Study links work hours to depression
11-hour workdays seen as higher risk
January 26, 2012
People who put in eleven or more hours per day at work are more likely to suffer depression than colleagues who work fewer hours, according to a study in PLoS One.
For the study, Finnish Institute of Occupational Health researchers analyzed data on 2,123 London civil servants ages 35 to 55. Over a six-year period, 3.1% of the study participants reported major depression.
After adjusting for socioeconomic status, the researchers found that people who work eleven or more hours per day are 2.4 times more likely to suffer depression than those who work seven or eight hours. The strong correlation remained after researchers accounted for job strain, the level of support in the workplace, alcohol use, smoking, and chronic physical diseases.
The study notes that junior- and mid-level employees who work long hours are more prone to depression than employees at the top of the workplace food chain. In fact, long hours did not have a significant impact on mental health among top-level employees, likely because they have more control over their workload (McMillen, CNN, 1/26; Walsh, MedPage Today, 1/25).
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