O BSH raises the alarm: Thousands die each year because of long hours of work

Working over 55 hours a week could be a serious health risk “”, a new study reveals. Hundreds of thousands die each year because of long working hours, and the pandemic may be making matters worse.

Long hours of work have led to hundreds of thousands of deaths each year, as a result of a trend that is deteriorating by economic uncertainty due to the coronary pandemic, the World Health Organisation (OBSH) said on Monday (17.05).

In the first global study of life loss associated with longer hours of work, a publication in Environment International found that 745,000 people died of a stroke and heart disease associated with long hours of work in 2016, marking an increase of nearly 30% from 2000.

The study also noted that the number of people working long hours is increasing, and currently stands at 9% of the total global population.

“Work 55 hours or more a week is a serious health risk,” said Maria Neira, director of the O Department Environment, Climate Change and Health.

“What we want to do with this information is promote more action, more workers' protection,” she said.

The vague lines between home and work

“Pandemia COVID-19 has significantly changed the way many people work,” said O General Director Tedros Adhanom Ghebraesus' BSH. “Homework has become the norm in many industries, often disturbing the boundaries between home and work. ”

No job is worth risking for stroke or heart disease. Governments, employers and workers must work together to agree on borders in the protection of workers' health,” added Ghebrreesus.

O BSH and the International Labour Organization (ILO) estimate that 398,000 people died of a stroke and 347,000 heart disease in 2016 as a result of at least 55 hours a week.

Between 2000 and 2016, the number of deaths from heart disease associated with long working hours increased by 42% and from stroke to 19%.

The study concludes that work at 55 hours or more a week is accompanied by an estimated 35% more risk of strokes and 17% higher risk of death from vital heart disease, compared with work 35 to 40 hours a week.

Appeals to Limit Work Hours

“Pandemia is accelerating developments that can foster the trend towards increasing working time”, - O said BSH.

Researchers said that 72% of overload victims in 2016 were men, mainly of middle age or older. He also indicated that people living in Southeast Asia and the Western Pacific region were the most affected. Often, workers died much later in life, sometimes decades after they left work.

WHO staff, including Ghebraesus, say they worked longer hours during the pandemic. The closing hours would be useful to employers, as it had shown that it increases workers' productivity, O technical official said. Frank Pega's BSH.

The “is really a smart choice not to increase working hours in an economic crisis”, he said.