| dc.description.abstract | The intention of this thesis is to propose a case for employers to scale-up depression treatment in their organizations. For the purpose of this study, depression is analyzed from an employers' point of view-- what are the costs associated with a depressed employee, and if treated properly, could there be a positive return on investment to employers. This paper begins with a description of depression along with its prevalence by gender and industry in the American workforce. The research then elaborates on the implications of depressed employees who go without treatment, specifically focusing on the result of filing for disability. The paper then goes into detail about how the majority of depressed employees are currently treated, along with the adverse financial implications to employers. Following this discussion, three different enhanced depression treatment options are reviewed. After this literature review, the paper evaluates the three aforementioned scaled-up depression care programs along with their associated costs and benefits in three hypothetical companies within different industries. The results include a comparative analysis of the different treatment options followed by a discussion of these results as well as applicable limitations to this research. The paper concludes with the implications of the findings for employers. The results of the study show that regardless of which enhanced treatment program is chosen, employers receive exponential benefits from improved productivity compared to the investment necessary for program implementation. | |
