All we know is that depression has emerged as a common health problem in the recent years and more unfortunate is the fact that workers or employees have also been encompassed in this tide, which experts believe is bound to have a bad impact on world economy. Before going further let’s have a close look at the figures so that we may have a better idea of the whole situation.
1. Workers between the ages of 25 to 64 are more afflicted with depression.
2. Workers in sales or in white-collar jobs are more vulnerable to depression than blue-collar workers.
3. Most of the workers don’t accept easily that they are depressed.
4. American employees take around three million days off work every year due to untreated depression.
5. Just in the year 2000, companies in the U.S. had to bear the loss of about $54 billion due to untreated depression of employees.
6. Over 300,000 people in Ireland experience a depressive illness at some point in their life, with an estimated one in 14 workers affected.
7. According to an estimate, about 1.8 to 3.6 percent of the workers in the U.S. labor force suffer from major depression.
We all know that depression leads not only to mental disorders but to several physical problems too. In addition, more deplorable is the fact that it puts a bad impact on our world economy too. I strongly believe that depression is no longer an individual but a social as well as an economic problem. Therefore, employers will also have to come forward to make sure that the seeds of depression may not sprout in their employees because it is neither good for employees nor for employers. Here question arises that what should be done to tackle this depression in employees but before that, I think it is important to find out the exact reason behind it, which is fast spreading its tentacles and the irony is that it’s invisible.
There are multiple factors contributing towards this scourge, including mainly long working hours, same time routine, and constant work pressure.
Is there any solution?
I think if working style is tailored in a way to create congenial working atmosphere, it would automatically make employees love their jobs and would create a lot of difference. Secondly, some motivating factor should be there in the working places so that employees may get more and more encouragement to go further with doubled energy and enthusiasm. Thirdly, the implementation of very strict rules and regulations should be avoided so that employees may not feel themselves under the yoke of suppression. Fourthly, but most importantly there should be a provision of medical counseling if any employee find some symptoms of depression in his or herself.
Image credit: Irish Health
Via: CBC
