Sick and lonely due to long working hours

Too long working hours make you sick and lonely

Study reveals: He who works too much endangers his health

21/12/2010

As the weekly working hours increase, the health problems increase. In addition, the long working hours affect the social life of the employees. This has been announced by the Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (BauA) based on the evaluation of four independent studies on working hours and health.

Relationship between working hours and health risks
In the four studies evaluated, the researchers examined more than 50,000 people to determine the impact that variable and long working hours have on their health. Long working hours can increase health risks, and many working people who have had to work hard in the past have already experienced it on their own bodies. However, this connection has not been proven scientifically. This research deficit has now remedied the four studies evaluated by the BauA and independently came to the conclusion that with increasing hours worked the health problems of the employees increase. Thus, the negative effect of long working hours already anticipated by occupational scientists and employees could be scientifically proven for the first time by the systematic investigations. The four underlying studies focused on the relationship between working hours and symptoms such as headache, sleep disorders, back pain and heart problems.

Long working hours make you sick
According to the statements of the BauA, the four studies show a clear correlation between the length of working hours and the aforementioned health complaints. For example, only one out of every ten part-timers with less than 19 working-week hours suffer from sleep disorders, and about twice as many full-time employees (one in five employed). Of those working more than 60 hours per week, about one in four suffer from sleep disturbances, and when additional aggravating factors such as shiftwork, variable hours or weekend work are added, the rate of sleep problems continues to rise, BauA explained. The evaluation of the surveys has shown that the proportion of employees complaining of health complaints increases in proportion to the total time worked, according to the Federal Agency.

Impaired social life due to long working hours
In addition, the interviews evaluated have shown that the length of the weekly working hours also affects people's social lives. The longer the working hours, the stronger the subjective feeling of social isolation, explained the experts of BauA. The compatibility of work, leisure and family dwindles with increasing length of weekly working hours, the BauA continues. According to the studies, the flexibilisation of working hours, for example through flexitime models, could not have changed much. According to the study results, neither the negative social effects nor the negative health effects of long working hours could be absorbed in this way, even though they were somewhat reduced by the flexitime models.

Take into account the results of future working hours
In view of the current results, BauA warns against overlooking the health aspects when discussing further extensions of working hours. The supposed advantage of longer working hours could have a very negative long-term effect on the health of employees and thus have an unfavorable effect on companies. Because of the increasing negative health consequences, sick leave would increase, labor costs would increase and overall productivity would fall, BauA warned. According to the Federal Institute, an extension of working hours would have a lasting negative impact on the health of employees, despite the fact that flexible working hours are often used at the same time. (Fp)

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