Risks of working overtime

Working overtime

We all do it, spend that extra time in the office to get that piece of work finished or get a little extra research done. But have you considered what the impact of doing extra work can have on your health?

According to new research, working overtime can have an effect on your health. People who regularly put in overtime and work 10 or 11-hour days increase their risk of heart disease by nearly two-thirds.

The findings come from a study of 6000 British civil servants, which was published online in the European Heart Journal. Men and women aged between 39 and 61 took part in the study, and were followed for an average of 11 years.

The research found, after accounting for known heart risk factors such as smoking, those who worked three to four hours of overtime per day ran a 60 percent higher risk.

One or two hours' overtime made no difference to people's health, the researchers from University College London and the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health found.

Experts involved in the study said the findings highlighted the importance of a good work-life balance.

Finding time to relax

Overall, there were 369 cases where people suffered heart disease, which caused death, had a heart attack or developed angina.

The research found that the number of hours spent working overtime appeared to be strongly linked in many of the cases.

People who spend more time at work have less time to exercise, relax and unwind. They may also be more stressed, anxious, or have depression.

The researchers stated that a career-minded person will also tend to be a "Type A" personality who is highly driven, aggressive or irritable.

"Employees who work overtime may also be likely to work while ill - that is, be reluctant to be absent from work despite illness," they added.

Lead researcher Mianna Virtanen, an epidemiologist at the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health in Helsinki and University College London, said: "More research is needed before we can be confident that overtime work would cause coronary heart disease."

Cathy Ross, senior cardiac nurse at the British Heart Foundation, which part-funded the research, said: "This study raises further questions about how our working lives can influence our risk of heart disease.

"Until researchers understand how our working lives can affect the risk to our heart health, there are simple ways to look after your heart health at work, like taking a brisk walk at lunch, taking the stairs instead of the lift, or by swapping that biscuit for a piece of fruit."

Jodie Humphries

Jodie Humphries graduated from Bath Spa University with a BA Hons in Creative Writing in 2008. She has worked for GDS Publishing for the digital group since July 2009. She has previous experience with writing for the web, running her own website since April 2007.

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