Depression in the workplace extracts a cost--$44 billion a year.Yet half of employees who self-identify as suffering fromdepression don't tell their bosses about the disorder for fear oflosing their jobs.

The employer coalition Employers Health released results of itssurvey, the “Impact of Depression at Work Audit,” and offered thesechilling observations:

• 23 percent of U.S. respondents indicated they have beendiagnosed with depression in their lifetime;
• Mental illness short-term disability claims are growing by 10percent annually;
• 40 percent of those patients reported taking time off of work –an average of 10 days a year;
• 58 percent of employees surveyed who have been diagnosed withdepression indicate they had not told their employer of their disorder;
• 49 percent felt telling their employer would put their job atrisk;
• More than 35 percent of managers reported receiving no formalsupport or resources to guide their employees.

“Depression is significantly impacting productivity in theworkplace,” the coalition said in a report. “In fact, 64 percent ofsurvey participants reported cognitive-related challenges, asdefined by difficulty concentrating, indecisiveness and/orforgetfulness, have the most impact on their ability to performtasks at work as normal. Presenteeism (being at work, but notengaged/productive) has been found to be exacerbated by thesechallenges related to thinking on the job.”

The coalition said depression extracts about $100 billion annually fromU.S. employers including $44 billion a year in lost productivityalone.

“Yet, research shows that supporting the needs of those livingwith depression makes a difference. In fact, a cost-benefitmodeling study by Lo Sasso et al. suggests every one dollarinvested by employers in enhanced depression care yieldsapproximately three dollars for the company in the form ofproductivity gains by employees.”

See also: Employers list worker health habits as top costconcern

The coalition joined forces with The Partnership for WorkplaceMental Health, a program of the American Psychiatric Foundation, tocreate the Right Direction initiative. The groups describethis as “a first-of-its-kind, free depression awareness campaigndesigned to provide employers with the tools needed to address andmanage the effects of depression for employees.The resources available through the initiative can be accessedhere.

“The goal of the initiative is to raise awareness and reducestigma around depression in order to provide a more productiveworkplace and supportive company culture,” said Marcas Miles,senior director of marketing and communications with EmployersHealth Coalition.