I used to think that the Finns were depressed due to unsavory weather or high taxes, but it appears that un-cool (no pun intended) workplace conditions do the trick as well. Data from a study carried out in in Finland suggest that higher workplace negatives increase the risk of clinical depression.
By a resounding margin, people who worked in offices with low morale or high tension much more likely to be diagnosed with a depressive disorder than those who worked in open, laidback office environments.
While this may sound obvious, let's also keep in mind that depression is simply more than "being unhappy". Did I mention that these same respondents were also more likely to get on antidepressants?
The simple fact of the matter is that depression is a serious disease that is frequently mislabeled and even more frequently misunderstood. The fact that it affects our lives through the workplace is a good indicator that not enough care is being spent by companies to adequately address employees' mental health. Perhaps in this era of new social and professional change, we might see more concern about this problem.
