How managers do justice to mentally ill employees

Dusseldorf “Where is the limit? Should I investigate further now?” Diana Blaum says she was unsure. An employee confided in the manager and reported his depression. For Blaum, who at the time headed a sales team at Google in Dublin, it was a completely new situation.

The patient was one of her best employees, “a high performer,” says Blaum. He always exceeded his goals. Then his performance collapsed, “not from now on, insidiously”. She asked herself: “How do I deal with him? What does that mean for our team?” She didn’t want to make any mistakes.

According to a representative survey by the German Depression Aid Foundation, every fifth employee in Germany has already been diagnosed with depression. So what is a good way of dealing with mentally ill employees? The Handelsblatt spoke to experts and worked out five steps how managers can do justice to their employees – and themselves.