Improving Employee Productivity
and Attendance with Psychological Services

Depression

Stress

Anxiety

Chemical Dependency

When behavioral conditions afflict one of your employees or their families, the organization also is adversely affected because it must either divert resources from another area to compensate for decreased productivity or face the adverse consequences of ignoring the problem.

Every employer is at risk of incurring costs, direct and indirect, of impaired functioning of some of its work force. From the administrative assistant, to the foreman, to the CEO, behavioral health disorders can significantly limit the abilities of an employee in need of treatment.

• The direct costs for treating mental health disorders in 1990 totaled $67 billion. (Open Minds, January, 1995.)

• Depression cost $43.7 billion in 1990, comprising treatment costs of $12.4 billion, absenteeism and lost productivity cost of $23.8 billion, and $7.5 billion for related deaths. (Greenberg, R, Stiglin, L., Finklestein, S., & Berndt, E., November, 1993. " The Economic Burden of Depression in 1990," The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 54,405-418.)

• Substance abuse treatment cost $11.5 billion in 1990. (Open Minds, November, 1994.)

• Stress-related claims accounted for an average health cost of $11,400 in 1985 and an average disability cost of $73,270 in 1993. (Open Minds, October 1994; Northwestern National Life Insurance Company, 1993.)

The solutions are psychological services. By promoting the use of scientifically proven and clinically-valid behavioral health care interventions through an employee assistance program (EAP) and employee health benefits, employers can make qualified health care professionals available to their employees needing assistance. Many major U.S. employers have decreased their health care costs by revising their mental health benefit strategies to promote awareness, screening and treatment of mental health problems.

• One major bank saved 30 percent of the mental health benefits costs by screening for and treating depression. (Thonburg, L., May, 199 1. Prevention, "Mental Health Treatments Reduce Costs." Society for Human Resources Management.)

• Employee Assistance Programs and stress reduction training can reduce the risk of stress related health claims and help rehabilitate employees at a cost of $1,925. (Northwestern National Life Insurance Company, Employee Burnout.)

• Every $1 invested in substance abuse treatment saved $7 of health care, disability, productivity costs and crime-related costs based on a study conducted by the California Department of Alcohol and Drug Programs. (Stolberg, S., August 24, 1994. "Drug Treatment Saves $1.5 Billion," The Los Angeles Times.)

A licensed psychologist has the most extensive and relevant training among all medical and behavioral health care providers for diagnosing and treating behavioral health problems. As the anchor for the delivery of psychotherapeutic treatment, psychologists can help ensure employers and their employees of providing the most appropriate professional services for clinical assessment, diagnosis and treatment of symptoms and the underlying problem of employees needing assistance.

The information contained in this article is part of the American Psychological Association's "Talk to Someone Who Can Help" public education campaign.  Copyright © 1998, American Psychological Association, All Rights Reserved.