Absenteeism and associated labour costs according to depressive symptom severity in the German general population: why preventive strategies matter

Abstract

Purpose Depression is a highly prevalent mental health condition with substantial individual, societal and economic consequences. This study focussed on the association of depressive symptom severity with absenteeism duration and employer labour costs. Methods Using cross-sectional data from the German Health Update 2014/2015, multivariable zero-inflated Poisson regression (ZIP) models explored the association of depressive symptom severity (8-item depression patient health questionnaire—PHQ-8), with absenteeism weeks during 12 months in men and women working full- or part-time. The predicted sick leave weeks were multiplied by mean average labour costs. Results The sample consisted of 12,405 persons with an average sick leave of 1.89 weeks (SD 4.26). Fifty-four % were women and 57% were between 40 and 59 years of age. In men and women, mild, moderate, moderately severe and severe depressive symptoms were associated with a significant factor increase in sick leave weeks compared to persons with no or minimal symptoms. Labour costs increased with increasing symptom severity from € 1468.22 for men with no or minimal depressive symptoms to € 7190.25 for men with severe depressive symptoms and from € 1045.82 to € 4306.30 in women, respectively. Conclusion The present results indicate that increasing depressive symptom severity is associated with increasing absenteeism and employer costs. They emphasize the need for implementation, realignment or extension of professional work-site health promotion programmes aiming at the improvement and maintenance of employee health and the reduction of labour costs associated with depression-related sick leave.

Employees’ preferences on organisational aspects of psychotherapeutic consultation at work by occupational area, company size, requirement levels and supervisor function – a cross-sectional study in Germany

“…psychotherapy, primary care) despite being in need [ 5 – 7 ]. Inadequate treatment can lead to high burdens for individuals as well as to high costs for companies and social security systems [ 5 , 8 ] due to early retirement, long periods of work incapacity and reduced productivity at the workplace [ 9 – 12 ]. Optimizing access to psychotherapeutic care to the needs of individuals with mental disorders is therefore of high public health interest.…”

Machine learning models for predicting depression in Korean young employees

“…Among indirect costs, workplace costs accounted for the highest percentage (65.6%) including absenteeism (18%) and presenteeism (42%) ( 2 ). Employees’ depression severity increased direct costs through utilization of mental health services and indirect costs attributable to overall work impairment ( 1 , 3 ).…”

Work environment and mental health in nurse assistants, nurses and health executives: Results from the AMADEUS study

“…While we have reported approximately 8.7% of depression in our recent study carried out in young physicians (Fond, Boulangeat, et al, 2021), we lack data on the prevalence of depression in other health professional in France. Evaluating depression in health care workers is important for the prevention of absenteeism (Eßl-Maurer et al, 2021). Absenteeism is frequent in health care workers, inducing a vicious circle due to increased burden in hospital care (Banks & Pearson, 2021).…”