Monday, October 25, 2010

Book Review: Tackling Depression at Work A practical guide for employees and managers by Kerrie Eyers Gordon Parker



ISBN: 9781742373324
Australian Pub.: October 2010
Edition: 1
Publisher: ALLEN & UNWIN
Imprint: ALLEN & UNWIN
Subject: Popular psychology
Edition Number: 1

More than 10 per cent of people in the workforce struggle with either temporary or long term depression. This accessible guide offers practical advice on issues and effective strategies for both managers and employees.

Description

You can't park your depression at home when you go off to work. More than 10 per cent of people in the workforce struggle with depression, from the mild and temporary to the severe and disabling forms. If you have depression, do you soldier on or do you risk telling your manager? If you're a manager, what can you do to support your employee and also ensure the job is done?

Both employees with depression and their managers are looking for the same outcome: return to best possible functioning. Tackling Depression at Work explains the key issues that arise and offers proven strategies. It covers sensitive issues of disclosure and privacy, and shows how organisations can support workers to seek professional help and then to stay well.

With insightful advice from workers who've learned to manage their disorder on the job, Tackling Depression at Work is an invaluable support for any worker with depression, whether it's temporary or an ongoing condition. It is also an invaluable resource for line managers and human resource managers.

'A practical and positive guide for both employees and their employers.' - Gerry Harvey, Chairman, Harvey Norman Holdings Ltd

'Depression in the workplace needs to be better understood, spoken about and dealt with. This book offers refreshing insights for everyone involved.' - Sharan Burrow, former president, ACTU, and General Secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation

About Kerrie Eyers Gordon Parker

Kerrie Eyers MA (Psych), DipEd, MPH, MAPS is a psychologist, teacher and editor with many years' experience in mental health, based at the Black Dog Institute, Sydney.
Gordon Parker AO, MD, PhD, DSc, FRANZCP, FASSA is Scientia Professor of Psychiatry at the University of New South Wales and Executive Director of the Black Dog Institute. He is a renowned researcher with an international profile and over 30 years' experience with mood disorders, and is author of the bestselling Dealing with Depression: A common sense guide to mood disorders.

Together Gordon Parker and Kerrie Eyers are authors of Navigating Teenage Depression, and co-editors of Journeys with the Black Dog and Mastering Bipolar Disorder.
www.blackdoginstitute.org.au

Book Review by Scott Wilson

This book is a must have for anyone either suffering from depression or supervising someone with depression. Even though people talk more about depression openly these days, there is still a stigma attached to having depression and discrimination still occurs to those who suffer from it.

If all HR staff read this book and ensured that managers and supervisors had this basic understanding of common factors relating to depression and how to help an employee get through a day of work, life would be a lot easier for everyone.

I have seen how readily some managers will forget that they are dealing with humans when making decisions about dealing with an employee with depression and it isn’t pretty. Whether it is because of ignorance about depression or lack of empathy, this book deals with many issues that would help a manager understand the real issues to look out for.

I highly recommend this book.

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