Depression costs European businesses $130 billion

Employers need to take a more proactive approach to employees with depression in the wake of figures showing the illness now costs European workplaces an estimated £77 ($130) billion a year.

The greatest economic loss is through absenteeism and lost productivity, according to a new report by King's College London and the London School of Economics and Political Science.

The report, published in PLOS ONE, reveals that although 30 million people in Europe – and 350 million people worldwide – struggle with depression, many workplaces seriously underestimate its impact.

In a recent survey of 500 UK employers, over half believed that employees suffering from stress and depression could still work effectively, contradicting new data from a study of 7,000 people.

Dr Sara Evans-Lacko from the Institute of Psychiatry (IoP) at King's and Professor Martin Knapp from LSE analysed a large cross-European survey which encompassed seven European countries.

http://medicalxpress.com/news/2014-03-depression-european-businesses-billion.html

More information: Evans-Lacko S, Knapp M (2014) "Importance of Social and Cultural Factors for Attitudes, Disclosure and Time off Work for Depression: Findings from a Seven Country European Study on Depression in the Workplace." PLoS ONE9(3): e91053. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0091053