Effects of overtime
Employees who work overtime hours can be have many different physical, mental, and social effects. Significant effects include stress, lack of free time, poor work-life balance, and health risks.[1][2] Employee performance levels could also be lowered. Long work hours could lead to tiredness, fatigue, and lack of attentiveness.[3] As a result of these risks, suggestions have been proposed as to how we can mitigate these risks.
Mental effects
The mental effects on workers will vary based upon the work they do, the number of hours they work, and the type of individual. Groupon performed a study in July 2016 on the effects of work. The results found that 38% work too much, 46% never had time to relax, and 60% of pollers have an unhealthy work-life balance.[1] While this research showed some trends concerning the effects, other research has been performed to test the satisfaction levels of employees. A 2004 study of workers in Australia showed a trend that satisfaction levels decreased as the numbers of hours worked increased. They also stated that these effect could be lessened for those who enjoyed working extensive hours.[4] These types of workers are more satisfied with their work-life balance.
Margot Shields surveyed 3,830 men and women between the ages of 25 and 54 who worked 35 hours or more per week between 1994 and 1997. She analyzed the relationship between working hours and depression. Her results found that women had increased likelihood of experiencing depression the more hours they worked.[5]
Physical effects
Consecutive periods of working straight shifts, lack of breaks during the day, and consecutive days of working without a day off lead to decreased efficiency and productivity in workers. A synopsis of the book "Tired Cops: The Importance of Managing Police Fatigue" by Bryan Vila analyzed how these effect police officers in 2000.[6] The abnormal work and sleep schedules were leading causes of the limited efficiency of police officers. This downturn in their effectiveness create unsafe environments for the communities around them.[3]
Long-term effects were researched by The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. They studied the link between overtime and the increased risk of cardiovascular disorder (CVD) events. Their results included evidence that showed that for people who worked at least 10 years for each additional hour worked, starting from the 46th hour, his or her risk of a CVD event increase by 1%.[2] In addition to these health risks, María Beniell, who received her Ph.D. in Economics from the Center for Monetary and Financial Studies (CEMFI), researched the correlation between working long hours and the likelihood of individuals smoking, drinking, having a high body mass index (BMI), and being less physically active.[7] The long-term effects of alcohol consumption include increased on-the-job injuries and loss of productivity, family problems, risk of high blood pressure, stroke, and other cardiovascular diseases, and more.[8] The effects of smoking, in addition to the similarities to the effects of alcohol, include increased risk to heart attacks, emphysema, and a large amount of cancers.
Margot Shields' 1994-1997 study also analyzed the relationship between long hours and changes in weight, smoking, drinking, and exercising. For men, longer hours were associated with unhealthy weight gain, increasing in smoking occurred for both men and women, and an increase in drinking existed for women. No relationship could be drawn with changes in physical activity.[5]
In Osaka, Japan, researchers completed a 5-year study on the effects of long work hours on hypertension in 1999. At the end of their study, they had surveyed 941 male Japanese white collar workers. They concluded that long work hours are negatively associated with the risk for hypertension.[9]
Social effects
Work-life balance is a major aspect of employees' lives. Naturally, the more hours someone works, the less time they will have to spend with their family or other leisure activities. In 2007, professors from Penn State Abington analyzed the tradeoff between working overtime and home and family life activities. A major find was that workers struggled to take time off for personal or family needs. However, the additional income from working long hours could limit the actual impact of this loss of time.[10] More specifically, the impact of having a child exponentially increase the impact of working overtime. Especially at a young age, it is very important for children development for the parents to be involved to provide care and positive experiences.[11] Due to this reason, work-life conflicts arise much more frequently for parents, as stress levels are heightened. These effects are even worse for single parents.
Counter-arguments
Other studies argue that there is no direct cause-and-effect relationship between hours worked and short and long-term risks. Their claims include comments about factors that alter the outcome of effects. These include an individual's personality, occupation, and income. This research was done through a HILDA (Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia) survey in 2001 and was completed in 2004.[4] Prior research into these counter-arguments was completed by a group of researchers in 1997. They found links between increased CVD events and mental health disorder, along with decreases in production, as the number of hours worked increased. However, they state that further research is necessary before definitive conclusions can be made, as factors of each individual have vast consequences on the effect of working overtime.[12] In addition, workers who work overtime when it is not mandatory find that there are very minimal effects on their fatigue levels.[10]
Risk mitigation
While a definitive conclusion could not be made, suggestions have been made to minimize the potential risks of long work hours. The make-up of the work schedule should be managed properly, as to avoid multiple back-to-back shifts, long periods of working straight, balanced breaks during the day.[13] For families with children, it is very important for that employees can manage their schedule for family or personal needs. This will help alleviate stress, provide flexible work hours throughout the year, and avoid many work-life conflicts.
In 1981, Jay Kim and Anthony Campagna, researchers from Ohio State University, studied the effectsFlextime. Flextime allows workers to change their start and end work time. They first analyzed a wide range of studies done on flextime. Then they separated separated 353 employees into two groups: one that allowed flextime, and one that did not, or the control group. Their study found that flextime largely reduced unpaid absences for employees. They also found a general increase in worker performance, although, flextime could impact coordination, like meetings, as employee work schedules may vary. [14]
See also
References
- ^ a b Strauss, Karsten. "Survey: Too Much Work, Too Much Stress?". Forbes. Retrieved 2016-10-21.
- ^ a b Conway, S.; Pompeii, L.; Roberts, R.; Follis, J.; Gimeno, D. (March 8, 2016). "Press Releases | Long Work Hours Linked to Higher Cardiovascular Disease Risk". www.acoem.org. Retrieved 2016-10-21.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ a b Vila, Bryan; Kenney, Dennis; Morrison, Gregory; Reuland, Melissa (August 28, 2000). "Evaluating the Effects of Fatigue on Police Patrol Officers: Final Report" (PDF). ncjrs.gov. NCJRS. Retrieved October 21, 2016.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ a b Gray, Matthew; Qu, Lixia; Stanton, David; Weston, Ruth (June 2004). "Long Work Hours and the Wellbeing of Fathers and their Families" (PDF). curtin.edu. Australian Journal of Labour Economics. Retrieved October 21, 2016.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ a b Shields, Margot (1997). "Long working hours and health" (PDF). Health Reports. Retrieved December 1, 2016.
- ^ Vila, Bryan (2000). Tired Cops: The Importance of Managing Police Fatigue. Police Executive Research Forum; 1st edition. ISBN 1878734679.
- ^ Berniell, María (March 2012). "The Effects of Working Hours on Health Status and Health Behaviors" (PDF). iza.org. IZA. Retrieved October 21, 2016.
- ^ "Watch Truth About Drugs Documentary Video & Learn About Substance Addiction. Get The Facts About Painkillers, Marijuana, Cocaine, Meth & Other Illegal Drugs". Foundation for a Drug-Free World. Retrieved 2016-10-21.
- ^ Nakanishi, N.; Yoshida, H.; Nagano, K.; Kawashimo, H.; Nakamura, K.; Tatara, K. (2001). Long Working Hours and Risk for Hypertension in Japanese Male White Collar Workers. Japan: Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health. pp. 316–322.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ a b Golden, Lonnie; Wiens-Tuers, Barbara (April 2007). "Overtime Work and Family Consequences". papers.ssrn.com. SSRN. Retrieved October 26, 2016.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Lawton, Leora; Tulkin, David (April 15, 2010). "Work-Family Balance, Family Structure and Family-Friendly Employer Programs". princeton.edu. Retrieved October 26, 2016.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Spurgeon, Anne; Harrington, J.; Cooper, Cary (1997). "Health and safety problems associated with long working hours: a review of the current position". europepmc.org. Occupational and Environmental Medicine. Retrieved October 21, 2016.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Folkard, Simon; Lombardi, David (November 2006). "Modeling the impact of the components of long work hours on injuries and "accidents"" (PDF). researchgate.net. ResearchGate. Retrieved October 21, 2016.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Kim, J. S., & Campagna, A. F. (1981). Effects of flextime on employee attendance and performance: A field experiment. Academy of Management Journal, 24, 729-741.