Working long hours kills hundreds of thousands a year, WHO says
The WHO said a region that encompasses China, Japan and Australia was the worst affected.(
Supplied: Connor Grzesiak)
Working long hours is killing hundreds of thousands of people a year in a worsening trend that may accelerate further due to the COVID-19 pandemic, says the World Health Organization (WHO).
Key points:
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The deaths of about 745,000 people in 2016 were linked to long working hours, an increase of nearly 30 per cent from 2000
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The WHO’s Maria Neira said “working 55 hours or more per week is a serious health hazard”
- Long hours are linked to a 35 per cent higher stroke risk
About 745,000 people died from stroke and heart disease associated with long working hours in 2016, according to the first global study of the loss of life associated with longer working hours.
That was an increase of nearly 30 per cent from 2000, the paper in the journal Environment International found.
“Working 55 hours or more per week is a serious health hazard,” said Maria Neira, director of the WHO’s Department of Environment, Climate Change and Health.
The joint study, produced by the WHO and the International Labour Organization, showed that most victims (72 per cent) were men and were middle-aged or older.
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Often, the deaths occurred much later in life, sometimes decades after the shifts worked.
It also showed that people living in South-East Asia and the Western Pacific region — a WHO-defined region that includes China, Japan and Australia — were the most affected.
Overall, the study — drawing on data from 194 countries — said that working 55 hours or more a week was associated with a 35 per cent higher risk of stroke and a 17 per cent higher risk of dying from ischemic heart disease compared with a 35-40 hour working week.
The study covered the period 2000-2016, and so did not include the COVID-19 pandemic.
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But WHO officials said the surge in remote working and the global economic slowdown resulting from the coronavirus emergency may have increased the risks.
WHO staff, including its chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, say they have been working long hours during the pandemic and Dr Neira said the UN agency would seek to improve its policy in light of the study.
Capping hours would be beneficial for employers since that had been shown to increase worker productivity, WHO technical officer Frank Pega said.
“It’s really a smart choice not to increase long working hours in an economic crisis,” he said.
Reuters
