Nearly Quarter Of Global Workforce Is Depressed, Study Finds
It's tough to find a job these days. And even getting one far from ensures happiness.
Almost a quarter of the global workforce is depressed, according to a new survey from management consulting firm rogenSI. That would seem to have a lot to do with their jobs. Of the 1,200 respondents, 92 percent linked the current state of their mental health to job performance. (h/t Wall Street Journal)
And what's more, only 12 percent are optimistic when it comes to their jobs.
The report mirrors the results of another study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that found 20 percent of the American workforce suffers from some form of mental disorder, with depression and substance abuse being the most common, according to IndustryWeek. Such high rate of instability can't be pinned on the recession either. Suicide rates for 45-to-54-year-olds went up by 20 percent between 1999 and 2004, costing employers $1.3 billion per year in los productivity, the study found.
Given the current state of the global recovery, such pessimism is to be expected. An October poll from Gallup found that Americans are more pessimistic about their finances than they've been in a decade. Likewise, only 12 percent of 18-to-34-year-old Americans say they will financially be better off than their parents.
"Today's environmental stressors have created a negative mindset that has infiltrated our global workforce," rogenSI's North American managing director Alex Jakobson said in a press release. "[They're] causing worker morale to plummet and dangerously hampering productivity."
Employees at struggling companies are especially at risk, especially older workers, as future prospects become diminished, according to rogenSI.
Not everyone agrees that depression is all bad, however.
"These people tend to be more realistic about possibilities and problems," Margaret Wehrenberg, a clinical psychologist was quoted in Forbes. "They can be very helpful in terms of anticipating how things can go wrong and, therefore, anticipate corrections."
For the most part, though, depression remains a major problem. Beginning with deteriorating social relationships and lack of focus, depression often leads to employees failing at their jobs entirely, and ultimately getting fired, Forbes reports.
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The Huffington Post Harry Bradford First Posted: 11/11/11 05:02 PM ET Updated: 01/11/12 05:12 AM ET