Depression and Work Performance: The Work and Health Initiative Study

Lerner, Debra; Adler, David A.; Hermann, Richard C.; Rogers, William H.; Chang, Hong; Thomas, Pamella; Greenhill, Annabel; Perch, Katherine

doi:10.1007/978-1-4419-0428-7_6

Cited by 12 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 65 publications

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“…296). Workplace productivity is tied to employers who facilitate investing in employee health, wellbeing and the quality of work-life balance (Lerner et al, 2011).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Aging Workers: Work Environment as a Factor in Employee Mental Health

Coduti

Tugman

Bruyère

et al. 2015

Int. J. Disabil. Manag.

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In 2014, the health and productivity team of the disability insurance provider, Unum, conducted a mixed methods study that included qualitative interviews with internal mental health disability claims professionals, and external interviews with employers. Quantitative data of 15 employers were analysed to identify descriptive statistics involving mental health short-term disability (STD) claims. Workplace factors were examined to understand best practices among companies, related to mental health STD, to identify work environments that may increase or decrease mental health disabilities. Quantitative data found workers aged 40 to 49 had the highest rates of mental health STD claims and workers aged 50 to 59 had the longest duration of absence. Anxiety and depression were the main reasons for mental health absences from work. Results from the qualitative interviews showed a supportive work culture (i.e., work–life balance, good benefits, successful wellness programs) may lead to higher STD claim rates, demonstrating workers in these environments may feel more comfortable disclosing and seeking help for mental health disabilities. Conclusions from this study indicate that although presenteeism rates for mental health are high and impact employers financially, having higher STD claim rates may be more cost effective than having employees with mental health conditions remain at work instead of filing STD claims, seeking treatment and returning to productive employment. Employee age can impact rate and duration of mental health STD claims, meaning employers should implement workplace practices that support overall mental health of employees.

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“…296). Workplace productivity is tied to employers who facilitate investing in employee health, wellbeing and the quality of work-life balance (Lerner et al, 2011).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Aging Workers: Work Environment as a Factor in Employee Mental Health

Coduti

Tugman

Bruyère

et al. 2015

Int. J. Disabil. Manag.

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“…At another level the success of the EAPs around substance abuse and to some extent for all other mental health problems seems to signal that some form of supportive case management may be necessary to remove the barriers to effective treatment. The system that has been formulated by Lerner and colleagues (Lerner et al, 2011(Lerner et al, , 2012 is particularly attractive in that regard and seems to have much promise.…”

Section: Policy Implications and Future Directionsmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…In some studies, these features are measured separately. Lerner (Lerner et al, 2011(Lerner et al, , 2012(Lerner et al, , 2013 and Kessler, Merikangas, and Wang (2007) have contributed substantially to this literature. Absenteeism is absence from work due to illness.…”

Section: Work Productivity and Its Metricsmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…Termed the Work and Health Initiative (WHI), this program combines web-based screening, care coordination, work-oriented coaching specific to the effects of the work on behaviors related to work, and CBT strategies for the individual worker that are tailored to the work. The pilot has been embedded within existing EAPs and preliminary results show great promise (Lerner et al, 2011(Lerner et al, , 2012.…”

Section: Policy Implications and Future Directionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For those who are eager to recover and return to work, there must be appropriate structures in place to give that assistance. A novel approach that is specific to restoration of work has been implemented and reported as a pilot by Lerner et al (2011). Termed the Work and Health Initiative (WHI), this program combines web-based screening, care coordination, work-oriented coaching specific to the effects of the work on behaviors related to work, and CBT strategies for the individual worker that are tailored to the work.…”

Section: Policy Implications and Future Directionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Workplace Effectiveness and Psychotherapy for Mental, Substance Abuse, and Subsyndromal Conditions

Sledge¹,

Lazar²

2014

Psychodynamic Psychiatry

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While it is known that psychiatric illness and subclinical psychiatric illness can be very disabling, their impact on workers' productivity has been little appreciated or appropriately addressed. Complex variables are involved in fashioning an appropriate policy to ameliorate the impact of mental illness on productivity including the identification of effective treatments and potential negative effects of controlling patients' access to them. The cost-effectiveness of such treatments is considered from the differing perspectives and goals of the various stakeholders involved, including employers, insurers, and workers with psychiatric illness. Depression in workers leads to significant absenteeism, "presenteeism" (diminished capacity due to illness while still present at work), and significantly increased medical expenses in addition to the costs of psychiatric care. In addition to the specific usefulness of psychotropic medication, there are a variety of studies on the cost-effectiveness of different psychotherapeutic treatments that improve health and productivity in psychiatrically ill workers. Research indicates the usefulness of approaches including employee assistance programs, specialized cognitive-behavioral treatments, and brief and longer term psychodynamic interventions. It is clear that substance abuse disorders and especially depression and subsyndromal depression have a profound negative effect on work productivity and increases in medical visits and expenses. The current system of mental health care suffers from ignorance of the negative effects of psychiatric illness in workers, from a lack of subtle awareness of which treatments are most appropriate for which diagnoses and from the reluctance by payers to invest in them. Access to evidence-based appropriate treatment can improve the negative impact on productivity as well as workers' health. This article considers these issues and argues for a role of psychotherapy in the treatment of mental illness and substance abuse from the perspective of worker productivity.

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