OBJECTIVES: Many facets of job performance may be impaired by depression. Impaired performance by depressed employees may be attributed to self-perceived cognitive difficulties. The goal of the current study was to assess self-perceived deficits in cognition experienced by employees with depression. METHODS: Individuals (≥18 years of age) employed full-time with diagnosed depression (excluding bipolar disorder) completed a Web-based computer-generated 25-minute survey in February 2010 (study population identified by Harris InteractiveTM). The patient survey used the Perceived Deficits Questionnaire (PDQ) to assess self-perceived difficulties in memory, attention, planning and organization, and concentration using a 0-20 scale, where higher scores indicate greater impairment. The Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) was used to assess depression severity. The impact of depression on the PDQ scores was assessed using a trend test based on an analysis of covariance with age, gender, and PHQ-9 score as independent variables. RESULTS: A total of 1051 employees were included in the analysis (58% female, mean age 47 yrs, and 38% held professional employment). PHQ-9 scores indicated 423 (40.25%) employees with no depression symptoms, 319 (30.35%) with mild depression, 166 (15.79%) with moderate depression, 82 (7.80%) with moderately severe depression, and 61 (5.80%) with severe depression. PDQ scores showed that perceived cognitive functioning worsened progressively with increasing severity of depression symptoms (p<0.0001). PDQ scores showed the most impairment in the attention/concentration and planning/organization scales in the severely depressed (12.26 and 12.25, respectively) compared with non-depressed subjects (4.45 and 3.75, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: In full-time employees experiencing depression, self-perceived cognitive difficulties worsened with increasing severity of depressive symptoms.