Depression Among Workers: Causes, Effects and Prevention

Depression has become a significant contributor to morbidity and mortality among workers. Learn about the causes, effects and prevention of depression among workers. Find out how depression affects productivity and how to prevent it.

Running head: DEPRESSION AMONG WORKERS
Depression Among Workers
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Depression Among Workers
Depression has become one of the most prevalent mental illnesses in the
contemporary society (Csikszentmihalyi, 2014). In most countries, depression has been
labelled as a public health problem. It is therefore evident that depression has become a
significant contributor to morbidity and mortality. Depression is diagnosed when a person
represents some five or more symptoms that will be provided below over a period of two
weeks (Miller and Raison, 2016). Among the symptoms, there must be either depressed mood
or loss of interest/ pleasure. The symptoms include significant loss of weight even when the
person in question is not dieting. Depression could also lead to significant weigh gain (Pratt
and Brody, 2014). Another sign of the condition is lack of sleep. The person with depression
also experiences recurrent thoughts of low self-esteem, low self-worth and feeling of guilt. In
addition to these symptoms, the person may also have difficulty concentrating and they may
experience recurrent suicidal thoughts.
Extensive evidence has revealed that depression is a leading cause of morbidity and
disability. The burden of disease due depression has been ranking high in many countries in
recent years. It has been categorized fourth when it comes to the disorders that cause
diseases. By the year 2013, it is projected that depression will rank the first among the
disorders causing diseases. In terms of disease burden, depression has been found to
contribute to 12% of total years that people live with disabilities (Neisser, 2014). This
information clearly shows the significance of depression among workers in the contemporary
society. Many public health departments in various nations have categorized the disease as an
occupational condition and are working to ensure that the situation is averted before it gets to
high levels.

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In England, a survey carried out by the Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey found out
that at least 17.6% of the population were affected by some form of mental disorder
(Zuckerman, 2014). Among these, 2.6% were suffering from depression related
characteristics. A national survey carried out in the United States in 2010 found out that 6.8
percent of the American population suffered from an episode of depression. This represents
15.5 million people (Zuckerman, 2014). This is quite huge number of people. The survey
incorporated persons aged 18 years and above. The survey also found out that depression was
higher among females who were between the ages of 18-25 years.
In the year 20017, the National Survey of Mental and Wellbeing carried out a survey
across Australia. The survey incorporated adults aged between 16 and 85 years. The survey
found out that 45% of this population were at risk of suffering from a mental illness in their
lifetime. In addition, the study found out that 6.2 percent of this population had affective
disorder with 4.2 percent of these having a depressive episode in the last 12 months. In
Malaysia, mental health surveys are carried out in intervals of 10 years (McDougall, 2015).
The survey carried out in 2006 made some key findings concerning mental health and
wellbeing. One of the key findings made at this time was that the prevalence of mental health
illnesses had increased from 10.7% in 1996 to 11.2% in 2006 (Dennett, 2017). The survey
involved participants aged 16 years and above. The survey was carried out by trained health
care professionals. The most recent survey was carried out in the year 2011. It found out that
the prevalence of a Malaysian experiencing depression in their lifetime was 2.4% while the
percentage of people suffering from depression at the time was only 1.8% (Levitt, 2015). The
significant differences observed between the two surveys explained above could be attributed
to the different mechanisms used in carrying out the survey. The recent survey (2011) also
found out that people living in urban centres were at more risk of suffering from depression
when compared to people living in the countryside.

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Mental health conditions such as depression should not be overlooked. More often,
we tend to be concerned more with the physical illnesses while disregarding the mental health
conditions. As evidenced by the observations above, mental health conditions such as
depression are a great contributor to morbidity and mortality in the contemporary society. A
country that focuses on the health and wellbeing of its citizens should be sure to focus on the
mental health and wellbeing of its citizens and especially its workers. The World Health
Organization defines health as a state of physical, mental and emotional wellbeing.
Therefore, health should not be limited to the physical wellbeing if we are to curb morbidity
and mortality effectively. Extensive evidence has revealed that depression causes great
impairment in the functional wellbeing of an individual. In addition to this, depression causes
great distress in physical wellbeing as well as causing other health problems. Depression may
greatly decrease the quality of life and lead to morbidity or even mortality.
When most mental health problems are detected early, it is easier to rehabilitate them
and restore mental health and wellbeing. This also applies to depression. If the condition is
detected early, the negative consequences associated with the condition could be greatly
averted. It has long been argued that prevention is better than cure/management. The cost of
preventing is usually lower than the cost of managing or curing. It would therefore be wise
for governments to focus more on preventing depression among workers rather than curing.
The government is usually responsible for provision of primary health care to its citizens. It is
the high time that governments across the world appreciate the importance of employing
preventive measures so that the rates of depression among workers reduce.

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Depression Among Workers is on the Rise
It is worth noting that depression, anxiety and attacks of panic are not signs of
weakness. They are usually brought by circumstances that the person in question cannot
control. Extensive evidence suggests that such people usually try their best to be strong until
it reaches a point where the mental processes are adversely affected. The rates of depression
among workers in Malaysia and other parts of the word have been increasing at an alarming
rate over the last few decades. According to the National Health and Morbidity survey of
2015, every 3 in 10 adults aged more than 16 years suffers from some kind of mental illness.
This age bracket represents most of the workers.
It is shocking that the rates of mental health illnesses are projected to increase in the
future. Depression is one of the most common of these illnesses and it affects the lives of
workers in many negative ways which reduces their productivity. It is projected that the rate
of mental health illnesses will continue being of major concern in Malaysia in the next few
years. Scholars have suggested that mental health conditions will be the second largest
contributor to morbidity and mortality by 2020 in Malaysia. It will be second after heart
disease.
The world Health Organization have identified depression as the leading cause of
disability. The criteria employed by the WHO in making this conclusion is considering the
amount years that one live with disability due to the condition. In addition to this, the WHO
has ranked depression the fourth when it comes to the global burden of disease contributors.
Public health experts in conjunction with mental health specialists have advised that there
should be health campaigns across Malaysia. Heath promotion would be a great way of
making Malaysians aware of depression, its causes and way of preventing and managing the
condition. Evidence suggests that people who are knowledgeable are likely to have better

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health outcomes when compared to those who are not aware. The government should
therefore fund health campaigns to ensure that the depression burden is reduced.
It is worth noting that most of the mental health illnesses including depression are
treatable. This is especially true when the conditions are detected at an early stage. Although
this is the case, most of people with these conditions do not seek/receive medical
treatment/intervention. Evidence suggests that those who receive treatment are less than 25%
of the people affected with depression (Levine, 2018). More than half of the people with
depression spend almost all their lives without the condition being diagnose or receiving nay
kind of treatment. It has also been found that most of the persons suffering from depression in
rural areas usually remain under the care of religious leaders without receiving any medical
treatment. Stigma is also another major barrier to treatment. Majority of the patients suffering
from depression do not receive treatments that are based on evidence. To solve this problem,
it is important for the government and other well wishers to sensitize the public on
depression, its causes and ways of preventing/ managing it.
Effects of Depression on Workers
The term workplace injury has been typically used to mean physical ailment.
Occupational health and safety have become an important aspect/ component of the work
place environment. While dealing with occupational health issues, most of the employers and
policy makers often overlook a very important occupational health issue: depression. As the
Centre for Disease Control observes, depression is one of the leading causes of work place
injury. To illustrate the significance of depression in causing work place injury, let us look at
some statistical information concerning the same. Centre for Disease Control found out that
the economic burden of depression in the United States in the year 2010 was 210.5 billion

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dollars (Eysenck, 2014). This is a vast amount of resources. Apart from that, it also serves to
gives us a picture of the significance of depression as contributor to work place injury.
The work place is obviously not immune from the effects of depression. Depression
can lead to varied effects on the workers. The most common effects are absenteeism, loss of
work or decreased productivity. Extensive evidence has also revealed that depression puts the
employees affected at a higher risk of abusing alcohol and other substances. Depression
greatly affects the mental processes of a worker in negative ways. In addition to increasing
the risk for abusing alcohol and other substances, workers suffering from depression are also
at a higher risk of developing other mental health disorders (Smith, 2015). For workers who
have suffered some other form of injury in the work place, depression may have more
debilitating effects when compared to the workers who have not previously suffered from any
other injury. In fact, studies suggest that a worker who have had other forms of injury in the
work place has an increased risk of developing depression. Due to this, it is important that the
employers or managers ensure that the occupational health of the employees is a priority and
is comprehensively taken care of. Such a move would help alleviate injuries and depression
by extension.
Injury-Depression Connection
As observed in the previous section, a person who have suffered some form of work
place injury has a higher risk of developing depression when compared to a person who has
not had any form of injury. A serious injury in the work place affects many aspects of the life
of any employees (Haberler, 2017). To understand the relationship between injury and
depression, it is wise to consider the aspects of the overall life of an employee that are
affected by an injury. As observed by occupational health experts, an employee who has
suffered an injury in the work place does not only lose some of their functional capabilities

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but also have disruptions in their home life and hobbies. If it also happens that the worker is
experiencing chronic pain, then they are at a high risk of developing depression. With
depression, the compensation system for workers is greatly disrupted.
With the onset of depression, the worker is likely to suffer prolonged effects of the
injury (Gilbert, 2016). Evidence also reveals that a person with depression is likely to spend
more on the injury that they had had prior to depression (Elder, 2018). Experts have also
shown that depression in and of itself poses major risk factors to the health of the worker. For
instance, a worker who has depression has an increased risk for developing low back pain. In
addition, such a worker is at a higher risk of resulting to smoking. As we know, smoking
poses major challenges to health of an individual including increasing the chances of lung
cancer. It follows that the worker who has suffered depression is likely to experience a
vicious cycle of illnesses. There is also the effect that depression may have on the worker’s
productivity. Even when a person with depression reports to work, they are likely to
concentrate less. This makes the productivity level become very low for such workers. If this
were to happen across a significant number of workers, the productivity level in a country
would lower. This would have significant negative effects on the economy. It is therefore
important that the employers and the policy makers ensure that the work environment is as
safe as possible so that work place injuries can be minimised.
As we have seen, the effects of work place injury on the life and wellbeing of a
worker are largely negative. We have also seen that work place injury increases the
likelihood of developing depression. Despite this, there are usually no compensation
mechanisms for workers who have suffered depression as a consequence of work place
injury. It is important that such compensation be introduced so that the affected employees
can lead quality lives even with depression. It is also necessary that the employers and policy
makers ensure that there is some mechanism of detecting depression in its workers and taking

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the necessary actions, that is seeking medical care. If there are such measures in place, most
of the workers who suffer depression would be assisted to regain normalcy and probably their
productivity too. When the workers do not receive any compensation, they are less likely to
seek medical attention. This will only lead to deterioration of their conditions. This may mean
that they spend longer time periods without working or have their performance greatly
affected once they return to work.
To ensure that productivity is minimised and such suffering as the one explained
above is alleviated, it is necessary that employers take deliberate actions to curb or address
the issue of depression among workers. The main goal of any business is to maximize profits.
In the contemporary working environment, the employee is the most important asset of the
company/ business enterprises. If the employee is treated well and appreciated for what they
do, they are likely to be more productive. Being more productive means that that the business
makes more profits. One of the ways of motivating employees is showing concern when it
comes to their health. The employers could ensure that they provide health insurance to their
employees. In addition, they should take all the necessary precautions to ensure that the work
place environment is as safe as possible. One of the key ways of ensuring this is ensuring that
the structures are built and installed properly. In addition, the workers should receive
trainings at regular intervals on how to take care of themselves while working (Dillon, 2016).
Companies/ business enterprises should also ensure that the employees are accorded enough
time to rest so that they are more productive. Such a move would also make the employees
more appreciated and therefore motivated to work.
How Work Contributes to Depression
Extensive evidence reveals that work life in the contemporary environment is stressful
for nearly every person (Baer, 2015). Experts argue that the people who are entering the job

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market and those who are already in it do not feel secure about the jobs that they have
(Beardslee, 2016). The expectation that one will work for a company or a business for a long
period is no longer existent for most people. Traditionally, employees have been known to
work for a company or a business enterprise and rise through ranks from the lower ones to
the higher ones (Nolen-Hoeksema and Rector, 2015). This means that workers have
conventionally expected that they would work for a company/ business enterprise for a long
period of time if not for a lifetime. In the contemporary job market however, things have
changed. There are frequent organizational changes that occur threatening the jobs of that
they employees have. For instance, there are numerous downsizing operations that are carried
out by companies every year (Buss, 2015). In addition to this, there are frequent formations
of mergers and acquisitions. Due to these processes, the employees have a chronic feeling of
unsettledness where they are not sure of their fate (Segal, Williams and Teasdale, 2018).
They fear that they might lose their jobs anytime. When an employee loses their job, it is
usually a hard task acquiring another one (Card, 2017). The thoughts that one might lose their
job at any time has contributed to increasing the stress levels of the employees.
According to the American Psychological Association’s work and wellbeing survey
which was carried out in 2017, more than a third of the Americans whoa are in the workforce
are chronically stressed (Karp, 2016). This gives a picture of the nature of the modern work
place environment. According to psychology experts, chronic stress is a significant
contributor to depression (Botha and Dozois, 2015). Workers who are in this state usually
exhibit a sense of helplessness and lack control on their professional lives. The stress is
mainly caused by the uncertainty. Research suggests that most workers would like to be part
of some kind of a professional home. This refers to a situation where the worker can have a
high degree of confidence that they are going to have a source of livelihood for a significant

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amount of time. Such a ‘home’ would also offer an opportunity for the employees to establish
lasting working relations.
One of the other ways that the modern working environment is leading to depression
is through longer working hours. In the modern work environments, employees work even
for more than 50 hours in a week (Lader, 2015). This time does not include the time that they
have spent commuting. It is the time that they actually spend working. This is especially true
for the employees who work for global companies. They wake up and find say an email from
a foreign location requesting some kind of service. Such workers often sleep with their
phones by the bedside so that they can respond to any issue that may arise concerning their
work. They feel that they have the obligation to respond to these maters and feel very anxious
when they don’t. This way, they do not get enough time to sleep. According to psychology
experts, lack of adequate sleep predisposes these workers to both depression and anxiety.
It is also worth noting that the employment of technology in the modern work
operations has led to a significant number of workers who carry out their tasks from home
(Beidel, Bulik and Stanley, 2014). While one may argue that this is convenient and time
saving, it has its own downfalls too. Experts argue that this kind of work may cause the
person to feel isolated and lonely. This is because the person usually works alone without the
support of co-workers or other people. This kind of work may also leave the employee
without any form of insurance and benefits. For most of these workers, they have to have
more than on income channel to make both ends meet. This is however dependent on the
nature of job and the company that an individual is working for. Experts have argued that the
conditions of this work are likely to lead to depression. When the person is alone, they are
likely to keep the challenges that they are going through to themselves causing them stress.
This is likely to cause depression in the long run.

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Prevention of Work Place Injury and Depression
Experts have argued that it is a pretty simple job to identify and prevent cases of
depression among the workers. The only thing that is required of the employer is to pay
attention. Paying attention is used here to mean that the employer should take appropriate
actions that are geared towards ensuring that the occupational health and wellbeing of
workers is kept at optimum. Sometimes all it needs is for the supervisors to pay close
attention to their employees. When they do this, they are likely to identify when the employee
(s) are having some issues. For depression clients, it is usually easy to notice for their signs
exhibit such symptoms as absent mindedness and reduced productivity. For the supervisors to
be effective in identifying employees who are undergoing depression, it would be wise for
them to undergo some training on how to identify signs and symptoms of depression. Let us
imagine a situation where all the employers were trained on how to identify signs of
depression and how to help the employees through the process. We would definitely have a
healthier and a better working environment. Cases of depression would be identified early
and also treated early. This would in turn greatly increase the effectiveness and productivity
of workers.
There are certain changes that are commonly associated with individuals who are
suffering from depression. The employers could be on the look out for these signs on their
employees. These signs are usually more common in employees who have returned to work
after experiencing a work place injury. One of the signs is that the employees experience a
hard time trying to adjust aster returning to the work place. There might also be notable
changes when it comes to appearance or the mode of grooming. The person may also appear
chronically sad and uninterested in the affairs of others. In addition, the person may record
decreased productivity. Most of the persons suffering from depression usually have a herd
time completing their tasks within the allocated time.

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Experts suggest that the employers/ supervisors need not be medically trained to
identify these signs and symptoms (Furnham, Ritchie and Lay, 2016). Ideally, the employee
who is identified as having one or more signs of depression should be recruited to an
employee assistance program. Relatively smaller firms may not have access to an employee
assistance programs but the employer should figure a way of intervening to ensure that the
employee is taken care of. After all, they are an important contributor to the productivity and
wellbeing of the company/ business enterprise. Experts on occupational health have argued
that the employers need not wait for the employee to return back to work so that they can
identify these signs and symptoms. The supervisors should work in conjunction with other
workers to ensure that the employee is recovering well and identify any sign of depression
that they may have (Ray, 2017). It is true that man is the only social animal endowed with the
ability to reason. For this reason, it is important that human beings care about the wellbeing
of others. This should happen naturally by the virtue that we are humans. This should be even
more conspicuous where there are close relations. Monitoring the health and wellbeing of an
employee would help them feel loved and cared for. This has the potential of accelerating
their healing.
Another key intervention/ undertaking that would help deal with the issue of
depression effectively is providing appropriate education concerning depression to the
employees (Brown and Barlow, 2016). Extensive evidence suggests that such a move would
go a long way in ensuring that depression is curbed in the future. It is usually argued that
knowledge has the potential of shaping attitudes. When the attitudes are shaped by
knowledge, the knowledge may translate to practice. Let us take an example of someone who
has been educated on the importance of taking plenty of vegetables and fruits in shaping their
health and wellbeing. Such information is likely to shape the person’s attitudes towards fruits
and vegetables. This means that the person is likely to consider taking fruits and vegetables

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more often. Once the attitude shaped this way, then the person is likely to actually start
putting the knowledge to practice. Educating employees on what depression is, how it occurs,
its impacts, ways of managing or preventing it may lead to lower cases of depression in
future. The employers may occasionally have programs where they invite physicians and
mental health professionals to train the employees on depression. Such programs may have
numerous advantages as will be discussed in the next paragraph.
One of the advantages that would be accrued from the programs is the eradication of
stigma (Sarason and Sarason, 2017). Stigma is a great contributor to the development and
progression of depression (Larsen, Buss, Wismeijer, Song and van, 2017). When the
employees are educated, they know the causes of depression and are likely to no longer have
any stigma towards person with depression. An example of the great role that stigma could
paly in preventing proper management of conditions has been observed in the areas of
HIV/AIDS. Although the stigma has significantly reduced in the contemporary society, there
was a time that is was so wide spread that those suffering from the disease just stayed in their
homes without seeking any medical attention. The other advantage of is that it would help the
workers know how to identify signs and symptoms of depression (Buss, 2015). With this
knowledge, the employees would be in a better position to take care of each other. In case
they realize that one of them is presenting any of the depression signs, they would offer
appropriate support to ensure that the employees is well taken care of. With such kind of a
framework, it would be rare for a person to suffer from depression. If anything, thy are likely
to receive appropriate help and return to work as soon as possible. Such kind of a relationship
between the workers would greatly help alleviate depression and increase the quality of life
of the workers (Piaget, 2015).
This type of intervention has been shown to be very effective in curbing the
depression. Sometimes, all that it takes to alleviate depression is to have a caring

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environment. Psychologists suggest that the well being of the mind is mainly dependent on
the environment in which a person is living. If the person is living in a supportive
environment, then they are likely to enjoy optimal mental health and wellbeing (William,
2016). depression does not affect a person in vacuum. It is therefore appropriate that the
employees be equipped with the essential skills of identifying and caring a person presenting
with signs of depression. Experts encourage the employers to be in touch with their
employees (Thibaut, 2017). Even when the employee is away from work nursing work place
injuries, it is important that the employer keep touch with the employee. This would make
them feel appreciated, loved and cared for which is likely to help them improve. In addition,
such kind of care may help the employees have lower chances of developing depression
(Boysen, Wells and Dawson, 2016).

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