you to at least research what some options might be to help make your working experience a little more manageable.