The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration released a report detailing the professions in which workers suffer the most depression. The results were a little surprising as to which profession was the most depressing.
It was caregivers of infants and the elderly and those who work in the foodservice industry that suffer the most from depression. Almost 11 percent of personal care workers — which includes child care and helping the elderly and severely disabled with their daily needs — reported depression lasting two weeks or longer.
This surprised me because I always thought of taking care of kids or spending time with the elderly as being a fulfilling career. Who doesn’t like to play blocks or cars or hear about the days of the past? More than likely, I believe caregivers are just completely overwhelmed with meeting the daily needs of changing diapers, feeding, clothing, etc.
Workers who prepare and serve food: cooks, bartenders, waiters and waitresses, had the second highest rate of depression among full-time employees at 10.3 percent. So think twice before attacking the kid at the drive thru because he has gotten your order wrong again. He may very well be dealing with some other issues.
Health care workers and social workers tied for third place. The health care and social workers does not surprise me because I can see how easy it is to bring their work home with them and continually be down.
So who was the least depressed? That belonged to those engineers, architects and surveyors. I found all of this interesting. The report combined data from 2004 to 2006 within 21 major occupational professions to estimate the findings. It stated that depression leads to $30 billion to $44 billion in lost productivity annually.
That is a ton of money to be lost because of depression. What does that say about our society if so many of our workers is finding themselves in a state of depression.
I think this is a sign of what we have become today. The people doing some of the hardest work are often times the least appreciated. It is easy to complain and make their life more difficult instead of thanking them for doing the job in the first place.
Of course, I am just a writer and we all know how we are categorized as depressed drunks. But tomorrow take the time to thank those who are caring for our kids or parents. Or be a little nicer to that healthcare worker who has to take your blood. Show them they are appreciated!
