The Price of Depression

Depression adversely affects functioning in all domains, but
only recently has the magnitude of the impact on work productivity
become clear. Lost labor time among those with depression is huge. In a
recent issue of the
Journal of the American Medical Association, Walter
F. Stewart and colleagues calculated the cost of labor loss. His
extensive survey of U.S. workers puts the bill at $44
billion.

8.27 in billions of dollars, cost of lost productive time due to
absenteeism in workers with depression

35.73 in billions of dollars, cost of lost productive time due to
presenteeism in workers with depression

5.6 hours per week in lost productive time experienced by all
workers with depression

8.4 hours per week in lost productive time experienced by workers
with major depression

1.5 hours per week in lost productive time typical of workers
without depression

77.1 percentage of individuals with depression who report some lost
productivity time

82.1 percentage of lost productivity time among depressed
individuals due to reduced performance while at work