What is the health and productivity cost burden of depression in the workplace?
First, let's acknowledge an unfortunate truth: depression in the workplace – as in society at large – is often under-diagnosed and poorly treated. At the same time, total medical costs for insurance claims for which depression is the primary diagnosis can still be substantial.1
How does this translate into financial terms?
- People diagnosed with depression have nearly twice the annual health care costs of those not depressed 2
- The burden of depression on employers has been estimated to be $6,000 per depressed worker per year 3
In terms of employee productivity, the data paint a similarly grim picture:
- Depressed workers have a 1/4-day more per month occurrence of absence than non-depressed workers 4
- Depressed workers experienced 1.09 more days per month of ‘work cutback' than workers with no psychiatric problems 5
- Workers suffering from depression experienced as many as 2.3 more short-term disability days per month than workers not suffering from depression6
This translates into a salary-equivalent productivity loss of as much as $395 per depressed employee during a 30-day period.
7
Despite these figures, r ecent surveys have found that more than two-thirds of employees either felt their employers offered few resources or did not know what resources were offered regarding depression, and one-third didn't know how to access any resources at all.8
One answer to stemming the financial and productivity losses of employers is found through the programs and services offered by us at CBH. A phalanx of managed behavioral, EAP, work/life, and disability management products allows you to offer current and prospective clients real solutions for these issues. Contact us today for a more detailed presentation of how we can work together to make your clients' companies more productive and profitable, while helping ensure the overall health of their workforce.
1Goetzel RZ, Ozminkowski RJ, Meneades L, Stewart M, Schutt DC, Pharmaceuticals – cost or investment? An employer's perspective. J Occup Environ Med . 2000; 42:338-351.
2Simon G, Ormel J, VonKorff M, Barlow W. health care costs associated with depressive and anxiety disorders in primary care. Am J Psychiatry. 1995; 152:352-357.
3Greenberg PE, Kessler RC, Nells TL, et al. Depression in the workplace: an economic perspective. In: Feighner JP, Boyer WF, eds. Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors: Advances in Basic Research and Clinical Practice. 2 nd ed. New York: Wiley and Sons; 1996.
4 Kessler RC, Greenberg PE, Mickelson KD, Meneades LM, Wang PS. The effects of chronic medical conditions on work loss and work cutback. J Occup Environ Med . 2001:43:218-225.
5 Ibid.
6Kessler RC, Barber C, Birnbaum HG, et al. Depression in the workplace: effects on short-term disability. Health Affairs. 1999: 18:163-171.
7Ibid.
8 “Reducing depression's stigma, costs. Employer group seeks to create culture that promotes diagnosis and treatment.” Wojcik J, Business Insurance , July 11, 2005.
