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Aiding Depressed Workers Pays Off For The Employers

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 26, 2007

Investing in depressed employees can cut absenteeism while improving workers' health, a study suggests.

Many employers view mental health coverage as a financial black hole, but the study shows that spending money on depression is a smart business move, researcher Philip Wang said. Wang works for the National Institute of Mental Health, which funded the study.

Employees who got the aggressive intervention worked on average about two weeks more during the yearlong study than those who got the usual care. The typical approach is to advise such employees to see their doctor or seek a mental health specialist.

Business, Page 2

•Intervention employees were almost 40 percent more likely to recover from depression during the yearlong study, which is reported in today's Journal of the American Medical Association.

•Early cost-benefit analysis results suggest savings from more hours worked averaged about $1,800 an employee. That far exceeds the program's initial $100 to $400 a worker cost.

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