Work and your health (2024)

FAQs

How does work affect your health? ›

Work-related problems can affect our physical, emotional and mental health. Common issues include job dissatisfaction, workplace injury, stress, discrimination and bullying, violence, accidental death and retirement. Job loss, retrenchment or unexpected loss of income can also cause distress and hardship.

The characteristics of work - activity, social interaction, identity and status - are proven to be beneficial for our physical and mental health. Recent research shows that people in work tend to enjoy happier and healthier lives than people who are out of work.

Stress, burnout, personal problems, or job dissatisfaction can all affect how you as a person feels. That said, it's essential to recognize the reasons behind your reluctance and determine if it's a temporary phase or a more significant problem that could end up affecting your mental health.

The experiment confirms that working longer causes better health – specifically longer life expectancy. Men ages 62-65 who worked longer due to the policy change saw a two-month increase in life expectancy during their late 60s. This improvement could be more substantial if the impact is longer lasting.

A WHO survey concluded that people working 55 or more hours per week face a 35% higher risk of stroke and a 17% higher risk of dying from ischemic heart disease compared to those working 35-40 hours per week. Also, reports from WebMD feature accounts of people who developed heart conditions as a result of overworking.

So how much work is too much? A recent study by the World Health Organization and the International Labour Organization shows that working more than 55 hours a week can have negative effects on your health. So what can you do to achieve a better work-life balance?

How Many Hours A Week Is Healthy To Work? Various personal circ*mstances, the type of employment, and the overall work-life balance might affect how many hours a week are deemed healthy to work. For full-time employment, experts and labor regulations generally advise a regular workweek of 40 hours.

It pays the bills, provides some form of structure to the day or night depending on the type of work, and can form a substantial part of individual and collective identities. It can also be the source of misery, suffering, physical and mental maladies. For many people the former outweighs the latter.

You aren't being challenged. If you aren't being challenged at work, it's easy to become disengaged and lose motivation. If you feel bored often, it's important to try and find ways to make your work more interesting.

What to do if you never want to work? ›

Reconnect with your aspirations and the things you care about and use them to motivate you to work towards goals. Think about any ambitions you may have, like learning new skills or travelling to other countries and explore employment opportunities that can help you achieve them.

High levels of chronic stress combined with a sense of feeling stuck can lead to burnout. You can't always control all the factors that contribute to burnout. An unhealthy work environment may be to blame. But there are steps you can take to improve your individual situation.

When they looked at the sample of 2,956 people who had begun participating in the study in 1992 and retired by 2010, the researchers found that the majority had retired around age 65. But a statistical analysis showed that when people retired at age 66 instead, their mortality rates dropped by 11%.

Stress is a natural part of life, but prolonged exposure to stressful environments and events may even accelerate the aging process. The main stress hormone — cortisol — mainly does this by decreasing the amount of protective casing around your DNA.

Good for health

A 2016 study of about 3,000 people, published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, suggested that working even one more year beyond retirement age was associated with a 9% to 11% lower risk of dying during the 18-year study period, regardless of health.

Some health conditions can be caused or made worse by work and working environments. These include lung disease, stress and musculoskeletal disorders such as back pain. You can find specific advice on the most common risks in the workplace and how to manage them using the links below.

You might not really notice it, but work stress can release the hormone cortisol, which is hard on your heart. This in turn can increase your risk for stroke, coronary artery disease, type 2 diabetes, and even cancer.

Prolonged exposure to a stressful work environment can manifest in physical symptoms. If you frequently experience headaches, stomachaches, insomnia, or a weakened immune system, your job may be contributing to these health issues.

Burnout and poor mental health

These environments can take a toll on employee mental health and lead to issues like chronic stress, burnout, anxiety, and depression. Employees in toxic company cultures aren't doing their best work and likely aren't thriving in their personal lives either.