The Effects Of Depression In Society And Workplace

One of the costliest illnesses in America is clinical depression and it hits hard in the workplace. Depression causes a rate of absenteeism that translates to two hundred million lost days of work per year at a cost of over 43 billion dollars! Treating the disease and lost production costs add up to a staggering effect on the economy, not to mention the human misery involved. Statistics show that after family crisis or stress, depression costs businesses the most in employee sick days. Three percent of all short-term sick leaves are due to depression and 76% of those who use their sick time for depression are female.

Depression usually affects people that are in the prime years of their careers and can last a lifetime if untreated. People often don't get treatment for fear that their employers will discover their “problem” and it will affect their ability to keep their job or be promoted. However, 64% of employers surveyed by Mental Health America said they would not hesitate to refer an employee to a health professional if they were aware of the employee’s symptoms. If recognized and properly treated, more than 80% of people afflicted with depression can overcome it.

The amount of money spent on mental depression and related disorders makes up more than half of all the dollars spent on mental health issues, close to what is spent on heart disease. It would undoubtedly be more if those who are affected were sure that their insurance would pay for treatment or weren't afraid that treatment would adversely affect their job.

The economy isn’t the only sector that is hit hard by the effects of depression. Left untreated, depression impacts society as well as individuals. It contributes to broken marriages, unemployment, hunger and homelessness. Indeed, studies conducted in cities throughout the United States show that roughly one quarter of the homeless population is suffering from mild to severe depression that usually began to affect their lives before they became homeless. In many cases, depression contributed greatly to the disintegration of their former lives that led them to the streets. Treatment for the depression of the homeless is practically non-existent and the few programs that attempt to address the problem are very difficult for patients to access.

Depression isn't just a personal agony; its effects ripple out and touch every segment of society and our economy if it is not recognized and treated.