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Mental health

How do I help/motivate a depressed co-worker ?

1 reply

soupysky · 08/02/2011 09:10

Namechanged for this. My co-worker, who I know really well, has depression. He takes medication which helps and generally seems to be doing better. But he has real problems getting motivated for work if he's not pushed into it.

We used to work in the same office and the pressure of having to come into the office and having others sitting around working would motivate him to work too. But now our work situation has changed and we all remote commute, he just can't find the motivation to get down to it. It's seriously affecting our project. We're a small team and are personally invested in the project, our livelihoods literally depend on his input. The only times he'll work quickly is if there's extreme urgency, or he senses someone is incredibly pissed off with him for slacking. He's extremely talented, irreplaceable really and when he does get into a burst of energy, very productive. But it's rare at the moment.

I've talked to him about it and he's very apologetic, says "sorry I've been really lazy" and assures us he'll get down to it. I know he likes the project and cares about it, and I know he feels terrible about not being able to contribute like he should. He has trouble seeing things through to the end. He'll be incredibly enthusiastic at the beginning of something, but just can't sustain the energy once the novelty's worn off. I'm not really sure what to do. Any ideas ?

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livinginazoo · 08/02/2011 15:22

A tough situation, my sympathies. Perhaps he needs to take some time off on sick leave and try and heal. It sounds as though he is doing all he is capable of until he is better. If there was a way to simply 'motivate' a depressed person to do things, I'd like to know! But, am I right in reading he is working alone at home? Perhaps you could invite him to work in the same location as you and that way give him mental support in that way? Or encourage him to try and get therapy in addition to his medication? It does sound like he as a person wants to be able to work hard, he just is not physically able.

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