Yes, Work Overload Can Make You Sick

Researchers from Purdue University in Indiana and the University of Copenhagen decided to investigate once and for all: Can a heavy workload really harm your health? To answer this question, they examined Danish companies whose exports increased significantly between 1996 and 2006. In companies that benefited from the increased demand for their products abroad, there was suddenly a lot more work, and employees were required to work much harder. At the same time, the researchers discovered they also began developing health problems.

Denmark has a developed social health system, so there is organized documentation in one place of every citizen's medical history. The researchers examined the medical records of employees in these companies and found dismal data. In cases of women working in companies that benefited from increased exports, many more cases of severe depression began to appear, and the number of women needing medication for heart diseases and strokes increased significantly. Among both men and women, there was an increase in the number of work-related injuries.

The health implications were directly related to the level of pressure on the company. If the company's export suddenly increased by 10%, the risk of women working in these companies developing severe depression rose by 2.5%, and their risk of needing medication for heart issues or strokes increased by 7.7%. The researchers are not sure why the impact was more drastic than on men, but they say men may have also suffered health issues, but not ones documented by doctor visits and prescriptions.

The more companies sold, the more the rate of serious work-related injuries increased significantly. Among the top 25% most profitable companies, those whose exports grew the most in this decade, there was a 28% increase in severe workplace injuries - about one very serious injury for every thousand employees.

The researchers also checked what happened with the sick days of employees. Initially, it turned out that when a company’s export began to grow, employees took fewer days off - they felt pressured to come to work even when not at their best. But when export grew very significantly - as among the 25% of companies that enjoyed the greatest growth in export - the number of sick days per employee began to increase. Men took 14% more sick days, and women 24% more sick days.

Researchers and doctors have already known for some time that workplace stress and excessive workload can cause health problems. What is interesting about the research is the proof it provides of how, simply because employees become busier due to business growth, they can develop serious health problems. Even if you love your work, it turns out, it is important to ensure that the workload does not harm your health. Work is good for health - excessive workload, however, is mainly beneficial to the doctors' pockets.