Effects of Long Working Hours and Night Work on Subjective Well-Being Depending on Work Creativity and Task Variety, and Occupation: The Role of Working-Time Mismatch, Variability, Shift Work, and Autonomy.

Min-Gwan Shin,Tae-Kyoung Kim,Dongmug Kang,Yoon-Ji Kim

doi:10.3390/ijerph18126371

Abstract

This study explored the effects of long working hours (LW) and night work (NW) on subjective well-being and the modifying effects of work creativity and task variety (WCTV) and occupation. In addition, we examined the influence of working time-related variables including working-time mismatch, variability, shift work, and autonomy on the effects of LW and NW. This study used data from the 5th Korean Working Conditions Survey on 50,205 workers. LW and NW were defined as 52–60 h (L1) or >60 h (L2) per week, and 1–10 days (N1) or >10 days (N2) of night work per month. Multiple logistic regression was used to examine the effects of LW and NW and the modifying influences of WCTV and occupation. Differences in ORs of LW and NW caused by working time-related variables were investigated, to determine effect sizes and directions. A high level of WCTV alleviated the risks of LW and NW. White-collar workers were more vulnerable to the risk associated with NW. Regarding working-time related variables, working-time mismatch and variability increased the risks of LW and NW, respectively, while shift work alleviated the risks of NW. In countries where flexible work systems are not well utilized, working-time autonomy might not be associated with the risk of LW or NW. This study showed that it is necessary to comprehensively consider the occupation and task characteristics of individual workers performing LW or NW. Further studies of the modifying effects of working time-related variables on LW and NW are needed.

Highlights

Regression analysis of all study subjects showed that all variables except for sex were related to low subjective well-being (LSW)
Regression analysis performed by occupation and work creativity and task variety (WCTV) showed long working hours (LW) generally increased LSW as compared to standard hours
The present study shows that working-time mismatch was found to be associated with the risks posed by LW, while variability of working time and shift work were associated with night work (NW)

Summary

Introduction

In 2015, 16% of European workers worked more than 48 h per week and 19% worked nights [1]. These atypical work types have negative impacts on health such as on cardiovascular disease [2], metabolic disturbance [3,4], mortality [5,6], and depression [7]. The effects of long working hours (LW) and night work (NW) have been investigated, few have addressed the synergistic effect of LW and NW using national-scale data. Many studies have indicated that individual and environmental factors could influence the impact of LW and NW. The effects of task characteristics, as compared with individual or

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion