Why employers should care about depression
Work is a central facet of modern life, and depressive disorders can significantly impact an individual’s ability to find, retain, and regain meaningful employment. Depressive disorders, including major depression and bipolar disorder, are highly prevalent in the United States, affecting nearly one in five adults at some point in their life. These conditions are also among the top five sources of disability globally. Depressive disorders are often episodic and can be chronic, and thus the personal and social burdens of these conditions due to disability, utilization of healthcare services, and impaired quality of life are substantial. Depression is one of the most costly health conditions for American employers. Nearly 63% of the $83 billion in total economic costs (including both direct costs of healthcare services and indirect financial costs) associated with depression annually are due to workplace losses. Depression is associated with $41 billion per year in lost productivity in the workplace from both absenteeism (depressed workers lose approximately 2.3 days per month) and “presenteeism” (depressed workers are often not able to accomplish as many tasks or perform at as high a level as workers without depression). Effective treatment has been shown to both reduce depressive symptoms and improve worker outcomes such as employee retention and productivity.
Unfortunately, many employment policies regarding depressive disorders and chronic health conditions, in general, are not informed by clinical understandings of these conditions and the role that employment can play in helping improve recovery. Studies have shown that workers who return to work soon after depressive episodes have better outcomes than those who are on long-term disability leave. Also, employer policies that limit voluntary leave-time may promote presenteeism by forcing depressed workers to come to work even when this could hamper their treatment plan. Employers may also feel constrained by litigation concerns, and adopt policies that discourage employees from seeking treatment for depressive disorders. Finally, employers can act as a strategic resource for addressing (or, unfortunately, promoting) stigma associated with depressive disorders by their policies regarding returning to work following an episode.
