With clinical depression on the rise — one in six Americans suffers from it, according to an April 2007 article in The Washington Post — employers may play a role in reducing the disease and, consequently, it's negative impact on productivity. According to Keith Dixon, Ph.D., of CIGNA Behavioral Health, "more than 70 percent of people diagnosed with depression are employed ... resulting in 400 million lost work days a year. That's why employers have a huge stake in promoting treatment for depression."
A report from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) shows that individuals suffering from depression benefited from employer-sponsored programs that helped them remedy it, according to a Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) HR Week article.
The study encompassed more than 600 participants (that were assessed twice a year; at the 6 months mark and again at the 12-month period) and broke them down into two groups: (1) those who had to find care from their normal provider, and (2) those who received telephone care and choices of prescription medication and consultations either via phone or an in-person appointment, through a program sponsored by the employer. At the year's end, members of the second group, featuring care through consultations and medicine, "were 40 percent more likely to have recovered from their depression" as opposed to those in the first group. This group was also able to "retain their jobs, perform more effectively and 'significantly' improve their depression," according to the study, which was produced by the Harvard Medical School, Group Health Cooperative's Center for Health Studies, and OptumHealth Behavioral Solutions.
"For many people, a large chunk of their lives is devoted to work. Depression affects not only a person's health, but also his or her ability to work," says Philip Wang, M.D., of NIMH, who aided in conducting the study.
Dixon says the benefits for employers that offer programs to help treat depression are significant. "Depressed employees use, on average, more than $4,000 per year in medical services versus less than $1,000 per year used by employees without depression, making depression a driving force in health care costs," he says.
In addition, Dixon notes indirect costs of untreated employee depression: "absenteeism, poor productivity, flawed decision-making, accidents, turnover, failed projects, faulty products, poor customer service [and] poor teamwork."
As a whole, employee wellness programs are on the rise. Read more about companies providing incentives for their employees as well as government efforts to encourage wellness rewards in previous E-Brief issues.
--Cassandra P. Foster
cfoster@safnow.org
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