Racking up
the hours at our desks may lead to a promotion or a pay rise in the short run,
but over the long run, it backfires on women.
A new
study has revealed that women, who work more than 40 hours a week for 30 years
could be increasing their risk going to an early grave.
Work weeks
that averaged 60 hours or more over three decades appear to triple the risk of
diabetes, cancer, heart trouble and arthritis for women, according to The Ohio
State University study.
The risk
begins to climb when women put in more than 40 hours and takes a decidedly bad
turn above 50 hours, researchers found.
"Women
- especially women who have to juggle multiple roles - feel the effects of
intensive work experiences and that can set the table for a variety of
illnesses and disability," said lead author Allard Dembe.
"People
don't think that much about how their early work experiences affect them down
the road," he said. "Women in their 20s, 30s and 40s are setting
themselves up for problems later in life."
Men with
tough work schedules appeared to fare much better, found the researchers, who
analyzed data from interviews with almost 7,500 people who were part of the
National Longitudinal Survey of Youth.
Women tend
to take on the lion's share of family responsibility and may face more pressure
and stress than men when they work long hours, previous research shows. On top
of that, work for women may be less satisfying because of the need to balance
work demands with family obligations, Dembe said.
Employers
and government regulators should be aware of the risks, especially to women who
are required to regularly toil beyond a 40-hour work week, he said. Companies
benefit in terms of quality of work and medical costs when their workers are
healthier, Dembe said.
The study
is published online in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.
Representative
Image
Source:
ANI
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