Long working days can cause heart problems

From "The Guardian", July 14, 2017

According to a major study by a research team at University College, London, a long hours office culture can affect more than just your social life – long days at work can be bad for your heart as well.

It’s been established that too many hours in the office can increase the risk of a stroke. Now it seems that clocking up more than 55 hours a week means a 40% higher chance of developing an irregular heartbeat, known as atrial fibrillation (AF), when compared to those with a better work-life balance.

The research team analysed data on the working patterns of 85,494 mainly middle-aged men and women drawn from the UK, Denmark, Sweden and Finland. Those working the longest hours were more overweight, had higher blood pressure, smoked more and consumed more alcohol. But the team’s conclusions about longer working hours and AF still remained after taking these factors into account.

With the aging of the workforce, the challenge remains for organisations to design work that does not require employees to work excessive hours and to create a culture in which a better work-life balance is encouraged.

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