Depression in the workplace costs billions
Employees with depression cost companies and the national economy dearly - regardless of the country's culture and economic performance.
Workplace depression is a problem in a wide variety of cultures, and its effects are catastrophic. This is shown in a study by the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). In Brazil, Canada, China, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, South Africa and the USA alone, depression costs more than $246 billion a year. It costs more for employees to work in spite of a damaged psyche than it does to take time off.
Global problem
The study surveyed 8,000 workers in eight countries with very different economic performance and mentalities. "The results suggest that depression is a problem that deserves global attention, regardless of a country's economic development, national income or culture," emphasizes LSE study leader Sara Evans-Lacko. After all, all the countries studied have one thing in common: depression at work costs enormously - especially when employees simply continue to work despite their mental problems ("presenteeism").
According to the data collected, this continuing to work wipes out an average of 1.2 percent of GDP and costs a total of £207 billion in the eight countries covered. This is also because the costs of continuing to work despite depression are five to ten times higher than those of taking time off due to depression. Presenteeism is particularly expensive for highly educated workers. This is because they comparatively often have management responsibilities, so their problems rub off on their subordinates.
LSE study director Sara Evans-Lacko explains the global impact of depression in the workplace.
Asian shame
According to the researchers, there were fewer reports of depression-related productivity losses in Asian countries. However, this is probably due to a culturally determined shame in admitting to mental problems. In China and South Korea, noticeably fewer than ten percent of respondents reported a previous depression diagnosis. In Canada, the USA and South Africa, on the other hand, the figure was one-fifth to one-quarter. The Japanese, on the other hand, are the most likely to take time off due to depression - mainly because they fear losing their job if the problem becomes known.
Source: Press release
