Depression - From remission to functional recovery

Abstract

Depression occurs frequently in the general population and in the workplace and it leads to significant work absenteeism. Treatments aimed at improvement of depressive symptoms do not automatically lead to functional recovery in terms of return to work, and if they do, there is generally a long time lag. Several approaches have been suggested to improve return to work, that generally imply that the sick-listed employee should not wait for remission before resuming work, but rather try to return gradually. Personal as well as work factors influence the outcome of such a process, so that this approach has interpersonal as well as workplace implications that should be addressed at the same time as personal factors and the depressive symptoms. © 2013 Schattauer GmbH.