Depression can affect anyone, and your employees are not immune. In fact, depression in the workplace costs employers an estimated $44 billion each year in lost production time.
Dr. James Schuster, MD, MBA, chief medical officer at Community Care Behavioral Health Organization, UPMC Insurance Services Division, says there are several actions employers can take to reduce the impact and help your employees with their condition.
“For more than 80 percent of people with depression, treatment for depression is clearly effective,” Schuster says. “Most people are able to recover and return to satisfactory, functioning lives.”
Smart Business spoke to Schuster about how employers should handle depression in the workplace.
Why is depression in the workplace an issue employers should be concerned about?
Employers may be surprised to learn that 16.5 percent of employees in the U.S. are affected by major depression, and that most receive inadequate treatment or none at all. Obviously, depression in the workplace can affect missed days and productivity as well as health care costs within an organization.
A survey by the RAND Corporation found that patients with depressive symptoms spend more days in bed than those with diabetes, arthritis, back problems, lung problems or gastrointestinal disorders. No job category or professional level is immune from depression, and even an employee who has been outstanding in the past can be affected.
How costly is depression in the workplace to employers?
It is estimated that depression in the U.S. costs employers $44 billion in lost production time. Workers with depression lose an average of 5.6 productive hours per week, as compared to 1.5 for workers without depression. Depression increases absenteeism risk for employees. But it is far from a hopeless situation.
Treatment for depression has been shown to be clearly effective for more than 80 percent of people suffering from depression. Most people are able to recover and return to satisfactory, functioning lives. Treatments, such as medication or short-term talk therapy or some combination of both, provide relief.
Is there anything an employer can do to reduce the impact that depression has on job productivity?
An employer can support depression screening and treatment by both health care providers and its insurer. In many cases, depression screening can be part of any health plan that is offered to employees.
In addition, a health plan that includes a wide variety of professionals is preferred because depression often exists in conjunction with another health condition. Episodes in which an employee is being treated for another condition provide a good opportunity for depression to be recognized so that depression treatment can begin. Education of employees about how to recognize depression and about treatment options can also encourage treatment and help employees recover more quickly.
