By Holly Burns
Staff Writer

American employees take around three million days off work every year due to untreated depression, according to the National Mental Health Association. That’s more sick days than employees use for physical illnesses like diabetes, high blood pressure or arthritis.

Naturally, such absenteeism carries repercussions. In 2000, companies lost more than $54 billion due to untreated depression of employees, says medical web site WebMD. And even if an employee suffering from untreated clinical depression does make it into work every day, it’s unlikely that he or she will be performing at full capacity, says Dr. Stephen McLeod-Bryant, an associate professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at MUSC.

“Part of the diagnosis of depression involves identifying symptoms, like a lack of energy or difficulty concentrating, that would affect one’s ability to work,” says McLeod-Bryant. “A loss of work days is pretty common when depression is untreated or mistreated.”

With the illness affecting one in every 20 people, employers need to recognize that depression is a fairly common phenomenon, and they should be prepared to deal with it professionally and confidentially, McLeod-Bryant adds.

“Undiagnosed depression is a huge issue when it comes to productivity and quality of work,” says Jim Gray, president of local HR consulting firm Jim Gray Consultants LLC. “The employee needs to know how he can find the help he needs, but the question is how accessible is that form of help, and how does the employer present it?”

Heritage Trust Federal Credit Union, which employs almost 200 employees locally, offers an employee assistance program (or EAP), as well as includes depression and stress management quizzes in company newsletters, and covers most mental health treatment through its insurance plan, according to Glenda Inabinet, vice president of human resources. “The mental health of our employees is just as important as their physical health,” she says. “No one can be expected to work properly when they’re sick.”

Santee Cooper, which employs close to 1,700 local workers, also has an EAP accessible to employees suffering from depression. “It’s a fairly sensitive subject, and I can see that a lot of people wouldn’t want to talk about it,” acknowledges Ron Holmes, vice president of human resources. “But like any other illness, depression can be treated, and once it is, the employee should be able to resume working at his or her previous capacity.”

But although EAPs may be a step in the right direction, employees may not be making as much use of them as they could. While 65% of companies offer an EAP, according to a recent study conducted by the University of Michigan Depression Center, only 14% of employees with depression have ever accessed one.

That’s why employers should keep an eye out for a sudden dip in productivity, or frequent absences from work, says Gray.

“A good, well-trained human resources professional will be able to identify a problem—from a mood shift to a definite change in performance,” he says, “and offer an immediate referral to a professional counselor as well as a promise of absolute confidentiality in the workplace. There shouldn’t be any stigma attached to mental illness that would prohibit an employee from seeking help.”

Unfortunately, a gap between employer perception and employee reality of depression in the workplace may show otherwise. While 89% of benefit managers and 76% of middle managers in the University of Michigan study said employees with depression could acknowledge their depression and still get ahead at the company, a mere 41% of employees agreed. Moreover, while 90 to 95% of managers said employees could acknowledge they have depression at their company and be treated with respect and compassion, only 51% of employees felt the same.

“The statistic may be reflective of a certain distrust some employees could have of their employers,” explains McLeod-Bryant. “They might assume that being give the label ‘depressed’ could hinder them in their careers. It’s obviously difficult to trust a supervisor with a personal problem, but it should be done. In fact, it would probably be useful for employees to learn how forward-thinking their employers actually are.”

And with 98% of employer treatment costs for depression offset by increased productivity, according to the NMHA, a company can’t help but benefit from raising awareness about mental health issues.

“Obviously, as a person, you want your employees to be happy,” says Gray. “But from a business perspective, the cost of turnover and poor productivity due to undiagnosed depression is huge. Your motivation should be to remain competitive as a company, and that only happens by taking proper care of your employees.”

Holly Burns covers human resources for the Business Journal.

SIDEBAR:

How can employers help with depression?

– Provide access to mental health benefits.

– Educate employees about the symptoms of mental health problems through the company Intranet, poster campaigns, health fairs and other outreach vehicles.

– Inform employees and train supervisors about resources available to employees and their families.

– Sponsor screenings for depression, anxiety, substance abuse and other mental health problems.

– Include depression and other mental illnesses in integrated disease management programs.

Source: NMHA

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