More than one in five Canadians suffer depression in the workplace: Survey

More than one in five employees in the Canadian workplace are suffering or have suffered from depression, a national survey by Ipsos Reid reports.

It found 22 per cent of workers said they are in the midst of dealing with depression while 16 per cent have dealt with it in the past. Mental illness is said to cost Canadian businesses $50-billion annually.

The cost works out to approximately four per cent of Canada’s gross domestic product, which when combined with stats taken in North America and Europe, equals $1-trillion.

“That’s up there with the 2008 financial crisis,” Bill Wilkerson of the Global Business and Economic Roundtable said.

However, despite those numbers, some progress is being made.

Wilkerson explained that coworkers are now “being more supportive, more knowledgeable and wanting more training to deal with their coworkers,” about an illness which he said has physical properties, and a serious effect on the physical function of the cardiovascular system.

Employers are also becoming more proactive about mental health, with one third of managers receiving intervention training. That number is up from one out of five in 2007.

Moreover, two thirds of managers surveyed said they are seeking to learn more, to identify emotional distress and help prevent mental illness.

“It appears the tide has turned,” Wilkerson stated. “We’ve begun to win the war.”

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