The federal government should ante up with funding for a new depression research centre in Ottawa because its distressed workplace makes the city the "depression capital of Canada," a leading mental health expert says.
The federal public service is the ideal "test-bed" for a new depression research centre that's aiming to transform the way depression is diagnosed, prevented and treated, said Bill Wilkerson, co-founder of the Global Business and Economic Roundtable on Addiction and Mental Health.
"The federal workplace, make no mistake about it, makes people sick. It's a distressed and dismayed workplace," said Wilkerson.
"The first decade of the 21st century has been a tough one for the health and well-being of federal employees, and the trends here certainly suggest that Ottawa is emerging as Canada's capital of workplace depression."
Wilkerson, who has led a decade-long crusade for mental health in the workplace, long waged a battle to get the government to tackle the rising rates of depression, anxiety, burnout and stress among its employees. He argues the new research centre is a huge opportunity and that Ottawa can either become the "depression capital of Canada" or the "depression research capital of Canada."
The new centre, created by the University of Ottawa Institute of Mental Health Research, is already uniquely positioned in Ottawa with leading institutions, such as the Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre and the University of Ottawa Heart Institute.
Research has long established a relationship between depression and chronic illness, such as heart disease, diabetes, obesity and even cancer.
The large base of federal workers with mounting levels of depression and mental health claims makes the public service a "natural venue" for clinical trials, pilot projects and surveys aimed at rooting out and preventing depression in the workplace, said Wilkerson.
He argued federal workers could "field the largest depression trial in Canadian history" to help stop depression and become the model of prevention for all employers.
However, Wilkerson said the government, especially with a shaky economy and mounting deficit, is unlikely to dip into program funding for such research. Instead, he argued, the funding should come from the government as the country's largest employer -- a move that should lever further funding from private-sector employers.
Wilkerson advised Royal Ottawa officials to pursue this funding approach and target the government as an employer during a retreat this week.
Wilkerson's campaign comes at a time when Treasury Board is developing a "wellness strategy" to try to turn around its escalating mental health claims. It's supposed to be aimed at prevention and getting those suffering from depression treated and back to work as quickly as possible.
Depression is the fastest-growing source of workplace disability in the public and private sectors and costs the economy about $51 billion a year. But few workplaces are hit as hard as the public service -- especially among workers over 40 years old, in their prime working years.
The federal government spends about $600 million a year on health benefits for its employees.
The number of mental health and depression claims climbed in all sectors over the decade, but none as quickly and as high as in the core public service, where half of all claims are for depression. Compare that to the private sector, where about 35 per cent of all claims are for depression.
Federal employees also take more sick days than the national average. In 2006, for example, public servants in their 20s booked off seven sick days a year. The number of sick days taken rise steadily over the working years, reaching a peak of about 14 sick days a year for employees in their 50s.
The average working Canadian takes seven days a year.
If these rates of absenteeism continue, Canada is poised for a "national public crisis on par with anything we've ever seen as measured by loss of working days due to illness," said Wilkerson.
Along with its causes, Wilkerson said research will tackle what in the federal workplace leads to high rates of depression that are "burning a hole into the productive capacity of federal employees."
The chief risks are practices that create the disillusionment, anxiety and distress that set the stage for the onset of depression.
"For most of the past 10 years, the federal workplace has been a breeding ground for some of the most basic issues of how a workplace can produce mental health problems."
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$51 billion: The financial toll depression in the workplace takes on the economy
$600 MIllion: How much the government spends each year on health benefits for its employees
7: The average number of sick days taken each year by a federal worker in their 20s
14: The average number of sick days taken each year by a federal worker in their 50s
7: The number of sick days each year taken by the average working Canadian
© Copyright (c) The Ottawa Citizen
Read more: Ottawa 'depression capital of Canada'
The federal public service is the ideal "test-bed" for a new depression research centre that's aiming to transform the way depression is diagnosed, prevented and treated, said Bill Wilkerson, co-founder of the Global Business and Economic Roundtable on Addiction and Mental Health.
"The federal workplace, make no mistake about it, makes people sick. It's a distressed and dismayed workplace," said Wilkerson.
"The first decade of the 21st century has been a tough one for the health and well-being of federal employees, and the trends here certainly suggest that Ottawa is emerging as Canada's capital of workplace depression."
Wilkerson, who has led a decade-long crusade for mental health in the workplace, long waged a battle to get the government to tackle the rising rates of depression, anxiety, burnout and stress among its employees. He argues the new research centre is a huge opportunity and that Ottawa can either become the "depression capital of Canada" or the "depression research capital of Canada."
The new centre, created by the University of Ottawa Institute of Mental Health Research, is already uniquely positioned in Ottawa with leading institutions, such as the Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre and the University of Ottawa Heart Institute.
Research has long established a relationship between depression and chronic illness, such as heart disease, diabetes, obesity and even cancer.
The large base of federal workers with mounting levels of depression and mental health claims makes the public service a "natural venue" for clinical trials, pilot projects and surveys aimed at rooting out and preventing depression in the workplace, said Wilkerson.
He argued federal workers could "field the largest depression trial in Canadian history" to help stop depression and become the model of prevention for all employers.
However, Wilkerson said the government, especially with a shaky economy and mounting deficit, is unlikely to dip into program funding for such research. Instead, he argued, the funding should come from the government as the country's largest employer -- a move that should lever further funding from private-sector employers.
Wilkerson advised Royal Ottawa officials to pursue this funding approach and target the government as an employer during a retreat this week.
Wilkerson's campaign comes at a time when Treasury Board is developing a "wellness strategy" to try to turn around its escalating mental health claims. It's supposed to be aimed at prevention and getting those suffering from depression treated and back to work as quickly as possible.
Depression is the fastest-growing source of workplace disability in the public and private sectors and costs the economy about $51 billion a year. But few workplaces are hit as hard as the public service -- especially among workers over 40 years old, in their prime working years.
The federal government spends about $600 million a year on health benefits for its employees.
The number of mental health and depression claims climbed in all sectors over the decade, but none as quickly and as high as in the core public service, where half of all claims are for depression. Compare that to the private sector, where about 35 per cent of all claims are for depression.
Federal employees also take more sick days than the national average. In 2006, for example, public servants in their 20s booked off seven sick days a year. The number of sick days taken rise steadily over the working years, reaching a peak of about 14 sick days a year for employees in their 50s.
The average working Canadian takes seven days a year.
If these rates of absenteeism continue, Canada is poised for a "national public crisis on par with anything we've ever seen as measured by loss of working days due to illness," said Wilkerson.
Along with its causes, Wilkerson said research will tackle what in the federal workplace leads to high rates of depression that are "burning a hole into the productive capacity of federal employees."
The chief risks are practices that create the disillusionment, anxiety and distress that set the stage for the onset of depression.
"For most of the past 10 years, the federal workplace has been a breeding ground for some of the most basic issues of how a workplace can produce mental health problems."
- - -
$51 billion: The financial toll depression in the workplace takes on the economy
$600 MIllion: How much the government spends each year on health benefits for its employees
7: The average number of sick days taken each year by a federal worker in their 20s
14: The average number of sick days taken each year by a federal worker in their 50s
7: The number of sick days each year taken by the average working Canadian
© Copyright (c) The Ottawa Citizen
Read more: Ottawa 'depression capital of Canada'
