Depression and the Workplace

There is a growing recognition that depressive disorders are highly prevalent in the workplace and have a huge impact on performance, productivity, absenteeism, and disability costs. There has been quite a bit of research trying to deduce how people develop depression and some of the triggers that may occur in the workplace.

The challenges that organizations face with dealing with depression in the workplace are mostly due to stigma associated with the disorder, uncertainty about a treatment’s cost-effectiveness, and a lack of effective interventions delivered in the workplace setting.

Impact of Depression on the Organization

A study of the medical and disability costs of depressive disorders was conducted at the First Chicago Corporation. In this analysis, short-term disability data, medical plan costs and Employee Assistance Program referral data for depressive disorders were compared with selected common chronic medical conditions. The average length of disability and the disability relapse rate was greater for depressive disorders than for the comparison medical groups. Depressive disorders were also found to have the largest medical plan costs of all behavioral health diagnoses. These findings have important implications for medical benefit plan design, disability plan management, and occupational health professionals' training. The observed higher prevalence of these disorders in women force their recognition as a women's health issue.

Signs that you may be depressed in the work place

The following describes some of the signs that you may be experiencing depression at work. If you are experiencing these symptoms, getting professional help is important.

• Increased anxiety levels, especially when managing stressful situations or thinking about work when you’re away from your job

• overall feelings of boredom and complacency about your job

• low energy and lack of motivation to do things, which can sometimes manifest as boredom in tasks

• persistent or prolonged feelings of sadness or low mood.

• loss of interest in tasks at work, especially duties that you previously found interesting and fulfilling

• feelings of hopelessness, helplessness, worthlessness, or overwhelming guilt

• inability to concentrate or pay attention to work tasks and trouble retaining or remembering things, especially new information

• making excessive errors in daily work tasks

• an increase or decrease in weight or appetite

• physical complaints like headaches, fatigue, and upset stomach

• increased absences or coming late and leaving early

• impaired decision-making capacity

• irritability, increased anger, and poor frustration tolerance

• crying spells or tearfulness at work, with or without any apparent triggers

• trouble sleeping or sleeping too much (like taking naps during regular work hours)

Factors that can trigger depression in the workplace

There are several factors that can trigger depress coming from the workplace. The following describes a few of the triggers:

• Workplace bullying

• Low levels of social support at work

• Absence of workplace cooperation

• Poor human relations at workplace

• Job unsuitability

• Low levels of decision latitude

• Job overload and job demands. Often required to work fast (and bothered by it), without error, with conflicting demands; time pressures, need to constantly concentrate, repetitive work, high and intermediate demand work, high job strain, job overload

• Working atypical hours

Negative work-related life events (e.g. business readjustment, change to a different line of work, change in responsibilities at work or change in working hours and conditions), especially for blue-collar workers

Strategies for preventing depression in the workplace

There are several strategies that can help prevent or address depression in the workplace. Some of these strategies are described below:

• Holding depression recognition screenings;

• Placing confidential self-rating sheets in cafeterias, break rooms, or bulletin boards;

• Promoting greater awareness through employee assistance programs (EAP);

• Training supervisors in depression recognition; and,

• Ensuring workers’ access to needed psychiatric services through health insurance benefits and benefit structures.