Newly released data has revealed that hundreds of thousands of deaths occur each year due to staff working long hours.

The study, carried out by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the International Labour Organization (ILO), suggests that hundreds of thousands are dying every year after being pushed to their limits at work.

In total, long working hours led to 745,000 deaths from health issues like strokes and heart disease in 2016 alone, marking an increase of 29% on 2000.

The global analysis, which is the first of its kind, estimates that, in 2016, 398k people died from a stroke and 347k from heart disease due to working at least 55 hours a week.

Additionally, between 2000 and 2016, the number of deaths from heart disease due to working long hours increased by 42% while stroke fatalities increased by 19%.

The WHO study concludes that working more than 50 hours 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.

The research also says that the burden is “particularly significant in men,” with 72% of deaths occurring among the male population. Most of the deaths recorded, the study found, 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.

Commenting on the data, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. Said: “The Covid-19 pandemic has significantly changed the way many people work.

“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.

“No job is worth the risk of stroke or heart disease. Governments, employers and workers need to work together to agree on limits to protect the health of workers.”

The study does not cover the period of the coronavirus. However, WHO officials said the impact of Covid-19 on the way we work, combined with the economic impact of the pandemic, may have increased the risks associated with long working hours.

“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 said.

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Another major factor that may be contributing to worldwide deaths is mental health, which is strongly impacted by long working hours as well as the disruption brought on by the pandemic.

A survey carried out in August last year suggested that that 75% of people have experienced ‘burnout’ at work, with almost half blaming the pandemic. Additionally, a pre-pandemic study carried out by Harvard Business Review showed that 40% of people feel isolated at work – an issue which has likely been exacerbated by the pandemic.

It has been suggested that technology could be a solution to combat mental health problems for workers. Exploring the role of technology in supporting mental wellbeing, Caroline Laurenson, co-founder of Aberdeenshire-based TL Tech said that society must “embrace new solutions and anticipate our needs as a society”.

According to Laurenson, one advantage of using tech to support mental wellbeing is privacy. “Technology has made getting support potentially more accessible and accelerated the adoption of remote services such as video consultations or asynchronous chat conversations,” she said.

Laurenson also said that employers are starting to realise that not only do they have a duty of care, but prioritising wellbeing has real benefits to the organisation, including including a boost in employee productivity.

DIGIT Leader 2021 Virtual Summit | Join the Discussion

The topic of employee wellbeing and mental health will be a key area of discussion at the fifth annual DIGIT Leader Summit, set to be held on the 26th May.

For more details and information on how to attend, please visit: www.digitleaders.com