Do you feel unhappy most of the time? Do you frequently get
upset over little things? Do you frequently feel like crying?
The answers to these and other seemingly simple questions
can be important in diagnosing an all-too-common illness:
depression.
Depression
can be devastating to everyday life, including family relationships,
friendships, and the ability to work. Employers have long
coped with employee absenteeism, but a new study reveals that
depression may be a substantial contributing factor.
The study used statistical analyses to evaluate more than
6,000 employees at three corporations. Workers exhibiting
symptoms of depression were twice as likely to miss work (at
least one missed workday in the previous four weeks) due to
health reasons, compared with workers without depressive symptoms;
decreased job performance was also seven times higher for
depressed vs. nondepressed employees. These findings emphasize
that depressive disorders persist over time and can have a
significant impact on workplace effectiveness.
Reference:
Druss B, Schlesinger M, Allen H. Depressive symptoms, satisfaction
with health care, and two-year work outcomes in an employed
population. The American Journal of Psychiatry 2001:
Vol. 158, No. 5, pp731-34.
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