Fed: Mentally-ill men costing the nation $10b

AAP General News (Australia)
04-30-2007
Fed: Mentally-ill men costing the nation $10b

Depression and anxiety cost the Australian economy almost 10 billion dollars a year
in lost productivity .. and men are mostly responsible for running up the bill.

A new landmark study of 90 thousand workers at 60 of the nation's biggest firms ..

shows one in 20 employees are at very high risk of a mental health disorder.

While women are a little more vulnerable than men .. mentally unwell males cost companies
more money because they're more likely to take sickies and work inefficiently.







The report .. which has been released at a national psychiatry conference on the Gold
Coast .. finds each unwell man costs an average of about eight and a half thousand dollars
a year .. while a woman costs nearer two thousand 300 dollars.

Lead researcher Dr MICHAEL HILTON .. says women are just as likely to have problems
but they're able to manage it better.

He says this is probably because they're less likely to identify themselves solely
by their jobs .. and more likely to talk about their problems.

AAP RTV tam/af/bart

KEYWORD: DEPRESSION (SYDNEY)

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