An inquiry into the causal relationship among leisure vacation, depression, and absence from work

Depression is one of the most prevalent psychological health problems in occupational settings. Through literature review and the experience of previous investigations, it is now presumed that depression could mediate the association between workload and absence from work. In order to examine the above relationship, a follow-up investigation was conducted using male white-collar employees. The authors have been examining the association between work-related factors and employee health for some years, and vacation has become recognized as one of the important candidates for alleviating psychological problems in the workplace. In July 1996, the chance of leisure vacations within the past year and the presence of depression were examined by a self-administrated questionnaire. The subjects were followed-up for the rest of the year and absence from work was monitored. By analyzing 357 eligible subjects aged 20-59 years, the causal association between leisure vacation, depression, and absence from work was examined. Through correlation and log-linear analysis, the following findings were explored: The decrease of leisure vacation chances was correlated with the presence of depression, and depression contributed to an increase in the absence from work after adjustment was made for possible confounding factors. Leisure vacation could be independent of other work-related factors such as working hours, and it seemed to be significant to investigate positive effects of leisure vacation on psychological well-being in the workplace.