A Word about Depression

Disability has heen traditionally associated with mental retardation, extreme mental illness, visual or hearing impairment, physical illness, or injury that affects an individual s mohihty, daily functions, and self-sufficiency. However, according to the World Health Organization, depression is the leading cause of disability (as measured by years lost due to disability), and the fourth leading contributor to the global burden of disease. 

Clinical depression has become one of America s most costly illnesses. Left untreated, depression is as costly as heart disease or AIDS to the U.S. economy, costing over 43.7 billion in absenteeism Ifom work (over 200 million days lost from work each year), lost productivity, and direct treatment costs. 

Depression tends to affect people in their prime working years and may last a lifetime if untreated. Depressive illnesses can affect an employee s productivity, judgment, ability to work with others, and overall job performance. The inability to concentrate fully or make decisions may lead to costly mistakes or accidents. 

There is truth to the adage, female and minorities have to work twice as hard to get half as far. As David Collins notes, As an African-American firm, we have to be on our toes all the time. We have to make sure our work is almost perfect. There is no room for error.  

Working under constant scrutiny, always striving for perfection, facing second-guessing and doubt, being paid less or promoted less often, all may present special challenges to female and minority engineers they may become more vulnerable to depression. For instance, 3 percent of total shortterm disability days are due to depressive disorders, and in 76 percent of those cases the employee was female.  

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