Depression in Working Professionals – A Systematic Review of the Literature

Introduction: Workplace depression is a debilitating public health issue with far-reaching impacts on employees, employers, and organizations. Depression among working professionals is on the rise, and is a direct and indirect threat to the overall health and well-being of the employees, the productivity of the organizations, and the economic progress of the nations as a whole. This systematic review synthesizes evidence from the existing literature regarding workplace depression and the factors implicated in the development of depression in this population. Methods: The author conducted a search on electronic research databases including PubMed/MEDLINE, Embase, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), and Google Scholar, without language restrictions. The studies published within the last 20 years were screened based on the title and abstract. The data extraction of the eligible studies included measures of mental health symptoms, screening (If included), work-related adverse outcomes, work-related satisfaction outcomes, quality of life, help- seeking behavior, risk factors, protective factors, and non-work-related factors. The health risk factors or health- related behaviors associated with workplace depression include overweight or obesity, daily tobacco or cigarette smoking, sleep duration, alcohol consumption, low physical activity, diagnosis of diabetes mellitus, diagnosis of other chronic conditions, and overall poor health status. Results: The development of depression in working professionals is a complex and multifaceted interplay of personal, work-related, and health risk factors of varying degrees. The personal risk factors comprise age, gender, having a partner at home, being a family caregiver, diagnosis of a chronic illness, having children at home, history of recurrent depression, low education level, widowed or divorced status, and history of diabetes mellitus. The workplace factors include role conflict, procedural injustice, .....