Depression in the Workplace

The office of Workplace Environment Improvement (WEI) has joined the Postal Inspection Service to help employees better understand depression in the workplace.

According to WEI, depression affects more than 20 million people annually. At any given time, one in 20 employees may be experiencing depression on the job. “It’s important that all employees know the basic signs of depression to understand if they need to seek help or to encourage others to get help,” says David Colon, organizational development analyst of the WEI group.

To help with its awareness program, USPS has developed a series of three posters, each with information about depression. The first poster in the series, “POS 400,” shows an individual struggling to determine whether he is depressed.

The second poster, “POS 401,” illustrates an individual struggling with the idea of reaching out for help because he fears what others will think.

The third poster, “POS 402,” also highlights reaching out for help and offers a message on breaking the stigma of depression.

Employees can contact the EAP 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, at 800-327-4968 (TTY: 877-492-7341) or online at www.eap4you.com.