Depression has become one of the most prevalent mental illnesses in the contemporary society (Csikszentmihalyi, 2014). In most countries, depression has been labelled as a public health problem. It is therefore evident that depression has become a significant contributor to morbidity and mortality. Depression is diagnosed when a person represents some five or more symptoms that will be provided below over a period of two weeks (Miller and Raison, 2016). Among the symptoms, there must be either depressed mood or loss of interest/ pleasure. The symptoms include significant loss of weight even when the person in question is not dieting. Depression could also lead to significant weigh gain (Pratt and Brody, 2014). Another sign of the condition is lack of sleep. The person with depression also experiences recurrent thoughts of low self-esteem, low self-worth and feeling of guilt. In addition to these symptoms, the person may also have difficulty concentrating and they may experience recurrent suicidal thoughts.
Extensive evidence has revealed that depression is a leading cause of morbidity and disability. The burden of disease due depression has been ranking high in many countries in recent years. It has been categorized fourth when it comes to the disorders that cause diseases. By the year 2013, it is projected that depression will rank the first among the disorders causing diseases. In terms of disease burden, depression has been found to contribute to 12% of total years that people live with disabilities (Neisser, 2014). This information clearly shows the significance of depression among workers in the contemporary society. Many public health departments in various nations have categorized the disease as an occupational condition and are working to ensure that the situation is averted before it gets to high levels.
In England, a survey carried out by the Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey found out that at least 17.6% of the population were affected by some form of mental disorder (Zuckerman, 2014). Among these, 2.6% were suffering from depression related characteristics. A national survey carried out in the United States in 2010 found out that 6.8 percent of the American population suffered from an episode of depression. This represents 15.5 million people (Zuckerman, 2014). This is quite huge number of people. The survey incorporated persons aged 18 years and above. The survey also found out that depression was higher among females who were between the ages of 18-25 years.
In the year 20017, the National Survey of Mental and Wellbeing carried out a survey across Australia. The survey incorporated adults aged between 16 and 85 years. The survey found out that 45% of this population were at risk of suffering from a mental illness in their lifetime. In addition, the study found out that 6.2 percent of this population had affective disorder with 4.2 percent of these having a depressive episode in the last 12 months. In Malaysia, mental health surveys are carried out in intervals of 10 years (McDougall, 2015). The survey carried out in 2006 made some key findings concerning mental health and wellbeing. One of the key findings made at this time was that the prevalence of mental health illnesses had increased from 10.7% in 1996 to 11.2% in 2006 (Dennett, 2017). The survey involved participants aged 16 years and above. The survey was carried out by trained health care professionals. The most recent survey was carried out in the year 2011. It found out that the prevalence of a Malaysian experiencing depression in their lifetime was 2.4% while the percentage of people suffering from depression at the time was only 1.8% (Levitt, 2015). The significant differences observed between the two surveys explained above could be attributed to the different mechanisms used in carrying out the survey. The recent survey (2011) also found out that people living in urban centres were at more risk of suffering from depression when compared to people living in the countryside.
Mental health conditions such as depression should not be overlooked. More often, we tend to be concerned more with the physical illnesses while disregarding the mental health conditions. As evidenced by the observations above, mental health conditions such as depression are a great contributor to morbidity and mortality in the contemporary society. A country that focuses on the health and wellbeing of its citizens should be sure to focus on the mental health and wellbeing of its citizens and especially its workers. The World Health Organization defines health as a state of physical, mental and emotional wellbeing. Therefore, health should not be limited to the physical wellbeing if we are to curb morbidity and mortality effectively. Extensive evidence has revealed that depression causes great impairment in the functional wellbeing of an individual. In addition to this, depression causes great distress in physical wellbeing as well as causing other health problems. Depression may greatly decrease the quality of life and lead to morbidity or even mortality.
When most mental health problems are detected early, it is easier to rehabilitate them and restore mental health and wellbeing. This also applies to depression. If the condition is detected early, the negative consequences associated with the condition could be greatly averted. It has long been argued that prevention is better than cure/management. The cost of preventing is usually lower than the cost of managing or curing. It would therefore be wise for governments to focus more on preventing depression among workers rather than curing. The government is usually responsible for provision of primary health care to its citizens. It is the high time that governments across the world appreciate the importance of employing preventive measures so that the rates of depression among workers reduce.
It is worth noting that depression, anxiety and attacks of panic are not signs of weakness. They are usually brought by circumstances that the person in question cannot control. Extensive evidence suggests that such people usually try their best to be strong until it reaches a point where the mental processes are adversely affected. The rates of depression among workers in Malaysia and other parts of the word have been increasing at an alarming rate over the last few decades. According to the National Health and Morbidity survey of 2015, every 3 in 10 adults aged more than 16 years suffers from some kind of mental illness. This age bracket represents most of the workers.
It is shocking that the rates of mental health illnesses are projected to increase in the future. Depression is one of the most common of these illnesses and it affects the lives of workers in many negative ways which reduces their productivity. It is projected that the rate of mental health illnesses will continue being of major concern in Malaysia in the next few years. Scholars have suggested that mental health conditions will be the second largest contributor to morbidity and mortality by 2020 in Malaysia. It will be second after heart disease.
The world Health Organization have identified depression as the leading cause of disability. The criteria employed by the WHO in making this conclusion is considering the amount years that one live with disability due to the condition. In addition to this, the WHO has ranked depression the fourth when it comes to the global burden of disease contributors. Public health experts in conjunction with mental health specialists have advised that there should be health campaigns across Malaysia. Heath promotion would be a great way of making Malaysians aware of depression, its causes and way of preventing and managing the condition. Evidence suggests that people who are knowledgeable are likely to have better health outcomes when compared to those who are not aware. The government should therefore fund health campaigns to ensure that the depression burden is reduced.
It is worth noting that most of the mental health illnesses including depression are treatable. This is especially true when the conditions are detected at an early stage. Although this is the case, most of people with these conditions do not seek/receive medical treatment/intervention. Evidence suggests that those who receive treatment are less than 25% of the people affected with depression (Levine, 2018). More than half of the people with depression spend almost all their lives without the condition being diagnose or receiving nay kind of treatment. It has also been found that most of the persons suffering from depression in rural areas usually remain under the care of religious leaders without receiving any medical treatment. Stigma is also another major barrier to treatment. Majority of the patients suffering from depression do not receive treatments that are based on evidence. To solve this problem, it is important for the government and other well wishers to sensitize the public on depression, its causes and ways of preventing/ managing it.
The term workplace injury has been typically used to mean physical ailment. Occupational health and safety have become an important aspect/ component of the work place environment. While dealing with occupational health issues, most of the employers and policy makers often overlook a very important occupational health issue: depression. As the Centre for Disease Control observes, depression is one of the leading causes of work place injury. To illustrate the significance of depression in causing work place injury, let us look at some statistical information concerning the same. Centre for Disease Control found out that the economic burden of depression in the United States in the year 2010 was 210.5 billion dollars (Eysenck, 2014). This is a vast amount of resources. Apart from that, it also serves to gives us a picture of the significance of depression as contributor to work place injury.
The work place is obviously not immune from the effects of depression. Depression can lead to varied effects on the workers. The most common effects are absenteeism, loss of work or decreased productivity. Extensive evidence has also revealed that depression puts the employees affected at a higher risk of abusing alcohol and other substances. Depression greatly affects the mental processes of a worker in negative ways. In addition to increasing the risk for abusing alcohol and other substances, workers suffering from depression are also at a higher risk of developing other mental health disorders (Smith, 2015). For workers who have suffered some other form of injury in the work place, depression may have more debilitating effects when compared to the workers who have not previously suffered from any other injury. In fact, studies suggest that a worker who have had other forms of injury in the work place has an increased risk of developing depression. Due to this, it is important that the employers or managers ensure that the occupational health of the employees is a priority and is comprehensively taken care of. Such a move would help alleviate injuries and depression by extension.
As observed in the previous section, a person who have suffered some form of work place injury has a higher risk of developing depression when compared to a person who has not had any form of injury. A serious injury in the work place affects many aspects of the life of any employees (Haberler, 2017). To understand the relationship between injury and depression, it is wise to consider the aspects of the overall life of an employee that are affected by an injury. As observed by occupational health experts, an employee who has suffered an injury in the work place does not only lose some of their functional capabilities but also have disruptions in their home life and hobbies. If it also happens that the worker is experiencing chronic pain, then they are at a high risk of developing depression. With depression, the compensation system for workers is greatly disrupted.
With the onset of depression, the worker is likely to suffer prolonged effects of the injury (Gilbert, 2016). Evidence also reveals that a person with depression is likely to spend more on the injury that they had had prior to depression (Elder, 2018). Experts have also shown that depression in and of itself poses major risk factors to the health of the worker. For instance, a worker who has depression has an increased risk for developing low back pain. In addition, such a worker is at a higher risk of resulting to smoking. As we know, smoking poses major challenges to health of an individual including increasing the chances of lung cancer. It follows that the worker who has suffered depression is likely to experience a vicious cycle of illnesses. There is also the effect that depression may have on the worker’s productivity. Even when a person with depression reports to work, they are likely to concentrate less. This makes the productivity level become very low for such workers. If this were to happen across a significant number of workers, the productivity level in a country would lower. This would have significant negative effects on the economy. It is therefore important that the employers and the policy makers ensure that the work environment is as safe as possible so that work place injuries can be minimised.
As we have seen, the effects of work place injury on the life and wellbeing of a worker are largely negative. We have also seen that work place injury increases the likelihood of developing depression. Despite this, there are usually no compensation mechanisms for workers who have suffered depression as a consequence of work place injury. It is important that such compensation be introduced so that the affected employees can lead quality lives even with depression. It is also necessary that the employers and policy makers ensure that there is some mechanism of detecting depression in its workers and taking the necessary actions, that is seeking medical care. If there are such measures in place, most of the workers who suffer depression would be assisted to regain normalcy and probably their productivity too. When the workers do not receive any compensation, they are less likely to seek medical attention. This will only lead to deterioration of their conditions. This may mean that they spend longer time periods without working or have their performance greatly affected once they return to work.
To ensure that productivity is minimised and such suffering as the one explained above is alleviated, it is necessary that employers take deliberate actions to curb or address the issue of depression among workers. The main goal of any business is to maximize profits. In the contemporary working environment, the employee is the most important asset of the company/ business enterprises. If the employee is treated well and appreciated for what they do, they are likely to be more productive. Being more productive means that that the business makes more profits. One of the ways of motivating employees is showing concern when it comes to their health. The employers could ensure that they provide health insurance to their employees. In addition, they should take all the necessary precautions to ensure that the work place environment is as safe as possible. One of the key ways of ensuring this is ensuring that the structures are built and installed properly. In addition, the workers should receive trainings at regular intervals on how to take care of themselves while working (Dillon, 2016). Companies/ business enterprises should also ensure that the employees are accorded enough time to rest so that they are more productive. Such a move would also make the employees more appreciated and therefore motivated to work.
Extensive evidence reveals that work life in the contemporary environment is stressful for nearly every person (Baer, 2015). Experts argue that the people who are entering the job market and those who are already in it do not feel secure about the jobs that they have (Beardslee, 2016). The expectation that one will work for a company or a business for a long period is no longer existent for most people. Traditionally, employees have been known to work for a company or a business enterprise and rise through ranks from the lower ones to the higher ones (Nolen-Hoeksema and Rector, 2015). This means that workers have conventionally expected that they would work for a company/ business enterprise for a long period of time if not for a lifetime. In the contemporary job market however, things have changed. There are frequent organizational changes that occur threatening the jobs of that they employees have. For instance, there are numerous downsizing operations that are carried out by companies every year (Buss, 2015). In addition to this, there are frequent formations of mergers and acquisitions. Due to these processes, the employees have a chronic feeling of unsettledness where they are not sure of their fate (Segal, Williams and Teasdale, 2018). They fear that they might lose their jobs anytime. When an employee loses their job, it is usually a hard task acquiring another one (Card, 2017). The thoughts that one might lose their job at any time has contributed to increasing the stress levels of the employees.
According to the American Psychological Association’s work and wellbeing survey which was carried out in 2017, more than a third of the Americans whoa are in the workforce are chronically stressed (Karp, 2016). This gives a picture of the nature of the modern work place environment. According to psychology experts, chronic stress is a significant contributor to depression (Botha and Dozois, 2015). Workers who are in this state usually exhibit a sense of helplessness and lack control on their professional lives. The stress is mainly caused by the uncertainty. Research suggests that most workers would like to be part of some kind of a professional home. This refers to a situation where the worker can have a high degree of confidence that they are going to have a source of livelihood for a significant amount of time. Such a ‘home’ would also offer an opportunity for the employees to establish lasting working relations.
One of the other ways that the modern working environment is leading to depression is through longer working hours. In the modern work environments, employees work even for more than 50 hours in a week (Lader, 2015). This time does not include the time that they have spent commuting. It is the time that they actually spend working. This is especially true for the employees who work for global companies. They wake up and find say an email from a foreign location requesting some kind of service. Such workers often sleep with their phones by the bedside so that they can respond to any issue that may arise concerning their work. They feel that they have the obligation to respond to these maters and feel very anxious when they don’t. This way, they do not get enough time to sleep. According to psychology experts, lack of adequate sleep predisposes these workers to both depression and anxiety.
It is also worth noting that the employment of technology in the modern work operations has led to a significant number of workers who carry out their tasks from home (Beidel, Bulik and Stanley, 2014). While one may argue that this is convenient and time saving, it has its own downfalls too. Experts argue that this kind of work may cause the person to feel isolated and lonely. This is because the person usually works alone without the support of co-workers or other people. This kind of work may also leave the employee without any form of insurance and benefits. For most of these workers, they have to have more than on income channel to make both ends meet. This is however dependent on the nature of job and the company that an individual is working for. Experts have argued that the conditions of this work are likely to lead to depression. When the person is alone, they are likely to keep the challenges that they are going through to themselves causing them stress. This is likely to cause depression in the long run.
Experts have argued that it is a pretty simple job to identify and prevent cases of depression among the workers. The only thing that is required of the employer is to pay attention. Paying attention is used here to mean that the employer should take appropriate actions that are geared towards ensuring that the occupational health and wellbeing of workers is kept at optimum. Sometimes all it needs is for the supervisors to pay close attention to their employees. When they do this, they are likely to identify when the employee (s) are having some issues. For depression clients, it is usually easy to notice for their signs exhibit such symptoms as absent mindedness and reduced productivity. For the supervisors to be effective in identifying employees who are undergoing depression, it would be wise for them to undergo some training on how to identify signs and symptoms of depression. Let us imagine a situation where all the employers were trained on how to identify signs of depression and how to help the employees through the process. We would definitely have a healthier and a better working environment. Cases of depression would be identified early and also treated early. This would in turn greatly increase the effectiveness and productivity of workers.
There are certain changes that are commonly associated with individuals who are suffering from depression. The employers could be on the look out for these signs on their employees. These signs are usually more common in employees who have returned to work after experiencing a work place injury. One of the signs is that the employees experience a hard time trying to adjust aster returning to the work place. There might also be notable changes when it comes to appearance or the mode of grooming. The person may also appear chronically sad and uninterested in the affairs of others. In addition, the person may record decreased productivity. Most of the persons suffering from depression usually have a herd time completing their tasks within the allocated time.
Experts suggest that the employers/ supervisors need not be medically trained to identify these signs and symptoms (Furnham, Ritchie and Lay, 2016). Ideally, the employee who is identified as having one or more signs of depression should be recruited to an employee assistance program. Relatively smaller firms may not have access to an employee assistance programs but the employer should figure a way of intervening to ensure that the employee is taken care of. After all, they are an important contributor to the productivity and wellbeing of the company/ business enterprise. Experts on occupational health have argued that the employers need not wait for the employee to return back to work so that they can identify these signs and symptoms. The supervisors should work in conjunction with other workers to ensure that the employee is recovering well and identify any sign of depression that they may have (Ray, 2017). It is true that man is the only social animal endowed with the ability to reason. For this reason, it is important that human beings care about the wellbeing of others. This should happen naturally by the virtue that we are humans. This should be even more conspicuous where there are close relations. Monitoring the health and wellbeing of an employee would help them feel loved and cared for. This has the potential of accelerating their healing.
Another key intervention/ undertaking that would help deal with the issue of depression effectively is providing appropriate education concerning depression to the employees (Brown and Barlow, 2016). Extensive evidence suggests that such a move would go a long way in ensuring that depression is curbed in the future. It is usually argued that knowledge has the potential of shaping attitudes. When the attitudes are shaped by knowledge, the knowledge may translate to practice. Let us take an example of someone who has been educated on the importance of taking plenty of vegetables and fruits in shaping their health and wellbeing. Such information is likely to shape the person’s attitudes towards fruits and vegetables. This means that the person is likely to consider taking fruits and vegetables more often. Once the attitude shaped this way, then the person is likely to actually start putting the knowledge to practice. Educating employees on what depression is, how it occurs, its impacts, ways of managing or preventing it may lead to lower cases of depression in future. The employers may occasionally have programs where they invite physicians and mental health professionals to train the employees on depression. Such programs may have numerous advantages as will be discussed in the next paragraph.
One of the advantages that would be accrued from the programs is the eradication of stigma (Sarason and Sarason, 2017). Stigma is a great contributor to the development and progression of depression (Larsen, Buss, Wismeijer, Song and van, 2017). When the employees are educated, they know the causes of depression and are likely to no longer have any stigma towards person with depression. An example of the great role that stigma could paly in preventing proper management of conditions has been observed in the areas of HIV/AIDS. Although the stigma has significantly reduced in the contemporary society, there was a time that is was so wide spread that those suffering from the disease just stayed in their homes without seeking any medical attention. The other advantage of is that it would help the workers know how to identify signs and symptoms of depression (Buss, 2015). With this knowledge, the employees would be in a better position to take care of each other. In case they realize that one of them is presenting any of the depression signs, they would offer appropriate support to ensure that the employees is well taken care of. With such kind of a framework, it would be rare for a person to suffer from depression. If anything, thy are likely to receive appropriate help and return to work as soon as possible. Such kind of a relationship between the workers would greatly help alleviate depression and increase the quality of life of the workers (Piaget, 2015).
This type of intervention has been shown to be very effective in curbing the depression. Sometimes, all that it takes to alleviate depression is to have a caring environment. Psychologists suggest that the well being of the mind is mainly dependent on the environment in which a person is living. If the person is living in a supportive environment, then they are likely to enjoy optimal mental health and wellbeing (William, 2016). depression does not affect a person in vacuum. It is therefore appropriate that the employees be equipped with the essential skills of identifying and caring a person presenting with signs of depression. Experts encourage the employers to be in touch with their employees (Thibaut, 2017). Even when the employee is away from work nursing work place injuries, it is important that the employer keep touch with the employee. This would make them feel appreciated, loved and cared for which is likely to help them improve. In addition, such kind of care may help the employees have lower chances of developing depression (Boysen, Wells and Dawson, 2016).
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