A new study conducted by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Labour Organization (ILO) has revealed that overworking is a leading cause of health problems, resulting in 745,000 deaths worldwide in 2016 alone. The study found that working 55 hours or more per week significantly increases the risk of fatal health issues, such as heart disease and stroke. This is a 42% increase in deaths related to heart disease and a 19% increase in deaths related to stroke due to overworking in just 16 years. The study also found that overworking resulted in the loss of 23 million healthy years of life in 2016, surpassing injuries and poor ergonomics as the biggest risk factors for workplace health problems.
The study, published in the journal Environment International, is the first to systematically examine the global connections between long working hours and the loss of healthy years of life. The researchers analyzed surveys on working hours from 154 countries and studies on stroke and heart disease with over 1.6 million participants. The results showed that approximately 9% of the world’s population works more than 55 hours per week, which significantly increases the risk of physical and mental strain, as well as the risk of cardiovascular disease. Other indirect factors, such as alcohol and tobacco use, lack of exercise, and sleep deprivation, are also more prevalent among those who work long hours.
The study found that work-related cardiovascular disease is most common in economically disadvantaged countries in East and Southeast Asia, India, Africa, and South America, where many people work without regulated contracts or schedules. However, the problem also exists in wealthy industrialized countries like Japan, where the term “karoshi” is used to describe death from overwork. The study found that the health burden is lowest in Europe and North America, where worker protection is significantly stricter than in other parts of the world. “These measures seem to be really working,” said Frank Pega, one of the study’s authors. The study highlights the need for better regulation of working hours to prevent overworking and its associated health risks.
