The effects of hours of work on health: A meta‐analytic review

Abstract

A quantitative and qualitative review of existing literature on working hours and health was carried out. Meta‐analyses were performed on 21 study samples. Results indicated small, but significant positive mean correlations between overall health symptoms, physiological and psychological health symptoms, and hours of work. Qualitative analysis of 12 other studies supported these findings of a positive relationship between hours of work and ill‐health. Different factors which may obscure the relationship between health and hours of work are discussed, together with other moderating influences. Taking these into account it is proposed that the results of the meta‐analyses together with the qualitative analysis offer support for a link between hours of work and ill‐health.

Long working hours and depressive symptoms: systematic review and meta-analysis of published studies and unpublished individual participant data

“…Of these, six studies met the inclusion criteria and a further four were identified from referred publication searches, hand search, and from the reference lists of published reviews. We excluded metaanalyses (but extracted relevant studies from those) (18,19,25,26), reviews (5, 8-17, 21, 23), and books (20,22,24). We also excluded studies with overlapping data with selected studies (33)(34)(35)(36)(37)(38)(39)(40), those without adjustment for baseline mental health (41)(42)(43), and those prospective studies in which exposure and outcome were temporally overlapping (44,45).…”

“…Of the three previous meta-analyses of the association between long working hours and mental health, two were published in 1997 (18) and 2008 (19), and were mainly based on cross-sectional data. They reported a weak linear correlation between hours worked and "mental strain", which is consistent with our findings.…”

“…Of these, six studies met the inclusion criteria and a further four were identified from referred publication searches, hand search, and from the reference lists of published reviews. We excluded metaanalyses (but extracted relevant studies from those) (18,19,25,26), reviews (5, 8-17, 21, 23), and books (20, …”

“…However, although several reviews of this field exist (5,(9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18)(19)(20)(21)(22)(23)(24), the few systematic quantifications of the evidence have been based on published cross-sectional (18,19,25) or published longitudinal studies (26). Given the potential publication bias in studies based on published data (27), an individual-participant metaanalysis of unpublished data would provide important complementary evidence to evaluate the effect of long working hours on mental health.…”

Identifying Key Workplace Stressors Affecting Twentieth Air Force: Analyses Conducted from December 2012 Through February 2013

“…Approximately one-fifth of U.S. employees work more than 48 hours a week (International Labour Organization, 2007). According to many reviews of the literature (see, for example, Sparks et al, 1997), the stress and fatigue that sometimes result from longer work hours can affect employee health and well-being. In addition, longer hours may affect work-family conflict, leading to further stress in both personal and professional settings (Major, Klein, and Ehrhart, 2002).…”