Depression Prompts One in Five Workers to Take Time Off, Study Finds

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Depression Prompts One in Five Workers to Take Time Off, Study Finds

(November 20, 2007)-- OTTAWA - More than one quarter of Canadian workers say they have been diagnosed with depression or believe they are suffering from it.

But most say their depression was triggered not by their workplace but by a single life event such as divorce or a death in the family. And though depressed employees cost their employers far more than previously thought, there are signs the workplace stigma associated with depression and other mental disorders may be starting to fade.

More than one quarter of Canadian workers say they have been diagnosed with depression or believe they are suffering from it.
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These findings come from the largest-ever survey of Canadian workers on mental health and depression, involving more than 4,100 people in Canada. Commissioned by the newly created Great-West Life Centre for Mental Health in the Workplace, the survey, released Monday, was conducted by Ipsos Reid in association with the Global Business and Economic Roundtable on Addiction and Mental Health.

Among Its Key Findings:

- Sixteen per cent of managers and 18 per cent of non-managers say they have been diagnosed as clinically depressed, and a further six per cent of managers and nine per cent of non-managers believe they suffer from undiagnosed depression. Previous studies had put the prevalence rate for depression at between six and eight per cent, said Bill Wilkerson, CEO of the roundtable.

"This is the highest prevalence number on record in the world." That doesn't mean Canadian workers are more depressed than others, Wilkerson stressed. Rather, the new survey presents "a truer picture of the scale of the problem."

- Another eight per cent of employees say they are taking medication for depression. Six per cent say they are seeing a doctor for depression and three per cent are undergoing therapy or counselling.

- In the past year, one in five workers took days off due to depression, anxiety or stress. More than half were off work for more than a week, and 20 per cent for a month or more.

- Of those diagnosed with depression, 56 per cent say it lasted a year or more, with nine per cent saying 10 or more years. Wilkerson said the "shocking" prevalence of depression is a clear call to action by government.

"There could not realistically be any other condition on the planet that we would not declare a national emergency if it were that high."

Though the survey focused on working Canadians, its findings suggest it's not the workplace that's making people sick. Nearly two-thirds of workers with depression say it was triggered by a specific event in their lives.

The triggers cited most often are divorce, separation and relationship issues or a death in the family.

About one in 10 mention working too hard or too much as the trigger for their depression. In fact one of the survey's most striking findings is just how positively most people view their workplaces.

More than eight in 10 employees say they are fulfilled in their jobs. Among managers, the number is 87 per cent.

Among non-managers, 80 per cent say their jobs are fully or mostly fulfilling. Seven in 10 workers say their work environment is healthy, with the same number saying their employer respects their work/life balance. Eight in 10 think their employer gives them the flexibility to respond to personal or family responsibilities, and nearly as many say their employer is supportive of their personal needs.

These findings fly in the face of the popular perception that most employees are unhappy on the job, said pollster John Reid, senior vice-president at Ipsos Reid. "There may be some toxic workplaces, but generally people are quite fulfilled and happy."

Wilkerson said the positive view of the workplace, combined with high stress rates, suggests that "workplace stress is not really workplace stress in a narrow sense." Rather, he said, it's a "complex of social pressures gathering like storm clouds across the work and family lives of Canadians."

The survey asked managers to estimate the cost to their businesses of depressed employees who reported directly to them.

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They estimated average per-employee costs of $7,112 in lost efficiency and productivity for those who remained on the job, and $9,919 in absenteeism costs.

Those costs, said Wilkerson are 300 to 500 per cent higher than previous estimates, which had placed the cost at about $2,000 per employee.

The 20-minute survey was conducted from Oct. 29 to Nov. 6, using an online panel because it is more deliberative and private, Wright said.

The margin of error is plus or minus 1.25 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

By: Don Butler
Source: CanWest News Service; Ottawa Citizen

Last updated: 11/07

Depression Prompts One in Five Workers to Take Time Off, Study Finds

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