A major bug in workplaces that hampers the productivity of companies across the world is workplace depression. It eats into the revenue of organizations and has a far-reaching impact on the overall growth of a company.

According to a recent study by the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), depression accounts for more than $246 billion loss a year for nations like Brazil, Canada, China, Japan, Korea, Mexico, South Africa and the United States. The study was an effort to analyze the effect of depression at workplaces in terms of productivity in countries with different cultures and economy.

The survey found that highly educated employees suffer more if they continue to work while depressed. It is because they also try to manage others and this worsens the scenario.

The same team of researchers had conducted a European study on workplace depression in March 2014, urging employers to identify employee depression and initiate adequate measures to tackle their mental health conditions.

Lead researcher Dr. Sara Evans-Lacko said that in the absence of a proper plan, employers have to incur heavy losses due to workplace depression. Unless governments and employers make it a priority, they would continue to bear the enormous costs of depression due to absenteeism and loss of productivity.

Key takeaways from the study

The researchers made some key observations after examining the data collected from the aforementioned eight countries. Some of the key points are:

· On an average, 1 percent of a country’s GDP is lost because of depressed workers reporting to work even when they are unwell (presenteeism). The collective cost for the eight countries came to £175 billion.

· In Japan, absenteeism is higher than presenteeism because workers fear losing their jobs if their depression is revealed at work.

· It is better to take time off work to recover from depression rather than reporting to work despite suffering from it. The cost of attending work by depressed employees is 5–10 times higher than recuperating at home. The U.S. and Brazil are the worst sufferers of productivity losses due to presenteeism. It is $84.7 billion and $63.3 billion respectively.

· When it came to reporting previous diagnosis of depression by the respondents, China reported 6.4 percent, South Korea reported 7.4 percent, Canada reported more than 20 percent, U.S. reported 22.7 percent and South Africa reported 25.6 percent.

· The figures from China and South Korea may be deceiving and could be much higher, partly because there is a cultural reluctance to disclose mental health issues. The data revealed that Asian countries suffer lower productivity losses due to depression.

· Japan incurred the highest aggregate costs linked to employees taking time off for depression. With 22 percent people availing 21 or more days of leave, the cost came to around $14 billion. This predicts that employees tend to overstay at work until their conditions deteriorate completely.

· The researchers also found that depression in South Africa was the highest at 25.6 percent, which is much higher than the average of 15.7 percent across the eight countries.

“These findings suggest that depression is an issue deserving global attention, regardless of a country’s economic development, national income or culture. The growth of mental illness worldwide also suggests the scale of the problem is likely to increase,” said Dr. Evans-Lacko.

“Interventions which support employees with depression need to be developed, adapted, implemented and evaluated across all countries to mitigate the high costs of workplace depression,” she added.

Dealing with depression

Living with depression is challenging. It is the leading cause of disability worldwide, affecting up to 350 million people, says the World Health Organization (WHO). However, early and effective treatment can go a long way in managing symptoms and people can lead normal and healthy lives after recovery.

If you or your loved one is suffering from depression, contact the Arizona Depression Helpline for any information related to depression treatment centers in Arizona. Call at our 24/7 helpline number 866–233–3895 for more information. Our helpline for depression is an authentic resource that can guide you to the best depression treatment center in your vicinity.