preview

Depression And Anxiety Research Paper

Best Essays
Open Document

¬¬Julia Sewall
WRTG 391/Professor Burstrem
July 7, 2015

Abstract
Anxiety and Depression in the work place is a large problem for employers and employees This paper will outline what the American Disability Act states regarding reasonable accommodation and undue hardship, the effects of anxiety and depression in the work place and general recommendations for employers on how to work with individuals who have anxiety or depression.

Introduction
Depression, characterized by symptoms of, poor concentration, lack of motivation restlessness, irritability, fatigue, lack of decision making capacity, problems sleeping, a hard time concentrating, lack of interest in activities, and difficulty remembering task instructions, affects 20-55% of adults …show more content…

However, Waghorn et al. (2014) found a more complex pattern that those with anxiety disorders reported working both proportionally fewer hours and proportionally more hours than those who did not have an anxiety disorder; 16.7% versus 12.7% worked 0-15hours per week, and 9.9% versus 4.1% worked 70-97 hours a week. This is not surprising that those with an anxiety disorder would work either fewer hours or more hours than the health comparison group. Individuals with anxiety may not feel up to working because they are overly anxious and cannot properly function, or the opposite may be true, that if they are feeling overly anxious about work then this may create an obsession and they will not cease working until they are finished with the project or task. In opposition to Waghorn et al. (2014)’s findings, other studies have shown that there are higher rates of absenteeism for individuals with depression or anxiety disorders rather than higher rates of attendance even for employees who have been remitted. Within the last 6 months, individuals with depressive disorder missed, on average, 7.2 workweeks. Those with anxiety disorder missed, on average, 5.9 workweeks. Healthy participants missed, on average, 1.2 workweeks. Those who had a remitted depressive disorder were still likely to have higher short-term absenteeism (i.e. less than 2 weeks) compared to healthy controls; …show more content…

Depressive and anxiety disorders on-the-job: The importance of job characteristics for good work functioning in persons with depressive and anxiety disorders. Psychiatry Research. 200, 382-388.
Robertson, D., (2011). Individualized functional work evaluation and vision: A case study in reasonable accommodation. Work. 39, 31-35.
Solovieva, T.I., & Walls, R.T., (2013) Implications of workplace accommodations for persons with disabilities. Journal of Workplace Behavior, 28, 192-211.
Stewart, W.F., Ricci, J.A., Chee, E., Hahn, S.R., & Morganstein, D., (2003). Cost of lost productive work time among U.S. workers with depression. Journal of the American Medical Association. 289(3), 135-144.
Tremblay, C.H. (2011). Workplace accommodations and job success for persons with bipolar disorder. Work. 40, 479-487.
Waghorn, G., Chant, D., White, P., & Whiteford, H., (2005). Disability, employment and work performance among people with IDC-10 anxiety disorders. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry. 39,

Get Access