Do you feel like you work too many hours? Are you fried? Are long working hours leaving you exhausted? Even getting sick from too much time spent at the workplace?
New research says that long working hours can be more harmful than thought.
No question we are a society of people who drive overwork, and make the people we supervise overwork. In fact, one-third of all overtime is mandatory. But in a drive to get more production, are we making our workers and ourselves sick from excessively long working hours?
Take Karen Seaman, a public relations account manager. It’s a typical ten hour work day for her, and when you ask her whether she works overtime, she says, “Define overtime. I mean we work beyond the normal 9-5 hours everyday. Everyone does, so there really isn’t any overtime, because it’s expected,” says Karen.
Karen reports that the long work hours extend into her home life, with work concerns keeping her up at night. “The company itself isn’t stressful or the environment because everyone here is great. I love my job. It’s the amount of work, and the long working hours that can be stressful.”
Certainly, long working hours increase the risk of occupational injuries among workers in industries like construction, nursing, bus drivers, and long distance truck drivers.
Dr. Ana Kreiger, the Director of the NYU Sleep Center, says, “Everybody needs a balance and I think society is really pushing people to work harder. Everything gets more expensive as time goes by. People have children and schools are expensive. People are willing to put in long working hours to guarantee the paycheck at the end of the month which will afford them a better vacation, or a better living style. And they are damaging their health in the process.”
Now, the latest research in the journal Occupational and Environmental Medicine shows the more one works, the greater the risk for on the job sickness.
The study found working at least 12 hours a day was associated with a 37% increased risk of injury or illness, and working at least 60 hours a week was associated with a 23% increased risk.
Karen says, “I would love more downtime. I think that would help during the day too, not just after work. It’s important for people to take a break during the day, and recharge their brain. That’s really important.”
A growing body of evidence suggests that long working hours can affect the health and well being of workers. Studies have linked overtime and extended work schedules with an increased risk of high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, fatigue, stress, depression, musculoskeletal disorders, chronic infections, and even death.
“People should seriously look into the quality of life they are living. Work is very important but it’s as important to realize that an important factor in people’s happiness is that they should not overwork,” says Dr. Kreiger.