Long work hours, weekend working and depressive symptoms in men and women: findings from a UK population-based study

Abstract

BackgroundGlobalised and 24/7 business operations have fuelled demands for people to work long hours and weekends. Research on the mental health effects of these intensive temporal work patterns is sparse, contradictory or has not considered gender differences. Our objective was to examine the relationship between these work patterns and depressive symptoms in a large nationally representative sample of working men and women in the UK.MethodThe current study analysed data from Understanding Society, the UK Household Longitudinal Study, of 11 215 men and 12 188 women in employment or self-employment at the time of the study. Ordinary least squares regression models, adjusted for potential confounders and psychosocial work factors, were used to estimate depressive symptoms across categories of work hours and weekend work patterns.ResultsRelative to a standard 35–40 hours/week, working 55 hours/week or more related to more depressive symptoms among women (ß=0.75, 95% CI 0.12 to 1.39), but not for men (ß=0.24, 95% CI −0.10 to 0.58). Compared with not working weekends, working most or all weekends related to more depressive symptoms for both men (ß=0.34, 95% CI 0.08 to 0.61) and women (ß=0.50, 95% CI 0.20 to 0.79); however, working some weekends only related to more depressive symptoms for men (ß=0.33, 95% CI 0.11 to 0.55), not women (ß=0.17, 95% CI −0.09 to 0.42).ConclusionIncreased depressive symptoms were independently linked to working extra-long hours for women, whereas increased depressive symptoms were associated with working weekends for both genders, suggesting these work patterns may contribute to worse mental health.

Stress and occupational burnout in a population of Polish doctors – Organizational-professional and non-professional-social predictors

“…Furthermore, it is worth mentioning that the contemporary globalized society expects the employee to work almost 24 hours a day, including public holidays (Saturdays and Sundays). As some studies conclude, this requirement has become virtually a social norm leading even to the deterioration of mental health [31]. This phenomenon has also been observed in Poland.…”

“…According to the literature, numerous risk factors for the development of occupational stress result from the daily burdens associated with work structure, e.g. work time, number and working conditions [2,31]. According to the Euro Health Consumer Index, Poland is 31st among 36 countries due to the level of professional overwork among doctors [33].…”

Gender differences in the impact of the Covid-19 lockdown on unpaid care work and psychological distress in the UK

“…Combining employment with increased childcare, homeschooling and housework may have increased feelings of psychological distress through reduced time for sleep and leisure, and the stress of trying to meet competing demands. Previous work has documented the mental health effects of working non-standard hours (Weston, Zilanawala, Webb, Carvalho, & McMunn, 2019), as well as combining care provision with full-time employment (Lacey, McMunn, & Webb, 2019). A national survey of the UK during lockdown also showed that women's psychological distress rose more than men's during lockdown (Banks & Xu, 2020).…”

Parenting as a Moderating Factor for Research Productivity and Work-Life Balance: Evidence from Philippine Women Academics

“…On the relational level, male partners have to share the burden of family commitment which would eventually lessen the weight carried among academic mothers as studies have shown that women are more prone to work and family stress when subjected to longer working hours (Michie, 2002;Weston et al, 2019) that might affect the cognitive function (Virtanen et al, 2009). At the institutional level of the academia, a more progressive outlook regarding policy formulation for work-family balancing issues should be crafted (Amer, 2013).…”