Health/Wellness
Nearly 4% affected, many unable to performWorklife rife with depressionNearly half-a-million Canadian workers experience depression and many say it interferes with their ability to perform work. |
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 [ 2007-01-14 ] |
Nearly half-a-million Canadian workers experience depression and many say it interferes with their ability to perform work.
The 2002 Canadian Community Health Survey, released Friday by Statistics Canada, showed almost 4% of workers aged 25 to 64 had experienced depression in the 12 months leading up to the survey.
"The workers most prone to depression were those who regularly worked evening or night shifts, along with those employed in sales or service," the study found.
Nearly eight out of 10 workers who experienced depression in the year before they were interviewed reported the symptoms had interfered with their ability to work.
And almost one in five reported a very severe degree of interference.
Depressed workers reported an average of 32 days in the previous year when their symptoms left them either unable to carry out normal activities or totally unable to work.
"This study reinforces other research, which found that several crucial elements of job performance, such as time management, concentration, teamwork and overall output, are particularly vulnerable to depressive symptoms," the study said.
"Relatively high percentages of workers who had experienced depression reported specific forms of work impairment," the report said, including reduced activities, at least one mental health disability day in the past two weeks, and absence from work in the previous week.
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