Giving Compass' Take:

· Reuters reports on new research which shows that supportive managers in the workplace have decreased absenteeism in employees suffering from depression or other mental health issues.

· How can employers overcome barriers to acknowledge and talk about mental health in the workplace? What is the best way for employers to address mental health?

· Read more on mental health and depression at work.

In a working environment where managers feel comfortable offering help and support rather than avoiding employees with depression, absenteeism is lower and presenteeism is higher, according to a study covering 15 countries.

On average, this association between supportive managers and less depression-related absenteeism applied on a national level too, the researchers found. Employees who live in a country with a larger number of managers who avoid talking about depression tend to take more days off work, the study team reports in BMJ Open.

“Depression is common in the workplace, but even in the most open workplaces, it can be a taboo,” said lead study author Sara Evans-Lacko of the London School of Economics and Political Science in the UK.

Previous studies indicate that about 70 percent of workers feel effects from at least one mental health issue, she said.

Read the full article about absenteeism by Carolyn Crist at Reuters.