Due to the depression, the economy is losing millions of zlotys

According to the UCE RESEARCH and SYNO Poland research for the ePsycholodzy.pl platform, more than six out of ten people have at least one of the symptoms of depression listed in the survey. According to experts, it is a hidden source of low productivity and frequent absences of employees, generating losses for employers and the entire economy. The respondents notice that they are mainly tired and lack energy, which mainly concerns people with the lowest income and aged 36-55. The respondents also complain about low mood, sleep disorders, and weakened concentration and attention. Almost half of Poles who indicate such symptoms say that they did not occur before the pandemic.

Michał Pajdak, member of the board, co-author of the study from the ePsycholodzy.pl platform, quotes the WHO's assessment from a few years ago. It shows that depression accounts for a trillion dollars of lost productivity each year in the global economy. The expert also informs that in 2020 alone, mental and behavioral disorders were the reason for 27.6 million days of absenteeism in Poland, which constituted 10.8 percent of the total of all registered absences. In addition, sick leave from the above-mentioned reasons was longer than average, as they usually took 19 working days. Assuming the average salary and labor costs incurred by employers, Pajdak estimates that the absenteeism resulting from the above-mentioned plaintiffs cost the economy a total of about PLN 1.11 billion a year, and the episodes and recurrent depressive disorders alone – about PLN 325 million. 

(WBJ)