When hackers get the blues

Sam Varghese
Friday, 30 October 2009 06:10

Opinion and Analysis

Lentz' own experience with depression is something he is not reluctant to talk about. "It can be very disruptive for your life, family and social environment, and of course people's work. If left untreated (or even completely unrecognised), it can destroy some or even all of those.
"The ways in which that works are probably different for everybody, but just talking about work for now in my 'bad times' I'd sometimes have days where I wouldn't be able to concentrate and get a sensible amount  of work done. It's important that within a company there is sufficient understanding about depression - that person is not slacking. By understanding I don't mean knowledge, a company cannot be expert on  the topic, that's what medical professionals are for.

"From experience I know that many managers and companies have this 'if you don't have a broken leg or are in hospital, you're not sick' attitude, which is akin to a 'don't whinge, just get on with it' approach. I'm not disagreeing with a 'don't whinge' approach, but it's  not quite that simple.

"Apart from depression, there are many things that can affect a person's ability to function. Not acknowledging that doesn't help the person or the company, and given the numbers it is almost certain to hurt businesses. Every business will have one if not many more people who have or have dealt with depression, and other illnesses, and a bit of enlightenment would help them be more effective.

"Also, by not acknowledging a company sends out a message that people cannot be open about any problems they are having, and thus in effect create a dysfunctional company culture. Many readers may recognise this for past or even current employers.

"What I'm saying is, you can get on with it, but understanding is still important or your business will suffer. You cannot cherrypick your way around the problem: (prospective) employees don't have to  tell you, depending on the atmosphere they won't tell you, and you can't fire them for any of this. So deal with it already by creating a healthy working environment.

"In this context, I actually have to compliment my manager at my last job (before I started my current company). While the  environment was stressful for various reasons, the manager was understanding and thus we could find ways to make things work."

Lentz has his own antidotes which he recommends. "Give your day structure, get a decent night's sleep, get daylight, daily exercise and fruit. These are not cures, and everybody needs this anyway. It's just that for someone with depression, they're especially important.

"For some people, medical intervention and medication is essential. If there are chemical imbalances causing problems in your brain, just wanting to be better may not be enough. But similarly, just taking meds and not changing the lifestyle aspects is no good either.

"Stress (and anxiety) has a lot of influence on all this too, if you are dealing with depression, and work in a stressful environment, it's not good. Companies often inadvertently create stress. It' s not easy to resolve as it's embedded in company processes. But it can be avoided as well as changed. But some jobs are just stressful, and for an employee, changing jobs can be an important health choice.

"Also, like some other illnesses, it's not always something that has a permanent cure. For instance, I'm doing alright now, but if I neglect my routine, don't  get enough sleep, and cause myself stress, then I can recognise the warning signs as I won't be functioning that well during the day."

He says the site has got responses mainly from Australia and New Zealand but has attracted traffic from around the globe and had some feedback outside its immediate neighbourhood as well.