Depression and work performance: an ecological study using web-based screening

S. B. Harvey, N. Glozier, M. Henderson, S. Allaway, P. Litchfield, K. Holland-Elliott, M. Hotopf

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

87 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Aims To test whether a web-based screening tool for depression could be used successfully in the workplace and whether it was possible to detect an association between rates of depression and objective measures of impaired workgroup performance. Methods All permanent employees of a telecommunications company with UK-based call centres were encouraged to complete a web-based psychological assessment using the Patient Health Questionnaire depression scale (PHQ-9). In addition to confidential individual level results, the tool was able to provide anonymized summary statistics for each workgroup. Four objective measures of work performance were collected for each workgroup. Results During the study period, 1161 web-based PHQ-9 questionnaires were completed. There was a negative linear relationship between rates of depressive symptoms and the overall performance of a workgroup (P <0.001). The linear relationship between depression and workgroup performance remained after controlling for gender balance, percent of temporary staff, employees' perceived level of engagement and satisfaction with their line manager (P <0.01). Conclusions Workgroups with high levels of depressive symptoms tend to perform poorly. Computer-aided web-based screening for symptoms of depression is feasible in a work setting.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)209 - 211
Number of pages3
JournalOccupational Medicine
Volume61
Issue number3
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2011

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