Study: Workers fear stigma if they admit they're depressed
10:39 PM 4/11/04
Diane Lewis The Boston Globe

Many workers feel that they will be penalized if they acknowledge suffering from depression, according to a study released this month by the University of Michigan Depression Center. <

The study looks at the way employees suffering from the disease believe they are perceived at the office and management's responses and perceptions. It found there is a difference between the way employers believe they respond to depressed workers and what employees say they experience in the workplace. <

The study reported that a majority of the workers who suffer from depression said there was a stigma attached to the illness, even when their treatments succeeded in alleviating symptoms. For example, only 41 percent of the employees felt they could acknowledge their illness and still get ahead in their careers, researchers said. <

Eighty-three percent of the benefit managers felt their companies had taken steps to ensure that workers with depression were supported by coworkers, but only 37 percent had conducted proactive depression education programs for their staff. And while 78 percent of the benefit managers believe loss in productivity due to depression is more costly to companies than helping workers get the appropriate treatment, only 11 percent said they have offered employee screenings. <

"Before employees can be treated, they need to first understand that they have an illness," said Thomas Carli, a psychiatrist and a member of the University of Michigan Depression Center. <

Carli added that providing inexpensive screening, disease education, and management training programs can go a long way to helping depressed workers and the companies they work for. <

According to the university, one in 10 workers is depressed, costing companies as much as $52 billion annually due to absenteeism and lost or reduced productivity. University researchers said the physical symptoms of depression, which include aches, pains, headaches, and backaches, can make it difficult to effectively diagnose employees and magnify the economic burden of employees. <

When the university interviewed depressed workers, it found that 82 percent had difficulty concentrating, 83 percent said they lacked motivation, and 24 percent complained of chronic physical pain that made it uncomfortable for them to work. <

The study pointed out that once depression is treated, the individual's work performance is indistinguishable from coworkers without the disorder. <

The study results are based on two random surveys, one an online survey of 443 employees who suffer from depression, the other a telephone survey of 300 middle managers and 207 benefit managers. The online survey had a margin of error of plus or minus 4.66 percentage points. The telephone survey had a margin of error of plus or minus 5.66 percentage points.