Depression taking toll on Chinese workforce: Survey

BEIJING: Depression is taking a toll on Chinese workforce as 70 per cent of employees diagnosed with the illness took time off from work and more than half of the depressed staff reported impaired work performance, a new survey showed.

The survey, the first of its kind in the country, showed 53 per cent of employers polled want stronger legislation and government policies to help employees with depression.

The China survey, titled Impact of Depression at Work, was conducted by Ipsos Healthcare UK with an educational grant from H Lundbeck A/S.

It was part of a worldwide survey involving 16 countries, including France, Italy, Mexico and Japan.

It polled 1,000 Chinese people, both employers and employees, 16 to 64 years old.

"Depression seriously impairs productivity. In fact, more than half of the social and economic burden caused by depression is related to sick leaves and poor efficiency," Wang Gang, professor of psychiatry and mental health of the Capital Medical University, was quoted as saying by state-run China Daily.

Wang is also the vice-president of the China Association for Mental Health.

In 2007, a study jointly done by the University of California, Berkeley, and the Shanghai Mental Health Centre showed annual economic losses related to depression in China stood at 51.37 billion yuan (USD 8.35 billion), including 5.62 billion yuan in treatment costs.

Currently, China has an estimated 90 million people suffering from depression on the mainland, which translates into nearly 7 per cent of the population, statistics from the association showed.

Wang pointed to those in sectors like medicine and civil services as being at the greatest risk of developing depression.

Six government officials at the local level reportedly committed suicide in July.