Depression and employment at 45–60: study flags distress-driven work among poorer women

A study of 27,092 Indians aged 45 to 60, published in the October 2026 issue of the Indian Journal of Psychiatry and reported on Monday, 9 November 2026, finds that depression is linked to a lower chance of being employed, even when symptoms fall short of a clinical diagnosis. The paper, titled "Mental health and workforce participation in India: A gendered analysis", also finds that the gap in employment between women and men is narrower among people with depression, a pattern its four authors attribute mainly to disadvantaged women who keep working out of financial distress rather than choice.

For women balancing a career, a household and their own health, the years between 45 and 60 are often treated as a settled stage of working life. This study looks at how mental health and work interact at that stage, using one of the country's largest health surveys rather than a small sample from one city or one industry.

The headline finding cuts two ways. On one side, depression is tied to people leaving or staying out of work, which can mean lost income and less independence. On the other, the authors note that the employment gap between women and men shrinks among those who are depressed, and they say this is driven mainly by poorer women. They describe the pattern as consistent with "distress-driven employment and constrained agency": women who work because the household cannot manage without their income, not because they have chosen a career. The authors caution that women who are both working and depressed should not automatically be read as a sign of resilience or empowerment.

That distinction matters for how workplaces and governments read women's employment figures. A rise in the number of women at work is usually treated as good news. The study suggests that for some poorer women in midlife, a job may sit alongside poor mental health and little real choice, so the number alone does not show their wellbeing.

The authors used a statistical method called a control function approach with probit two-stage models, which tries to separate the effect of depression on work from the reverse effect of work on mood. As tools for this, they used a parent's history of psychiatric illness and the number of people a respondent can confide in. Like any survey-based study, it shows associations within one wave of data and cannot fully prove cause and effect.

Peepals calculation: 6.2 per cent of the 27,092 respondents scored five or above on the depression scale, which works out to roughly 1,680 people (27,092 x 0.062 = 1,679.7). Our calculation from the reported figures.

Short-term: The findings add evidence to calls for mental health screening and support at work, including for people whose symptoms do not meet a full diagnosis. Employers and programmes that track only whether women are working may need to look at how those women are doing as well.

Long-term: If policymakers take up the authors' suggestion, mental health support could be built into employment schemes and social protection programmes, with attention to poorer women in midlife who may be working under strain.

Who is affected: Women and men aged 45 to 60 across India, especially poorer women who work out of financial need; employers; and the bodies that design labour, health and social protection programmes.

Questions and Answers