Report on long working hours and its impact

• This report was recently published by the WHO and International Labour Organization (ILO) in which key finding includes:
• Working 55 hours or more per week is a serious health hazard.
• Long working hours led to 745,000 deaths from stroke and ischemic heart disease in 2016, a 29% increase since 2000.

The study concluded that working 55 or more hours per week is associated with an estimated 35% higher risk of a stroke and a 17% higher risk of dying from ischemic heart disease, compared to working 35-40 hours a week.

Most vulnerable groups:

• This work-related disease burden is particularly significant in men (72% of deaths occurred among males), people living in the Western Pacific and South-East Asia regions, and middle-aged or older workers.
• Most of the deaths recorded were among people aged 60-79 years, who had worked for 55 hours or more per week between the ages of 45 and 74 years, said the agencies.

Impact of Pandemic:

• The pandemic is accelerating developments that could feed the trend towards increased working time.
• Teleworking has become the norm in many industries, often blurring the boundaries between home and work.
• In addition, many businesses have been forced to scale back or shut down operations to save money, and people who are still on the payroll end up working longer hours.