Employers would
save themselves money by implementing
programs to spot and treat depression
in workers, a new U.S. study finds.
Reporting in the December issue of
the journal Archives of General
Psychiatry, researchers at Harvard
University used data from dozens of
previous studies to simulate expenses
for a hypothetical group of 40-year-old
workers diagnosed with depression.
The results suggest that offering
a minimal level of enhanced care to
workers with depression would lead
to cumulative savings to employers
of $2,898 per 1,000 employees over
five years.
While this kind of program would
initially result in increased use
of mental health services by workers,
it would save employers money in the
long term by reducing worker absenteeism
and turnover costs, the study authors
said.
"Depression exacts economic
costs totaling tens of billions of
dollars annually in the United States,
mostly from lost work productivity,"
study co-author Dr. Philip Wang said
in a prepared statement.
"Yet we're not making the most
of available services and treatments.
Our study calculates what employers'
return on their investment would be
if they purchased enhanced depression
treatment programs for their workers,"
he said.
The study was funded by the U.S.
National Institute of Mental Health.
