Far too many retail workers are depressed or suffering from other chronic conditions, and only a quarter of those conditions are currently being treated. As a result, retailers are paying a steep price: $47.1 billion a year in ill health costs and time lost to absenteeism.
The Integrated Benefits Institute produced this estimate after reviewing health and work attendance data from various sources. The institute concluded that 75 percent of retail employees have from one to three chronic health conditions, and that depression among retail workers is the largest contributor to spiraling health costs and lost productivity.
The report notes that "presenteeism" — the phenomenon in which an employee comes to work sick and therefore underperforms — contributes significantly to lost productively in the retail sector. When one considers that depression is the No. 1 chronic disorder plaguing retail workers, and that a quarter of chronic disorders are not being treated, a clearer picture emerges of a workforce characterized by depressed employees who show up for work but don't have their head or heart in the game.
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