Even after receiving treatment with antidepressants, depressed workers costs employers more in short-term disability and absenteeism, says a report in the February Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.
Suellen Curkendall of Thomson Reuters Healthcare and her team of researchers used insurance claims and employee health and productivity databases to examine the relationship between antidepressant treatment and productivity costs.
What they found in their study was that depressed employees are about twice as likely to use short-term disability leave, compared to workers who were not depressed. Those workers with severe depression were three times as likely.
Deficits in productivity were significant, according to the report, with short-term disability costs of about $1,000 for each depressed worker and $1,700 for each severely depressed worker. These costs were, in fact, much higher than for other common illnesses such as high blood pressure, diabetes and rheumatoid arthritis.
Curkendall's team also found that workers with depression missed more work days, even after treatment with antidepressants.
The authors conclude their report by stating that these productivity losses probably occur due depression symptoms that persist despite treatment and suggest that "therapies that can better manage depression may provide opportunities for savings to employers."
What “therapies” are they talking about. Its a shame that so many people suffer from this disease, but it seems to me that these sufferers are not the only ones who are not doing their job. This is another crack in the world if antidepressants.
Unfortunately, our culture dispenses pills for depression, but refuses to cover therapy or makes it difficult/expensive to obtain via health insurers. Drugs help in the short term, but they don’t (and can’t) address the underlying problem(s), so eventually they stop working and the cycle repeats again and again.
Employers also use the diagnosis of depression against workers – I’ve had it happen to me. It cost me a 20+ year career. Never again. I’ll never tell an HR or EAP representative anything about my health again for that reason.
My meds currently allow me to work, but my job makes few demands on me. I’ve cycled through three anti-depressants so far. I’ve tried therapy, but haven’t found a therapist that’s been able to help yet.
I became so depressed that I went on a short term disability, took antidepressants that dulled me but did not improve my outlook and eventually returned to a job that had changed so much I didn’t “fit” any longer. In addition, I was enouraged to do more but chastised for keeping drs. appointments. Eventually I ended up in the same position I was in before except with a severance pkg. Now I have to find a job with a new employer, sell myself and although my depression is controlled by meds currently, will not be able to keep the necessary appts for therapy. So how do you win!?!
I have lived with depression for many years. Tried therapy, but it didn’t change anything. I lost a job of 21 years and took a job with a $15,000 pay-cut. I have a job right now that I LOVE, but when I get depressed, I certainly do lose much in the way of productivity. I am always terrified that I will lose my job, which causes me to be more depressed.
Regarding missing work, I have never missed a day due to my depression. Instead I would cry all the way to and from work-I rarely do that at this job.
Right now I am looking for a new therapist and think I need to change meds, because they aren’t working.
I have depression, but it has the opposite effect on me. Instead of missing work, depression has turned me into a workaholic. I try to do extra work to drown out my sadness. This week I’m working a 12 day long week at my job at Walgreens, yes 12 days in a row.
I have suffered from depression for almost 20 years. I have lost jobs due to my depression. I have quit jobs due to my depression. I am afraid I will lose my job due to it. I am very intelligent, but am afaid to push myself to advance myself or go for a job with a lot of responsibility. I do need therapy but cannot afford it. The co-pay is way too much. What I make a year definately has been affected by my depression. I’m not even self-sufficent. I have to live with my parents in my 40’s. But, cannot afford all my expenses on my own. My greatest accomplishment in my life is overcoming my depression enough to function in the world. It has taken me a long time and is a daily struggle. I have come a long way, and still look like a failure in most people’s eyes. It’s a shame.
I have been suffering from depression since my childhood and getting treatment since last ten years. My antidepressant works a lot for me but I still have some symptoms that worsen when face stresses in my job. I have also missed many jobs because of it and still uncertain that how long will I go with present job.
Do you know what I HATE? People calling depression a disease. Simply because when you associate anything with a disease people overreact and go all ballistic and fear that it is communicable. Anti-Depressants don’t do anything other than keep you from thinking about it. And that is the major flaw. Therapy is flawed to, because you can’t “talk” to some one who isnt a therapist, because they dont kwow what anything meants and dont understant anything. But You can’t find a good enough therapist that doesnt cost a fortune that will actually care about what you NEED, regardless of what you pay them. They just throw more pill at you and tell you to get out. So, yes, where DO you win???
Lexapro is a permanent life long cure for any depression if you can survive the treatment. I was prompted by a marriage counselor to go to my doctor and request drugs for my OCD symptoms (checking, intrusive sad thoughts, previous eating disorders as a teen and heavy drinking.) I went to my husband’s pcp who never met me before. He gave me a depression self-test and diagnosed me with depression and anxiety, and then prescribed me Lexapro and Rozerem since I had a terrible insomnia problem. He also decided it was a good idea to start kissing me and grabbing me in his office. The Lexapro did such a good job getting me up and doing things, lots of things, but unfortunately, I believe it also may have made me nervous because it raised my blood pressure from it’s usual 120/80 to 145/110. I was really up, up, up. I could drink twelve shots of straight liquor and still be walking around for hours. This was the busiest year of my life. I managed to get 2 DUI’s 4 drunk in publics and an involuntary commit for suicide, attend 2 rehab’s, a hypnotherapist, weekly ASAP programs, all while working full time an taking care of a young child. During the course of my medical treatment, I was seen by 3 psychiatrists, 4 doctors, and numerous counselors. Most of the follow up treatment involved numerous more drugs, anti-buse, campral, and Buspar. All of which I had to stop taking due to side effects such as full body tremors and falling down. Finally, after the second DUI which I was also charged with a felony for pinching a police officers butt, I decided maybe I should stop taking the Lexapro b/c I seemed to have developed some obsession with alcohol and I could see I was also becoming delusional. So, while in jail, I requested no more medication for 1 week and was able to fully withdraw from Lexapro, although the depression side effects of the withdrawal lasted about three months. I met numerous other women in jail for DUI’s while on Zoloft, Lexapro and Abilify and others for shoplifting on Zanax. My depression is 100% permanently cured. I no longer ever feel sad about my life. I have never killed anyone driving drunk, I didn’t kill myself, I am no longer in jail, I didn’t get my kid taken away from me, I am not in a mental institution, and I don’t have a lethal diastolic blood pressure of 110 anymore. No matter what happens in my life now, I am always hopeful and never depressed. I know things could be much worse.
Wow how do you live with yourself having wound up in jail and drinking and getting DUIs when you have a kid. It amazes me what people will do. I have a major depression and bipolar disease and have never acted like this. Sometimes I wish I would just go ballistic. My family would probablly disown me though and keep me from seeing my niece and nephews. I have shoplifted though. I have to admit. I have also done some other wild stuff but nothing that had the potential to harm anyone other than myself.