Working more than 55 hours a week increases the risk of stroke and heart attack, according to a WHO and ILO study, the first on the subject.
A finding that worries the scientists of the WHO, because the number of people who exceed 55 hours is increasing, in particular because of teleworking.
"Work is health" ... Up to a point!
Beyond 55 hours per week, the risk of stroke and heart attack increases significantly, according to the very first global analysis on the subject, signed by experts from the WHO and the International Labor Organization (ILO).
Long working days thus become the first risk factor for occupational disease, according to this study.
>> Find all the newspapers of the editorial staff of Europe 1 in replay and podcast here
Scientists have compared people who work more than 55 hours a week to those who do not go beyond 40 hours.
Result: for workers whose weeks are getting longer, women and men, all professions combined, the risk of stroke increases by 35% and the risk of heart attack by 17%.
Structuring teleworking
So in the midst of a pandemic, it is time to take measures to structure teleworking, which has become widespread, believes the director of the health department at the WHO.
"Teleworking should be well regulated, that we manage to dissociate professional and private life, and that we do not do as during confinement, that is to say increase by at least 10% our working time, according to estimates. We need to have a real separation between private and professional life ", explains Dr Maria Neira.
WHO experts are all the more worried that the number of people exceeding 55 hours per week is increasing.
They now represent nearly 10% of the world's population.