Too much work increases mortality, according to ILO and WHO
Teleworking has increased the number of hours worked (Image illustration).
Photo by Salvatore Laporta / KONTROLAB / LightRocket via Getty Image
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3 min
The International Labor Organization and the WHO are publishing a study on overtime-related mortality on Monday, May 17.
According to their calculation, in 2016, some 745,000 people died of heart problems because they had worked too much.
That's almost 30% more than in the early 2000s. And the pandemic shouldn't help matters.
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With our correspondent in Geneva
,
Jérémie Lanche
Work is health ... It may be true, as long as you don't spend too much time there.
In detail, 398,000 people died of heart attack, and 347,000 from heart disease because they worked more than 55 hours per week. It is today the most important risk factor for work-related disease. Hence the importance of thinking carefully about the type of economic recovery that states wish to put in place, explains Frank Pega, one of the authors of the report.
“
Studies show that when a country puts in place a lockdown, the hours worked increase by 10%.
It seems to be because of telecommuting, although we are not 100% sure
, he notes.
With the digitalization of the economy, it has also become more difficult for workers to truly disconnect.
The other reason for this increase in hours worked is the economic crisis.
When people fear job security, they tend to work more trying to keep it.
"
►Also read: The Covid-19 has destroyed hundreds of millions of jobs around the world, according to the ILO
9% of the world population would be affected by these extended hours, and particularly men, who represent 72% of deaths.
There are great disparities between regions, however.
Because even if one thinks of the potentially deleterious effects of teleworking, people who spend more than 55 hours per week at their post are mainly found in Southeast Asia, the Pacific and Africa.
Where informal work is most common.
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