The weekly working time is only about an hour, does not remain without consequences: A new study shows that workers rate their own health worse and significantly more likely to go to the doctor when you need to work longer.
Already a Plus from an hour of working time had an impact: The self-reported health of the respondents decreased by two percent, while the number of doctor visits increased by 13 percent. Especially from these negative effects, women, and families with young children were affected. “Presumably, the effects in these groups, because they are outside of their working hours with very limited time budgets. The working time increases, the time increases and thus pressure outside of work,” says study Director Prof. Dr. Christoph miracle of the Martin-Luther-University of Halle-Wittenberg (MLU).
The study by the researchers from Halle, and Friedrich-Alexander-University of Erlangen-Nürnberg is one of the first that has examined the relationship between increasing weekly working hours and the consequences for the health. In the study, data from workers ‘ fins and a worker in the public service employed or as civil servants. Reason is that the weekly working time decreased in the public service in the years 1985 to 1991, first from 40 to 38.5 hours. Later, they rose in Bavaria and Hesse, for officials back to up to 42 hours per week. From the results, no statements can be made to derive an optimal working time. However, it gives an insight of what the consequences may already have a small change.
For the study, data from the Socio-evaluated economic panel from the years 1985 to 2014. This is the largest and longest-running longitudinal study that questioned for more than 30 years, more than 12,000 private households in regular intervals, their life circumstances are.
NK