If you work more than 40 hours a week, you're putting your health at risk

It’s pretty much universally established that working overtime is a drag, but research has proven it can also put your health at risk.

In particular, it’s women who are affected by longer hours, according to a study published last week by researchers at Ohio State University.

"Women – especially women who have to juggle multiple roles – feel the effects of intensive work experiences and that can set the table for a variety of illnesses and disability,” said Allard Dembe, the study’s author and professor of health services management and policy at Ohio State.

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The study, which analysed 7000+ national workers taken over a period of 31 years, found that women who averaged 60 hours of work per week in that time were three times as likely to be diagnosed with diabetes, cancer, heart problems and arthritis as men working the same amount of hours.

In fact, the study found that men who worked between 41 and 50 hours per week were actually less likely to be diagnosed with heart disease, lung disease or depression than those who worked 40 hours or fewer!

And this study isn’t the first to preach the negative health affects that working overtime can bring on.

A study that was conducted over a decade by experts from The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston found that both men and women who work over 45 hours per week raise the long-term risk of cardiovascular disease.

Study author Dr Sadie Conway, an assistant professor of epidemiology, said: "In general, we found that the risk of [cardiovascular disease] increased as the average weekly working hours increased, above a certain threshold."

In this study, scientists analysed the relationship between work hours and cardiovascular disease in 1900 participants who had all been employed for at least 10 years.

Researchers noted that the risk of cardiovascular disease increased by one percent for each additional hour worked per week over at least ten years.

So there you have it - cold, hard proof that we should all have an early mark today.