Working 55 hours or more per week has been associated with a 35% increase in the risk of stroke and a 17% increase in the risk of dying from ischemic heart disease.
- This is the first global analysis of the loss of life and damage to health associated with working too long hours.
- The WHO and ILO estimate that in 2016, 398,000 people died from stroke and 347,000 from heart disease for working at least 55 hours a week.
- Most of the deaths recorded were in people aged 60 to 79, who had worked 55 or more hours a week when they were aged 45 to 74.
“Working 55 hours or more per week is a serious health hazard.” According to a new study of the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Labor Organization (ILO), published this Monday in the journal Environment Internationaltoo much work increases the risk of death from heart disease and stroke.
“It’s time that everyone – governments, employers and workers – finally admitted that long working hours can lead to premature deaths”, says Dr Maria Neira, director of the environment, climate change and health department at the WHO.
An upward trend
Specifically, working 55 hours or more per week was associated with a 35% increased risk of stroke and a 17% increased risk of dying from ischemic heart disease. A trend that is all the more worrying as it is on the rise: between 2000 and 2016, the number of workaholics who died of heart disease increased by 42%. Ditto for strokes, up 19%. The WHO summarizes:“now that it is known that approximately one-third of the total occupational disease burden is attributable to long working hours, this makes it the number one risk factor for occupational disease”.
Note that the study collected its data before the Covid-19 epidemic which, according to experts, tends to increase the number of hours worked per week.
.
