Work

The Effect of Long Working Hours and Overtime on Occupational Health: A Meta-Analysis of Evidence from 1998 to 2018

Year: 2019

Type: review

Study designs: Systematic Review, Meta-Analysis

Abstract: There has been no subsequent meta-analysis examining the effects of long working hours on health or occupational health since 1997. Therefore, this paper aims to conduct a meta-analysis covering studies after 1997 for a comparison. A total of 243 published records were extracted from electronic databases. The effects were measured by five conditions, namely, physiological health (PH), mental health (MH), health behaviours (HB), related health (RH), and nonspecified health (NH). The overall odds ratio between long working hours and occupational health was 1.245 (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.195-1.298). The condition of related health constituted the highest odds ratio value (1.465, 95% CI: 1.332-1.611). The potential moderators were study method, cut-point for long weekly working hours, and country of origin. Long working hours were shown to adversely affect the occupational health of workers. The management on safeguarding the occupational health of workers working long hours should be reinforced.

Source: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health

DOI: 10.3390/ijerph16122102

Authors: Kapo Wong, Alan H. S. Chan, S. C. Ngan

Institution: City University of Hong Kong

Language: English

Topic: Workplace Health and Well-being

Subfield: General Health Professions

Field: Health Professions

Domain: Health Sciences

SDGs: Decent work and economic growth, Good health and well-being

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $1,824