Background <p>Levels of sickness absence due to common mental disorders (CMD) vary between industrial sectors and managers are key for prevention and rehabilitation.</p> Objective <p>To assess industry differences in managers’ experiences and ratings of work capacity in employees with depression and anxiety</p> Material and methods <p>Differences between industries in managers’ (<i>n</i> = 1819) experiences were investigated by chi-squared tests and managers’ ratings were analysed through MANCOVA.</p> Results <p>The proportion of managers who had experienced several employees with depression and anxiety was higher in municipalities and counties, and in industries with people as the main work object such as education, health and social care settings, compared with other industries. There was no significant effect of industry on managers’ ratings of how work capacity is affected by depression and anxiety</p> Conclusions <p>Having experienced several employees with common mental disorders is more common among managers of female dominated service sectors, but managers rate capacity to work in employees with depression and anxiety similarly, irrespective of industrial sector.</p> Significance <p>It is important that managers receive the support they need to handle employees with reduced work capacity due to CMD, however, support does not need to be tailored to different industries.</p>