Depression exacerbates job worries: Study

A study was done with Canadian employees with depression.  The survey found that these employees spent an about two hours a day on non-work-related activities and 42% reported leaving work early.

About 50% of the respondents said that they were worried that a decrease in their work performance could be interpreted as a lack of interest in their job.  Due to the current economic recession many organizations are laying off employees, this was a source of added stress.

About 73% said they feel their lower productivity could make them vulnerable to layoffs in the current economic environment.

"People living with depression live in an internal emotional atmosphere of hopelessness and fearfulness. If they are working, and with the economy the way it is, regardless of what's happening with their employer, their level of fear grows substantially," said Phil Upshall, national executive director of the Mood Disorders Society of Canada, one of the sponsors of the survey.

Leger Marketing surveyed 802 people diagnosed with depression who are currently on anti-depressant medication or who recently stopped taking it. The margin of error was plus or minus 3.5%, 19 times out of 20.

"People living with depression frequently are unable to do the work that is expected of them, and unfortunately many employers infer that the work is not being done well because the employee has lost interest as opposed to someone who is suffering from a mental illness, particularly depression," said Upshall.

One warning sign of depression is a lack of enthusiasm for work, employers should be on the look out, according to Dr. Taylor Alexander, CEO of the Canadian Mental Health Association. Other symptoms include decreased productivity, an inability to concentrate, a decline in dependability, an unusual increase in errors, chronic lateness or an increase in sick days.

Most employees hide the fact that they have depression because of the stigma of mental illness and the fear of being shamed if they tell their employer the truth, said Dr. Alexander.  

He said it is management's responsibility to create a sensitive environment and to accommodate the needs of their employees. Doing so will also benefit the bottom line, he added.

"If employers facilitate their employees getting the treatment, it saves them about $10,000 per year per staff in terms of time on the job and productivity and so on," he said.

Dr. Alexander said progress has been made in trying to get rid of the stigma associated with depression and other mental illnesses, but more work needs to be done, especially in workplaces.

"There are still too many employers who look at this mental health problem as something you should just snap out of, that it's really a productivity issue, not a mental health issue," he said.

A 70% of the respondents said their symptoms of depression had at some point disrupted their career. Approximately 35% of respondents had quit a job, similar numbers had taken short-term or long-term disability leave and 25% said they had lost a job.

The survey also looked at the effects of depression on other aspects of their lives, like family responsibilities and personal relationships.  The survey found that patients may discuss their feelings of sadness and other emotional symptoms with their doctors but don't always specify how their depression is interfering with their lives in a functional sense.

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Posted by: suhujitha on 2009-07-27 17:17:05

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