PMH23 The Economic Burden of Mental Ill Health in the Workplace: A Costing Approach for Brazilian Employers

Abstract

There has been a growing concern about the economic burden of work incapacity due to mental health problems; meanwhile studies examining the employer's perspective are still scarce. This study aims to propose a rationale to estimate the burden of mental health problems in Brazilian corporations. Data from an observational study investigating absenteeism due to sick leaves in a Brazilian bank were used to build a costing estimation model (total number of employees, average number of sick days per employee, and proportion of sick days due to mental ill health). These data were combined with average wage and turnover rate national statistics and published data on presenteeism due to mental health problems. Based on n=7499 workers, 3.36 annual sick days per employee, a proportion of sick days attributable to mental health disorders of 15.58%, and a mean daily wage of 51.33BRL, the costing model projected annual costs due to absenteeism of 201,534BRL. If presenteeism is included in the costing estimation, using a previously published presenteeism/absenteeism ratio of 4.0 (for depressed workers), costs due to presenteeism would represent 806,138BRL per year. There is a lack of Brazilian observational studies assessing turnover rates and associated costs. National rates according to economic sector were employed to estimate the impact of turnover of mental ill workers (Service Industry=4.15% in 2010) and a turnover cost of 3 times the average monthly cost per employee were used as a proxy. Turnover costs would incur in additional 115,500BRL per year. The annual economic burden of mental health disorders under the employers perspective was estimated in 1,123,173BRL. The cost of mental ill health to employers, particularly the cost of productivity losses due to lower performance of employees at work (presenteeism), can represent a significant burden for companies and society.