Effectiveness of Workplace Interventions for Depression in Asia: A Meta-Analysis

Abstract

This meta-analysis is the first study conducted in Asia to quantitatively review the effectiveness of depression interventions in the Asian workplace. We identified 19 controlled intervention studies with a total sample size of 3,325 subjects representing different industry sectors in Mainland China, Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia, and South Korea. Interventions were coded as Cognitive-Behavioral, Multimodal, Alternative, Organizational, and Strength-Based, which were delivered face-to-face or mediated by a computer or telephone. Overall, the results of a pooled mean effect size (Cohen’s d) of 0.417 (95% confidence interval [CI] = [0.257, 0.576]) revealed a significant and moderate positive effect of workplace interventions on the alleviation of depressive symptoms within the Asian workforce. This effectiveness could justify the increasing organizational need for investing in enhancing workplace mental health, as promoted by the World Health Organization. Moreover, ancillary moderator analyses in this study identified several key factors to further enhance the effectiveness of workplace interventions. Specifically, in addition to conventional cognitive-behavioral interventions, alternative and novel interventions with indigenous components and mediated interventions with interactive elements were found to have practical significance in the Asian workplace.