NEWS RELEASE
CONTACT:
Laura Macdonald
WarrenShepell
(416) 961.0023 or 800.461.9972
lmacdonald@warrenshepell.com
HR PROFESSIONALS PINPOINT CAUSES OF ABSENTEEISM
AND HEALTHCARE BENEFIT COSTS
Majority Sees Depression And Stress As Cost Drivers
According To A New Ipsos-Reid/WarrenShepell Survey
TORONTO – March 18/04…..HR leaders may be ‘missing the boat’ when it comes to managing
and addressing the impact of depression among their workforce. In a recent IpsosReid/WarrenShepell Research Group survey of Human Resources professionals, approximately the
same number of respondents rated depression (66%) as a contributor to absenteeism and health
benefit costs as rated stress (60%). But, three times more said stress was "the most serious issue"
compared to depression (31% vs. 10%).
“HR professionals have to be careful on how they are diagnosing their workforce. The results of
this survey show that two very different issues, which must be treated in very different ways,
might be mistaken for the other,” says John Wright, senior vice-president of public affairs at IpsosReid.
“This parallels our experience working directly with thousands of clients across Canada” adds Rod
Phillips, president and CEO of WarrenShepell. “Simply put, employers are quick to point to stress
as their number one problem, but aren’t as comfortable ‘taking on’ the issue of depression or other
serious mental health disorders.” By the time this issue surfaces within organizations, says Phillips,
they are likely to already be hit by its effects through disability claims, absenteeism and turnover.
“And at that point, they are so engulfed in the problem that they are ‘stuck in the mud’ so-tospeak…not comfortable addressing it because they don’t know what to do about it.”
The survey, conducted February 18th-20th, 2004 at the Human Resources Professionals Association
of Ontario (HRPAO) annual conference among a sample of 78 HR professionals, consultants and
other business leaders, asked delegates to rate the contribution made by nine psychosocial issues to
their organization's absenteeism and/or health benefits costs. According to the survey:

66% of survey respondents rated depression, anxiety or other mental health disorders as high or
very high in terms of their contribution to absenteeism and/or health benefits costs. Stress
came in at number two, with 60% of respondents rating it as a high or very high contributor.

However, when asked to pick the most ‘serious’ issue in their organizations, most survey
respondents pointed to stress as the number one contributor to their absenteeism and/or health
benefits costs and only 10% picked depression, anxiety or other mental health disorders.

14% of respondents also identified poor relationships with supervisors/managers as the most
serious issue contributing to absenteeism and/or health benefits costs, 10% identified childcare
issues, 7% identified addictions or substance abuse, and 5% identified personal relationship
problems.
“Our interpretation of this as an EAP provider is that stress is so much 'top-of-mind' for people as a
problem in organizations that major mental health disorders such as depression may be going
untreated as a result,” says Gerry Smith, vice president of organizational health at WarrenShepell.
“While the issue of stress among Canadian organizations is bad, the issue of depression is worse.
It’s worse because organizations may not have the know-how or the tools to implement
preventative strategies at the same level as they do for other issues such as stress.” Smith adds that
depression and serious mental health disorders are harder to treat, have longer-term consequences
and may baffle business leaders in terms of the most appropriate way to deal with them.
The good news, Smith continues, is that a good percentage of employers are at least trying to
address mental and behavioural health issues more generally. “It’s a good first step,” he says.
According to the Survey:

In order to address key health and wellness issues organizations undertook various
measures in 2003. 64% implemented leadership or management training programs, 59%
organized employee assistance or other wellness initiatives. Just under half (46%)
implemented formal corporate policies/procedures, and 40% enlisted specialized medical
or other healthcare resources on a case-by-case basis.

Looking ahead to 2004, one third of organizations (35%) plan to keep their budget the
same for these types of employee programs. 19% plan to dedicate more of their budget to
these programs.
The challenge, Smith says, is that complex problems like stress, depression, anxiety and mental
health disorders require in-depth solutions. There’s no one-size-fits-all product or program that is
going to resolve all of these issues for an organization. What senior management and business
leaders need to do is advocate for a comprehensive organizational health analysis and an integrated
health and wellness program that targets the specific cost drivers within their organization.
For a copy of the original research Ipsos-Reid factum visit: http://www.ipsos-reid.com/
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ABOUT WARRENSHEPELL and the WARRENSHEPELL RESEARCH GROUP
WarrenShepell is a leading provider of Employee Assistance Programs (EAP) and related organizational
health and wellness services, offering services to over 3,000,000 employees and their families in over 2,000
organizations in Canada, the United States and internationally. The company was founded in 1979 by Dr.
Warren Shepell. The WarrenShepell Research Group is a subsidiary of WarrenShepell. Its mandate is to
educate employers and business leaders on mental health issues as they impact the workplace. The
WarrenShepell Research Group offers a precise understanding of health and wellness trends by conducting
sector and issue-based analysis. www.warrenshepell.com.