Open Access, Peer-reviewed
pISSN 1015-4817
eISSN 2289-0963
    J Korean Neuropsychiatr Assoc. 2015 May;54(2):188-201. Korean.
    Published online May 31, 2015.
    https://doi.org/10.4306/jknpa.2015.54.2.188
    Copyright © 2015 Korean Neuropsychiatric Association
    Original Article

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

    Jin Pyo Hong, MD,1 Dongwoo Lee, MD,2 Yoojin Sim, MD,3 and Young Hoon Kim, MD, PhD4
      • 1Department of Psychiatry, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Samsung Medical Center, Seoul, Korea.
      • 2Department of Psychiatry, Sanggye Paik Hospital, College of Medicine, Inje University, Seoul, Korea.
      • 3Department of Psychiatry, Asan Medical Center, Seoul, Korea.
      • 4Department of Psychiatry, Busan Paik Hospital, College of Medicine, Inje University, Busan, Korea.
    • Address for correspondence: Young Hoon Kim, MD, PhD. Department of Psychiatry, Inje University College of Medicine, 75 Bokji-ro, Busanjin-gu, Busan 614-735, Korea. Tel +82-51-890-6189, Fax +82-51-894-2532, Email: npkyh@chol.com
    Received March 17, 2015; Revised April 16, 2015; Accepted April 24, 2015.

    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.

    Keywords
    Depressive disorder; Workplace; Cognitive symptom

    Tables

    Table 1
    Sociodemographic characteristics of persons with and without depression in the workplace

    Table 2
    Common depressive symptoms described by all workers (n=1000) ; in the most recent episode ; with impact on work performance ; and which caused taken off work

    Table 3
    Comparison of absent days with depression among workers

    Table 4
    Reaction of manager and employee to an employee with depression

    Notes

    Conflicts of Interest:The authors have no financial conflicts of interest.

    Appendix

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    MeSH Terms
    Absenteeism
    Depression*
    Depressive Disorder
    Efficiency
    Korea
    Neurobehavioral Manifestations
    Surveys and Questionnaires
    Metrics
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    Tables
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