New York Lawyer
July 12, 2001

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Recently I wrote about a whining associate who was driving a partner to distraction. Assuming the endless complaints were the product of thoughtlessness or obliviousness, I treated the question just as superficially.

A reader responded: �Dollars to doughnuts the associate has a case of clinical depression and doesn't know it, because he sounds just like I did five years ago. While many of us benefit from talk therapy, depression can be treated with drugs by a primary-care MD in the office. The only other advice I would offer would be to try another drug if the first one doesn't do the job. The most important thing drug therapy did for me was to break the endless loop of obsession with petty problems and allow me to get on with more important stuff. I also found that when you stop needing to complain about petty stuff, people are much nicer to you and the petty stuff goes away.�

This reader�s comment provides a valuable insight. It pays for employers to examine �annoying� behavior to see whether it signals something more serious than carping about bad coffee and crummy work assignments.

While chronic complaining isn�t generally a sign of depression, it can be, according to Dr. Melissa Rivera Marano, a clinical psychologist in New Jersey. �For those who find that they tend to complain and feel dissatisfied at work,� advises Dr. Rivera, �they should inventory whether this is work-specific or whether this behavior and emotion is prominent in other areas of their lives. Are there physical symptoms, such as fatigue, energy loss, change in appetite, change in sleep? Do they feel hopeless, sad, tearful, agitated? How are they functioning? If they experience several of these symptoms they should seek professional help.�

Sincerely,
Holly English
Principal Consultant, Values at Work