The Director Discusses: Depression in the Workplace Common is
Depression in the Workplace? As described in prior "Director
Discusses" columns, clinical depression is common. One of every
five individuals, whether working or not, develops clinical
depression or bipolar illness during their lifetime. Those who
get depressive or bipolar disorders may feel alone and reluctant
to discuss, but they certainly are not. To confound the
commonality, if depressions are untreated, an episodic,
recurrent course occurs in most people; in other words, even
when an episode passes, it tends to come back if left untreated.
So during any given month in any given workplace with many
employees, it is virtually guaranteed that clinical depression
will be common and costly. Why should employers care about costs
and consequences of clinical depression and bipolar illnesses in
the workplace? Depression is near or at the top in producing
financial burden in workplace settings. Most studies show that
clinical depressions are the second