SIDEBAR: Stressed or Depressed?

High levels of stress are, for some individuals, irritating but manageable. For others prolonged periods of unrelieved stress can trigger depression or anxiety

DEPRESSION IS AN ILLNESS and considered the most debilitating of all health conditions, and the third highest cause of death according to the depression task force Beyond Blue. It estimates that 800,00 Australians suffer from depressive illnesses each year and one in five people experience depression at some time in their lives. Dr Nicole Highet is the deputy CEO of the organization and says that it is important to recognize the difference between stress and depression, which might in turn help CIOs identify when their staff members are heading for trouble.

"One of the differences is that with stress you see that a person doing a task has heightened stress, where depression happens consistently," Highet says. Just as "you don't have diabetes at work and not at home", so a depressed person will not be able to escape the problem outside of the office. Two or more weeks of seeming constantly stressed should ring alarm bells, she warns.

Highet believes that IT workers - particularly lone-wolf workers who do not feel socially included or develop strong workplace friendships - could be particularly at risk. Also, in the high-churn environment that so many IT workers face, "the lack of job security or certainty can prompt depression", especially where staff have a biological or hereditary predisposition to the illness.

Besides the higher personal costs to the individual there are also financial costs to the employer. "A person with depression may miss two to four days' work a month and when they are there will be functioning at 40 percent of their capacity. The cost can run into the thousands [of dollars]," Highet says.

To help organizations and management get a better understanding and awareness of depression, Beyond Blue has created a depression in the workplace program that outlines signs and symptoms to watch for and identifies appropriate responses. Further details can be found at www.beyondblue.org.au