Depression Intervention Aids Productivity
Systematically identifying and treating employees’ depression symptoms is likely to result in higher job retention, fewer sickness-related absences and increased worker productivity, a study has found.
Harvard Medical School in Boston,
Group Health Cooperative’s Center for Health Studies in Seattle, and OptumHealth
Behavioral Solutions in Golden Valley, Minnesota, conducted the study, which was
published this week in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
The study,
which was funded by the National Institute of Mental Health, examined the impact
employer-based depression screening, vigorous outreach and care management had
on 304 out of 604 depressed workers at 16 national employers that participated
in the trial.
The companies ranged in size from 3,000 to 64,000
employees.
“Depression is highly prevalent among the employee population,
which comes at a high cost to employers,” says study co-author Francisca Azocar,
assistant VP for research and evaluation out of San Francisco for OptumHealth. “Programs are available that can address depression and improve the productivity
of their employees.”
Participating employees who screened positive for
depression were divided into two groups. The first group received minimal
intervention—a letter informing them they tested positive for depression and
highlighting possible treatment options.
The latter group received more vigorous
outreach through telephonic intervention by the study’s facilitators, who asked
employees to participate in treatment options such as in-person therapy or
telephone therapy. Employees’ progress was monitored throughout therapy, and
their needs were reassessed throughout the process.
The study showed an
improvement in clinical symptoms among employees who received the enhanced
treatment. An improvement of 2.6 hours per week in overall work productivity,
increased job retention, decreased absenteeism because of illness, and an
increase in hours worked were additional results of employees receiving the
telephonic intervention.
“Enhanced depression care—more than being a cost to
the employer—is really an opportunity to invest in employees and it pays back,”
Azocar says. “All in all, it’s good for business.
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