Universal association between depressive symptoms and social-network structures in the workplace

An unhealthy communication structure at a workplace can adversely affect the mental health of employees. However, little is known about the relationship between communication structures in the workplace and the mental health of employees. Here, we evaluated the face-to-face interaction network among employees (N = 449) in a variety of real-world working environments by using wearable devices and investigated the relationship between social network characteristics and depressive symptoms. We found that the cohesive interaction structure surrounding each individual was negatively correlated with depressive symptoms: a universal relationship regardless of occupation type. This correlation was evident at the group scale and was strongly related to active interactions with abundant body movement. Our findings provide a quantitative and collective perspective on taking a systematic approach to workplace depression, and they suggest that the mental health of employees needs to be addressed systematically, not only individually.