Engagement at Work Predicts Changes in Depression and Anxiety Status in the Next Year October 2009 Sangeeta Agrawal, MS and James Harter, Ph.D.
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Introduction According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately 15.7% of U.S. residents reported that a healthcare provider told them that they had depression at some point in their lifetime, and 11.3% reported that a healthcare provider told them that they had anxiety at some point during their lifetime. Using longitudinal data collected from the Gallup Panel of U.S. households, we studied the impact of employee engagement on health and change in diagnosis of depression/anxiety. The main objective of this research was to examine how employee engagement in 2008 predicted change in depression and anxiety status in 2009 controlling for age, marital status, income level, gender, and education level among those who had no history of depression or anxiety. The findings: Actively disengaged employees were almost twice as likely as engaged employees to report being diagnosed with depression (2.1 times) and anxiety (1.7 times) for the first time in the next year (after controlling for demographic differences). Actively disengaged employees were about twice as likely as engaged employees to report being diagnosed with depression for the first time in the next year 4.6% Engaged 6.0% 8.8% Not Engaged 4.7% Actively Disengaged 6.7% 9.1% Actively disengaged employees were about 1.7 times as likely as engaged employees to report being diagnosed with anxiety for the first time in the next year 6.4% Engaged Methodology Database 7.6% 10.4% Before Adjusting for Demographic Differences Not Engaged 6.6% Actively Disengaged 8.1% 10.7% After Adjusting for Demographic Differences A database was created by merging three independent surveys to form a longitudinal sample of 9,561 employed adults from the Gallup Panel. Among these surveys, two were health surveys (administered February-March 2008 and February-March 2009), and one was a workforce survey (administered July-August 2008). Respondents were employed full-time or part-time in 2008 and 2009. Based on responses to the health survey in 2008, there were 7,993 respondents with no history of depression and 8,232 respondents with no history of anxiety. These respondents were surveyed again in 2009 for their depression/anxiety status. (Question: For each of the medical conditions listed below, please indicate whether you, yourself, have ever been diagnosed by a healthcare professional as suffering from these conditions: Depression/Anxiety). Before Adjusting for Demographic Differences After Adjusting for Demographic Differences The outcome variable of interest was the proportion of respondents who were diagnosed with depression or anxiety in 2009 for the first time. Employee engagement in 2008 was the main predictor variable of interest. The two measures of employee engagement in 2008 were Q 12 GrandMean and engagement status engaged, not engaged, or actively disengaged. Basic demographic variables (age, marital status, income level, gender, and education level) were used as control variables. Among these respondents, the average age was 51.6 (±10.4), 70.4% were married, 77.8% had an annual household income Copyright 2009 Gallup, Inc. All rights reserved. 1
greater than $50,000, 46.1% were male, and 65.1% had at least a college-level education. In terms of engagement status, 30.6% of respondents were engaged, 51.7% were not engaged, and 17.7% were actively disengaged. Statistical Analysis Similar but separate analyses were performed for predicting depression and anxiety status in 2009. Two methods of analysis were used to predict the proportion of newly diagnosed cases. Multiple regression analysis was used to predict the proportion of newly diagnosed depression/ anxiety cases from 2008 engagement (Q 12 GrandMean), controlling for demographic variables. Further, logistic regression analysis was used to predict change in depression/ anxiety status in 2009 from engagement status in 2008 after controlling for demographic differences. Regression coefficients (standardized and unstandardized) and odds ratios were calculated for engagement in 2008 after controlling for age, marital status, income level, gender, and education level. Results Depression Analysis Predicting Proportion of Newly Diagnosed Depression Cases Variables in the Model Unstandardized Coefficients Standardized Coefficients Std. Error Beta t Sig. Employee Engagement (Q 12 GrandMean) -0.018 0.003-0.061-5.305 0.000 Control Variables Age +0.001 0.000-0.034 +2.952 0.003 Marital Status (Married) -0.023 0.006-0.044-3.667 0.000 Income Level (log transformed) -0.005 0.005-0.013-0.994 0.320 Gender (Male) -0.026 0.005-0.054-4.699 0.000 Education Level -0.002 0.003-0.008-0.650 0.516 Constant 0.152 0.53 2.891 0.004 Multiple R = 0.105 2 Copyright 2009 Gallup, Inc. All rights reserved.
Logistic Regression to Predict Change in Depression Status in 2008 95% C.I. for EXP (B) Variables in the Model B S.E. Wald Df Sig. Exp(B) Lower Upper Employee Engagement 28.327 2 0.000 Actively Disengaged +0.751 0.141 28.321 1 0.000 2.118 1.607 2.792 Not Engaged +0.390 0.120 10.482 1 0.000 1.477 1.166 1.870 Control Variables Age +0.013 0.005 8.125 1 0.000 1.014 1.004 1.023 Marital Status (Married) -0.368 0.107 11.703 1 0.000 0.692 0.561 0.855 Income Level (log transformed) -0.070 0.079 0.787 1 0.37 0.933 0.799 1.088 Gender (Male) -0.469 0.101 21.608 1 0.000 0.625 0.513 0.762 Education Level -0.037 0.051 0.549 1 0.46 0.963 0.872 1.064 Constant -2.756 0.920 8.969 1 0.000 +0.092 Anxiety Analysis Predicting Proportion of Newly Diagnosed Anxiety Cases Variables in the Model Employee Engagement (Q 12 GrandMean) Unstandardized Coefficients Standardized Coefficients Std. Error Beta t Sig. -0.016 0.004-0.050-4.400 0.000 Control Variables Age 0.000 0.000 +0.006 +0.490 0.624 Marital Status (Married) -0.017 0.007-0.029-2.446 0.014 Income Level (log transformed) -0.004 0.005-0.009-0.753 0.452 Gender (Male) -0.030 0.006-0.056-4.914 0.000 Education Level -0.001 0.003-0.004-0.344 0.731 Constant +0.188 0.058 +3.230 0.001 Multiple R = 0.084 Copyright 2009 Gallup, Inc. All rights reserved. 3
Logistic Regression to Predict Change in Anxiety Status in 2009 95% C.I. for EXP (B) Variables in the Model B S.E. Wald Df Sig. Exp(B) Lower Upper Employee Engagement 19.539 2 0.000 Actively Disengaged +0.539 0.122 19.413 1 0.000 1.715 1.349 2.179 Not Engaged +0.219 0.101 4.656 1 0.031 1.245 1.020 1.519 Control Variables Age +0.002 0.004 0.197 1 0.657 1.002 0.994 1.010 Marital Status (Married) -0.224 0.095 5.504 1 0.019 0.800 0.663 0.964 Income Level (log transformed) -0.047 0.069 0.470 1 0.493 0.954 0.833 1.092 Gender (Male) -0.426 0.088 23.610 1 0.000 0.653 0.550 0.776 Education Level -0.020 0.045 0.196 1 0.658 0.980 0.898 1.070 Constant -2.040 0.803 6.455 1 0.011 0.163 Summary of Findings A one unit decrease in employee engagement predicts A one unit decrease in employee engagement predicts an increase of 1.8% in the diagnosis of depression by an increase of 1.6% in the diagnosis of anxiety by the the next year (after controlling for demographics). next year (after controlling for demographics). Actively disengaged employees were almost twice as Actively disengaged employees were 1.7 times as likely as engaged employees to report being diagnosed likely as engaged employees to report being diagnosed with depression in the next year (after controlling for with anxiety in the next year (after controlling for demographics). demographics). 4 Copyright 2009 Gallup, Inc. All rights reserved.