Here’s a no-brainer: Workers who log long hours are much more likely to develop clinical depression than those who put in a regular shift, new research shows.
The six-year study of more than 2,100 British civil servants found those who work shifts that average more than 11 hours have more than double the risk of becoming depressed than their colleagues who work seven-to-eight-hour days.
It didn’t matter how stressful the work is and mid-level employees are at greater risk than their higher ups, researchers found.
The study, published in the journal Public Library of Science ONE, found the connection, regardless of whether workers faced such factors as job strain, used alcohol, were smokers or had chronic health conditions.
This study was based on information gathered on the workers in 1997–1999 and then again in 2002–2004.
“Compared with working 40 hours per week at most, working more than 55 hours per week was associated with lower scores,” researchers wrote, adding: “This study shows that long working hours may have a negative effect on cognitive performance in middle age.”