How the Workplace Can Be An “Antidepressant”

Depression and anxiety are on the rise in adults and adolescents.

Data from various health organizations, including the World Health Organization (WHO) and the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), indicate a steady rise in reported cases of anxiety and depression among adults over the past twenty years. This increase is observed across different countries and demographics.

On top of that, adolescents have experienced a more pronounced increase in anxiety and depression rates compared to adults. Studies have shown that rates of these mental health issues have doubled or even tripled in some regions over the past twenty years.

This shift in collective mental health created a lot of problems, but it also inspired a wave of promising new research that gives us reason to hope: we still don’t know a single cause of depression, but we understand a lot more about what makes us feel better.

In his Ted Talk, “This Could Be Why You’re Depressed or Anxious,” journalist Johann Hari challenges the common belief that depression is caused by a chemical imbalance in our brains, and explores factors that may have an even greater impact on our minds than we thought.

Main Takeaways

• While there are genetic components that contribute to depression and anxiety, these are often symptoms of unmet psychological needs, which are often as important to our wellbeing as physical needs.

• Chemical antidepressants are helpful for some, especially when combined with lifestyle changes that address underlying factors.

• Antidepressants can come in all forms: community, nature, connections, even cows!

What are our psychological needs?

“You’re not a machine with broken parts. You’re a human being with unmet needs.”
- Johann Hari

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In Hari’s book, Lost Connections, he explores updated research that debunks old ideas and offers promising steps we can each take to protect our mental health.

These are the factors Hari explores.

• Lack of autonomy and feeling like you have no control over your own life.

• Loneliness. (This is a BIG one!)

• “Junk values,” which Hari describes as pursuing power, possessions, status accomplishment, or other external factors we expect will make us happy.

• Disconnection from nature.

• Feeling stuck, unsafe, or hopeless about the future.

• Feeling devalued and disrespected, like you don’t matter to others.

• Traumatic life experiences that change the way our brains handle stress. These experiences impact each of us differently, and trauma isn’t limited to obvious, dramatic events. Sustained loneliness may loom as large as a disturbing car crash. .

• Genetics (our inherited predisposition) and biology (hormones, neurotransmitter levels, and non-inherited physiology.)

Most of us spend more time alone than previous generations. We compete for jobs, both acquiring them and keeping them. Financial pressure rises along with inflation rates. We spend a ton of time inside buildings and our cars and less time outside. We eat convenient food that’s been stripped of nutrients. Many of us work jobs we don’t like in order to pay our mounting bills and buy things we don’t want in order to look successful and gain respect from others.

As a society, Hari says, we’re “getting less good at meeting psychological needs.” Here’s what his research suggests we need:

Belonging and community. We evolved to live in groups, not in isolation.

“Just like bees evolved to live in a hive, humans evolved to live in a tribe. And we are the first humans ever to disband our tribes. And it’s making us feel awful.” - Johann Hari

Purpose and meaningful work. We need to feel like we’re contributing to something bigger than ourselves.

Meaningful values. We need to know what’s really important to us and build our lives around that.

Autonomy. We need to feel like we have the power to influence our own lives.

Security and hope for the future. If we feel stuck or like our future is bleak, our mental health will likely spiral.

Feeling seen and valued. If we don’t receive basic human dignity and respect or feel valued by others, we’re at a much higher risk of anxiety and depression.

Nature. We need sunshine, fresh air, plants, the feeling of smallness and oneness that comes from being outside.

Support to work through trauma. Life is unpredictable and sometimes serves us circumstances we’d rather not experience. Trauma can change your brain, but those chances don’t have to be permanent.

In his book and Ted Talk, Hari challenges assumptions from the 1960s, but he doesn’t discount antidepressants, and neither are we. Instead, he proposes other ways we can experiment with our own experience. There is no single cause of depression, he argues, so there is no single solution.

The Workplace Can Be An Antidepressant

“Reconnect with something bigger than you.” - Johann Hari

For decades, we were taught the “cure” for depression was a pill to treat chemical imbalance. Prescription antidepressants have a valid role to play, Hari says, but we have more power than we think!

In his Ted Talk, Hari talks about a doctor who introduced antidepressants to Cambodian doctors. The doctors had no idea what these drugs were.

The doctor explained that these drugs were meant to treat anxiety and depression, and the Cambodian doctors responded, “Oh, we already have antidepressants.”

Then they told the story of a farmer who lost a leg to a landmine in a rice field. After his physical recovery, he returned to work anxious and depressed. Hoping to help, his neighbors decided to buy him a cow so he could be a dairy farmer without revisiting the physical and emotional pain of working in the rice field.

His depression disappeared.  In this case, the doctors said, that cow was an effective antidepressant.

The workplace has a ton of potential to be a powerful antidepressant. Work can be a source of community, meaning and purpose, autonomy, and even access to nature!

On the flip side, strict roles with little autonomy, toxic cultures, meaningless work, and even cement-box offices with little access to the outdoors can contribute to depression.

At Redmond, we know the potential of the workplace to create purpose and wellbeing. That’s why our mission is to elevate the human experience in body, heart, mind, and spirit.

We’ve specifically designed our culture and company to be a great place to work, where associates can find community, purpose, autonomy, and the experience of being seen and valued for who they are.

What We Do at Redmond

What do we specifically do at Redmond to meet those psychological needs? How have we designed our culture?

Our core values

We chose our core values very deliberately, not only to shape the way we work, but the way we live.

These meaningful values foster connection, belonging, hope for the future, autonomy, and growth.

Passion for Contribution - This is basically another way to say “meaning and purpose.” Passion for contribution sets you on the path for developing fulfilling values, pursuing true success, and for helping others, which deepens connection.

Occhiolism and Ubuntu are both crucial for developing strong connections with others, as well as being seen and valued.

Reflection is like the Swiss Army Knife of values because it helps you learn from your experience. If there’s disconnection somewhere in your life, reflection will help you find it.

Renewal lets you integrate all you’ve learned and move forward. This is also a chance to take care of yourself so you can be fully present and engaged in other areas of your life.

The 3 Circles Journey

Your 3 Circles Journey is key for purpose, and connection because it helps you find where you’re most helpful and how you can find your most meaningful contribution.

And is there a better way to have autonomy in life than to find your strengths and work with your team to use those strengths to be helpful?

This journey also requires you to connect with others, because we can’t always see what we’re good at or where we’re most helpful.

Your 3 Circles are like the ultimate antidepressant!

The Upward Spiral vs the Corporate Ladder

The Corporate Ladder and the typical definition of success can definitely fall into the “junk values” category. The Upward Spiral guides us to real, meaningful success and purpose because it allows us to create our own version of success and allows for collaboration, because there’s enough room for everyone.

This is a powerful paradigm shift!

We focus on body, heart, mind, and spirit.

Our mission is to elevate the human experience in body, heart, mind, and spirit, and we do our best to pay attention to each of these elements.

We try to stock our break rooms with healthy snacks and Re-Lyte to keep associates nourished and hydrated. Many locations have easy access to Redmond Farms products, and associates get discounts!

We encourage all associates to attend culture meetings and seminars, and can receive reimbursements on personal development books.

All of our retreats are carefully crafted to support each of these elements through nature, bonding, meaningful discussions, and comfortable accommodations.

The Redmond Experiment

The whole point of Redmond is to elevate the human experience, and that means creating a workplace where associates can find meaning and community, and use their strengths to do work that really matters. There’s no stronger antidepressant than that.

How you can protect your mental health

If you’re struggling with depression or anxiety, please seek help from a professional. If you use our insurance plans, you can find someone through your insurance portal. (You can talk to HR if you need assistance with this.)

Try these practices as well:

-Take a regular look at that list of psychological needs we talked about earlier. How are you doing on those?

-In your personal reflection, think about moments of meaning and purpose. Where do you find meaning and purpose? How can you dedicate more of your life to those things?

-Work with your team lead, a culture team member, and teammates. If you’re struggling with meaning or autonomy at work, feeling valued and connected to your team, and hope for your future in your career, a 2:1 is a great place to address these concerns.

-Pursue your 3 Circles. Take advantage of seminars, retreats, culture meetings, 2:1s, and all the resources Redmond offers for helping you create meaning, purpose, and connection in your life.

-Take care of your body. We won’t tell you what to do, but if you feel good physically, it’s easier to feel good emotionally. (This is part of our value of renewal.)

-Go outside. It’s amazing what a little dose of nature can do for your mood!

We can help each other

There’s nothing wrong with pharmaceutical antidepressants, but they’re often Band-Aid solutions. And while we definitely need the immediate relief Band-Aids provide, we also need to fix the underlying issues and make changes to the environment as well.

There’s a lot you can do to improve your own mental health, but this is a group effort. That’s why Redmond strives to be a place where people can thrive on all levels, by helping each other on our journeys of growth and learning.