Depression and cancer as well as chronic conditions like sleep apnoea and migraines are among the leading health burdens on our workforce. Researchers are counting the cost of poor health on our productivity at work.
00:00A breast cancer diagnosis at 27 changed Katie's world and her ability to work.
00:08Four to six months that I had off including my sick days.
00:13Seven years on, the digital marketer is now freelancing.
00:17Being a part of the workforce just allows me to still use my skills and feel like I'm still using that part of my brain.
00:25Now, research from Monash University has put a price on the productivity burden of different diseases including breast cancer.
00:33In the first five years after the diagnosis, every year women have lost almost half a year of their productivity.
00:42Cancers and kidney disease top the list, followed by depression and other chronic conditions including epilepsy, sleep apnea and migraines.
00:51Researchers say the economic burden isn't just about the loss in productivity at work but also employees missing work or leaving the workforce entirely.
01:02We are talking billions of dollars in productivity losses because of health conditions.
01:07For Katie, not knowing her life expectancy, she just wants to stay connected.
01:13Having to live in this limbo of continuing to work until I'm not able to just makes me more determined to want to give back and do that while I can.
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