J Korean Neuropsychiatr Assoc.  2015 May;54(2):188-201. 10.4306/jknpa.2015.54.2.188.

Awareness, Attitude and Impact of Perceived Depression in the Workplace in Korea

• Hong JP
• Lee D
• Sim Y
• Kim YH

• KMID: 2343898
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.4306/jknpa.2015.54.2.188

Abstract

OBJECTIVES
Depression is a common disabling psychiatric illness in the workplace and is associated with high burden to both employer and employee. Little is known about the awareness, attitude, and impact of depression in the Korean workplace. This study investigates how workers perceive the symptomatology, disability, and management of depression.
METHODS
This study is a cross-sectional web-based survey of 1000 workers recruited from online sites. Selected panel members were invited to participate in the survey through Ipsos MORI (www.ipsos-mori.com/) between 10th and 19th February 2014. The participants were Korean workers, aged 16-64, who are either currently working or had worked within the past year. Subjects were encouraged to respond to a 13-item questionnaire on the awareness, attitude, and impact of depression.
RESULTS
According to the results, 7.4% of the subjects responded that they had ever been diagnosed as having depression from medical professionals. One third of workers with depression who had taken time off from work did not provide the actual reason to their employers, and the mean number of days off work was 9.8 days. The most common symptoms were depressed mood (76.7%), loss of interests (71.5%), sleep problem (69.8%), and cognitive dysfunction (47.0%). Cognitive symptoms (72.2%) were prominent among the workers who continued to work under the influence of depression.
CONCLUSION
Korean workers reported a low rate of depression. Those who have been diagnosed with depression reported shorter number of days taken off from work compared to other countries. These results suggest that depression is poorly recognized and disclosed to employers in the Korean workplace. Presenteeism rather than absenteeism may be a major loss of productivity in Korea. An employee assistance program for depressed workers and new therapeutic strategies for treatment of cognitive symptoms of depression should be provided in Korea.

Keyword

Depressive disorder; Workplace; Cognitive symptom

MeSH Terms

Absenteeism
Depression*
Depressive Disorder
Efficiency
Korea
Neurobehavioral Manifestations
Surveys and Questionnaires

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