Poor Workplace Climate Linked to Depression

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By Bill Hendrick
WebMD Health News

Tension, backbiting, and poor team spirit at the workplace may increase the risk for depression, a new study says.

Researchers questioned a randomly selected sample of 3,347 Finnish workers aged 30-64 in 2000 and 2001.

Each person was asked to rate team climate in the workplace on a five-point scale, assigning a number to such statements as whether the atmosphere on the job was “nice and easy,” “prejudiced and conservative,” “encouraging and supportive of new ideas,” and “quarrelsome and disagreeing.”

The workers also were queried about their social lives, living arrangements, and access to health services.

Employees who felt that team spirit was poor were 61% more likely to have a depressive disorder than workers with a good team spirit, says the study, published in the journal Occupational and Environmental Medicine. And, they were 53% more likely to have used antidepressants during the first few years after they were interviewed.

Poor Workplace Climate Linked to Depression

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