University of Westminster, UK.
University of New South Wales, Australia.
Health (London). 2019 May;23(3):344-361. doi: 10.1177/1363459317739437. Epub 2017 Nov 1.
Australia and the United Kingdom have introduced policies to protect employees who experience mental illness, including depression. However, a better understanding of the experiential issues workers face (e.g. sense of moral failure) is needed for the provision of appropriate and beneficial support. We analysed 73 interviews from the United Kingdom and Australia where narratives of depression and work intersected. Participants encountered difficulties in being (and performing as if) 'authentic' at work, with depression contributing to confusions about the self. The diffuse post-1960s imperative to 'be yourself' is experienced in conflicting ways: while some participants sought support from managers and colleagues (e.g. sick leave, back-to-work plans), many others put on a façade in an attempt to perform the 'well' and 'authentic' employee. We outline the contradictory forces at play for participants when authenticity and visibility are expected, yet, moral imperatives to be good (healthy) employees are normative.
澳大利亚和英国都出台了政策，以保护患有精神疾病（包括抑郁症）的员工。然而，为了提供适当和有益的支持，还需要更好地了解员工所面临的体验问题（例如，道德失败感）。我们分析了来自英国和澳大利亚的 73 次访谈，这些访谈的内容涉及抑郁和工作的交集。参与者在工作中（以及表现得好像）“真实”时遇到了困难，而抑郁症导致了对自我的困惑。20 世纪 60 年代以来“做自己”的普遍要求以矛盾的方式被体验：虽然一些参与者寻求经理和同事的支持（例如，病假、重返工作岗位计划），但许多人还是装模作样，试图表现出“健康”和“真实”的员工形象。当真实性和可见性受到期待时，我们概述了参与者身上相互矛盾的力量，但保持良好（健康）员工的道德规范却是强制性的。
