Working more than 55 hours a week associated with increased risk of depression in women
Working very long hours – more than 55 hours a week – is linked to a heightened risk of depression in women. An observational study published in the Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health came to this conclusion.
The expansion of the global and gig economies has increased the need to work outside standard ‘office’ hours. Although this has been associated with poorer physical health but its effect on mental health is less well known.
This study focused on data for 11,215 men and 12,188 women from the UK Household Longitudinal Study (UKHLS) as this included information on employment.
Depressive symptoms were measured using a validated general health questionnaire and working weeks were categorised as fewer than 35 to include part-time employees; 41-55 (long working hours); and 55 and above (extra long working hours).
The researchers factored in several potentially influential contributors: age; marital status; parenthood; earnings and satisfaction with them; long term health conditions; job type and satisfaction with it; and qualifications.
Women who worked 55 or more hours a week and/or who worked most/every weekend had the worst mental health of all, with significantly more depressive symptoms than women working standard hours
Generally, older workers, smokers, and those who earned the least and who had the least job control were more depressed. And this applied to both sexes.
But gender differences in working patterns were evident.Men tended to work longer hours than women, with almost half clocking up more than the standard quota compared with fewer than one in four women. And nearly half of the women worked part time compared with just one in seven (15%) men.
Married women who were also parents tended not to work longer hours, but the opposite was true of married fathers.
Over two thirds of men worked weekends compared with around half the women. And working weekends is associated with an increased risk in both sexes, the findings indicate.
There was no difference in the number of depressive symptoms between men who put in fewer or more hours than the standard working week, or who worked weekends.
And women who worked 55 or more hours a week and/or who worked most/every weekend had the worst mental health of all, with significantly more depressive symptoms than women working standard hours.
“Our findings of more depressive symptoms among women working extra long hours might also be explained by the potential double burden experienced by women when their long hours in paid work are added on their time in domestic labour,” suggest the authors.
