Common mental disorders and work.

Background: Governments and employers' organizations have sustained focus on common mental disorders (CMD), how they impact a person's ability to gain or continue work, the costs of sickness absence, presenteeism and job loss, and the positive impact of work on wellbeing.

Sources of data: Scientific literature, mainly systematic reviews and grey literature, i.e. publications not accessible through medical databases.

Areas of agreement: CMD are a major cause of disability, unemployment and dependency on welfare benefits. Good and healthy work is important for maintaining mental health and for promoting recovery from mental disorders.

Areas of controversy: Evidence is limited with respect to the effectiveness of workplace interventions to prevent CMD and especially with respect to work outcomes and work reintegration of those who have been off sick.

Growing points: There is growing interest in, and an increasing number of, best practice guidelines for employers, that could be improved and shared more actively.

Areas timely for developing research: There is need for high-quality studies of interventions that examine work outcomes in patients who have been unable to obtain or continue work because of CMD.