Warning: This post discusses depression and suicide.
Ric knew something was wrong when everything he used to love—like playing his guitar, listening to music and watching movies—started to feel off. Nothing clicked for him anymore. He felt stuck and was considering suicide.
“I had planned out different ways of doing it. I just wasn’t happy. I just felt like I wasn’t needed,” said Ric, a longtime Best Buy employee.
Thankfully, as his depression became unbearable, Ric reached out to his wife and she got him some help. Ric knew he had to focus on his mental health, so he prepared to quit his job as an audio/visual support technician at the Best Buy headquarters. But the company instead offered to stand by Ric through his mental health journey.
That’s when Ric learned that he qualified to take a leave of absence. And, because of Best Buy’s Workplace Accommodation program, when he returned to his job, he was able to do so with a permanently reduced schedule.
Workplace Accommodations are just one of many resources Best Buy offers to employees to support their mental health. The company is committed to creating a strong culture of support surrounding mental health by encouraging open conversations, providing education and offering access to resources. In addition, Best Buy recently doubled the number of no-cost counseling sessions provided to employees and their family members and introduced a digital platform to help employees gauge and address a variety of mental health conditions.
Because of the support Best Buy offered, Ric was able to pull himself out the darkness and back into the activities he loves.
“I look forward to what the day might bring,” he said.
Visit our careers site to learn more about working at Best Buy.