causation could run the other way, for some people. For example, when I was in college, I worked overtime because I didn't want to ride the commuter train (back from Chicago to our home) with my father, because he was so depressing. So (mostly his) depression was causing me to work overtime.
On Tue, Jun 17, 2008 at 6:20 AM, Charles Brown <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Working Overtime Is Linked to Depression, Anxiety, Study Shows > > By Chantal Britt > Bloomberg > June 15, 2008 > > Employees who work overtime are more likely to suffer from anxiety and > depression, according to a study in the Journal of Occupational and > Environmental Medicine. > > Working overtime was associated with higher anxiety and depression scores > among both men and women, particularly among workers on lower incomes and > less-skilled workers, Elisabeth Kleppa from the University of Bergen in > Norway found. > > A European Union directive entitled employees to refuse to work more than 48 > hours a week. Previous research had shown overtime and long working hours > lead to fatigue and stress, which raise the risk of illness and injury. > > Even moderate overtime hours appear to raise the risk of ``mental > distress,'' Kleppa wrote in the study. It could be that working overtime > leads to increased ``wear and tear,'' or that people with characteristics > predisposing to anxiety and depression, such as low education and job > skills, are more likely to take jobs requiring long work hours, Kleppa > wrote. > > Kleppa assessed symptoms of anxiety and depression in a larger study of > Norwegian men and women, using a standard questionnaire. She compared > anxiety and depression scores for 1,350 employees who worked 41 to 100 hours > per week and about 9,000 workers who worked 40 hours or less. > > The rate of questionnaire scores indicating possible depression rose to 13 > percent for those who worked overtime from about 9 percent for men with > normal work hours. For women, the rate of possible depression increased to > 11 from 7 percent. > > The link between overtime and anxiety and depression was strongest among men > who worked as many as 100 hours per week. Men working such hours also had > higher rates of heavy manual labor and shift work, and lower levels of work > skills and education. > > http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601124&sid=aBGw2.AxATgs > > > > > > This message has been scanned for malware by SurfControl plc. > www.surfcontrol.com > _______________________________________________ > pen-l mailing list > [email protected] > https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/pen-l > -- Jim Devine / "Segui il tuo corso, e lascia dir le genti." (Go your own way and let people talk.) -- Karl, paraphrasing Dante. _______________________________________________ pen-l mailing list [email protected] https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/pen-l
