The UK Centre for Mental Health calculated that presenteeism from mental ill health alone costs the UK economy £15.1 billion (S$26.5 billion) per annum, while absenteeism costs £8.4 billion (S$14.4 billion). The impact is also being felt in the Asia-Pacific region, perhaps more so. Researchers from the London School of Economics have found workplace depression could have “wide and devastating” consequences for thousands of organisations in the region. Their survey of 8,000 employees from eight countries, including China, Japan, and South Korea, found that the collective annual cost for workplace depression in those countries was more than US$246 billion. … “Interventions which support employees with depression need to be developed, adapted, implemented and evaluated across all countries to mitigate the high costs of workplace depression,” lead researcher Dr. Sarah Evans-Lacko [sic] said.

Related publications

‘Global patterns of workplace productivity for people with depression: absenteeism and presenteeism costs across eight diverse countries’, Sara Evans-Lacko and Martin Knapp, Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, Volume 51, Issue 11, November 2016

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00127-016-1278-4

DOI:  10.1007/s00127-016-1278-4

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