Working Long Hours Kills 745,000 People a Year, Study Finds.
The study, conducted with the International Labour Organization (ILO), is the first global study of its kind.
It found that in 2016, 745,000 people died from stroke and heart disease related to working long hours.
People in South East Asia and the Western Pacific were found to be the most affected.
Those who work over 55 hours a week were found to have a 35% greater risk of stroke and 17% more of a chance of dying from heart disease.
According to researchers, there are two ways workers were affected by working long hours.
First, they encountered physiological responses to stress.
Second, longer hours left workers more susceptible to less sleep and exercise, an unhealthy diet, and increased tobacco and alcohol use.
Almost three quarters of the people who died from working long hours in 2016 were middle-aged or older men.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the recent shift to remote working amid the pandemic may have increased these risks.
We have some evidence that shows that when countries go into national lockdown, the number of hours worked increase by about 10%, WHO technical officer Frank Pega, via statement
