Depression resulting from job strain is pulling down the economy by $730 million each year.

The economic costs were revealed through a study funded by the Victorian Health Promotion Foundation (VicHealth). The depression study shows the $730 million expenditure covers absences or lost productive time, employee replacement and retooling costs, and even government-subsidized medications for depression and mental health services.

The research led by Associate Professor Tony LaMontagne from the University of Melbourne School of Population Health and Dr Kristy Sanderson from the Menzies Research Institute, Tasmania also reveals job stress causes 13 percent of depression in working men and 17 percent in working women.

In a press statement, LaMontagne said, “These figures represent a significant burden on the Australian economy that is preventable by improving job quality... Employers would be the major beneficiaries of reducing job strain over the long term, because the greatest costs fall on employers due to lost productivity and employee replacement.”

The Vichealth funded study further reveals an estimated 1.54 million working Australians are suffering from depression and each depressed worker costs an average of $8000 a year. Accidents caused by depression and workers' compensation claims are excluded from the estimated cost.

Vichealth chief executive Todd Harper, through the same press release, emphasized the “need to develop strategies that can be applied in all workplaces to make them healthier, happier and more productive environments that nurture good health rather than cause ill-health.”