Total Working Hours Research Articles

Can you have it all? Parenting in Urology and Work-Life Balance Satisfaction

ObjectiveTo evaluate the association between work-life balance satisfaction for practicing urologists who have children <18 years compared to those who do not have children or have children ≥18 years. MethodsWe evaluated the association between work-life balance satisfaction based on partner status, partner employment status, child status, primary responsible party for family, total work hours per week, and total vacation weeks per year using 2018 and 2019 American Urological Association (AUA) census data with post-stratification adjustment methods. ResultsOf 663 respondents, 77 (9.0%) were female and 586 (91%) were male. Female urologists are more likely to have an employed partner (79.vs 48.9%, P <.001), more likely to have children <18 years (75.0 vs 41.7%, P <.0001), and less likely to have a partner as primary caretaker of family (26.5 vs 50.3%, P <.0001) compared to male urologists. Urologists with children <18 years reported lower work-life balance satisfaction than those without (OR 0.65, P = .035). For every 5 additional hours works per week, urologists reported lower work-life balance (OR 0.84, P <.001). However, there are no statistically significant associations between work-life balance satisfaction and gender, employment status of their partner, primary responsible party for family responsibilities, and total weeks of vacation per year. ConclusionAccording to recent AUA census data, having children <18 years is associated with lower work-life balance satisfaction. This highlights opportunities to support young parents, both male and female, in the workplace to prevent burnout and maximize well-being among urologists.

Juggling Act: Waged time investments and the health–wealth trade-off

Research on hybrid entrepreneurship—the process of founding and operating a business while retaining a primary “day job” in an established organization—has burgeoned in recent years, indicating its importance for entrepreneurial effectiveness. This study investigates how an entrepreneur’s waged time investments, or the number of hours hybrid entrepreneurs commit to a job that provides compensations outside their entrepreneurial role, as a percentage of their total working hours, affects work tension and venture performance. We find mixed support for our theoretical model by applying and testing the tenets of conservation of resource theory on a sample of entrepreneurs. Specifically, we find evidence that increases in waged time investments accelerate work tension but not venture performance. Further, we find that the effect of waged time investments on these outcomes differs across entrepreneurs’ experience. This study offers implications for researchers and practitioners interested in multiple jobholding and time management strategies in underexplored entrepreneurial contexts.

Optimising rostering patterns for Australian junior doctors.

Optimising junior doctor rosters is a common subject of debate both in Australia and overseas. While total work hours are recognised to increase the risk of fatigue-related complications for both junior doctors and their patients, patterns of work are less commonly described. Multiple low quality evidence recommendations exist to guide rostering practices to reduce predominantly the risk of fatigue-associated error and burnout, but also to avoid disruptions to continuity of care and provide adequate training opportunities. Given available evidence is poor, further centre and specialty-specific studies are required to delineate optimal rostering patterns for Australian junior doctors.

Occupational stress among academic coordinators at university level in Pakistan: a gender based comparative study

This research compared the stress level among male and female academic coordinators at the post-graduate level in public sector universities. The study's conceptual framework was based on a meta-analysis study where the factors affecting job stress were discussed. The study was based on a quantitative research approach with a descriptive research design. To select the population and sample size, universal sampling was used. The number of whole academic coordinators was 32, 16 males and 16 females, at the National University of Modern Languages, Islamabad, Pakistan. To collect the data, a self-developed questionnaire was made. The data were analysed through Percentage Frequency Distribution and Independent t-test methods. According to the results, job satisfaction and workload have shown a significant impact on occupational stress. The study could not find significant difference in gender-based comparison as it was found that both genders were at the same level having the same situations to face, and duties to perform, so their stress regarding each indicator was also similar. In the case of other indicators that cause stress, that is, role conflict, work-family conflict, and total working hours also need to be focused on, as they also have a significant impact on increasing stress among coordinators.

Disparities in COVID-19 Impacts on Work Hours and Career Satisfaction by Gender and Race among Scientists in the US: An Online Survey Study

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on work–life balance may be unequal between female and male scientists. Further information is needed regarding whether the working conditions and career satisfaction for women and racialized scientists are disproportionately affected by the pandemic. This online survey collected data from 1171 scientists in science, technology, engineering, mathematics (STEM), and medicine (STEMM), public health, or other areas of science/engineering working in the US to examine potential disparities in changes in work hours and career satisfaction by gender and race/ethnicity. A significantly higher percentage of women reported increased work hours compared to men. Women, especially racialized women, experienced disproportionately higher increases in teaching and service than the other groups, which contributed to the increased total work hours for women. Satisfaction with the current career progress was lowest for racialized women compared to their counterparts. Our results indicate that the pandemic has inequitably affected allocation of workloads and career satisfaction by gender and race in scientific fields. Institutions of higher education and other research organizations should acknowledge the gender/race differences in science before and during the pandemic to better support the career development and achievement of all scientists, especially women and even more so racialized women.

An Analysis of Employee Satisfaction in Physical Work Setup and Work-From-Home (WFH) in the Context of Bangladesh.

The COVID-19 pandemic was a black swan for the whole world. It was a phenomenon that profoundly altered the workplace context and employee work setup. Even though a number of developed nations have started taking advantage of the benefits of working from home since the last decade, Bangladesh was not one of those. This article tried to find out if there is any relationship between the work setup (i.e., working from home versus a physical work setup) and employee satisfaction by developing two hypotheses. The article went through an extensive literature review for secondary information. Primary data, on the other hand, were gathered from a total of 125 respondents from various industries. Judgmental and snowball sampling were used in the context of questionnaire circulation. The questionnaire had twenty-five questions in relation to employee learning, compensation, total hours of work, rewards and benefits, interpersonal relationships with coworkers, overall work life balance, etc. A paired t-test was carried out to identify which hypothesis could be accepted. This research article identified that because of long working hours, impact on rewards and benefits, detachment from coworkers, poor work life balance, and other factors, employees do not feel satisfied with a work-from- home setup. The analysis revealed that employee satisfaction could be largely influenced by work setup, and in the context of Bangladesh, physical work setup and factors related to it led to higher employee satisfaction.

Sleep Patterns and Sleep Alignment in Remote Teams during COVID-19

Working remotely from home during the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in significant shifts and disruptions in the personal and work lives of millions of information workers and their teams. We examined how sleep patterns---an important component of mental and physical health---relates to teamwork. We used wearable sensing and daily questionnaires to examine sleep patterns, affect, and perceptions of teamwork in 71 information workers from 22 teams over a ten-week period. Participants reported delays in sleep onset and offset as well as longer sleep duration during the pandemic. A similar shift was found in work schedules, though total work hours did not change significantly. Surprisingly, we found that more sleep was negatively related to positive affect, perceptions of teamwork, and perceptions of team productivity. However, a greater misalignment in the sleep patterns of members in a team predicted positive affect and teamwork after accounting for individual differences in sleep preferences. A follow-up analysis of exit interviews with participants revealed team-working conventions and collaborative mindsets as prominent themes that might help explain some of the ways that misalignment in sleep can affect teamwork. We discuss implications of sleep and sleep misalignment in work-from-home contexts with an eye towards leveraging sleep data to facilitate remote teamwork.

Health risk assessment of hazardous VOCs and its associations with exposure duration and protection measures for coking industry workers

Coke making is extremely problematic from the environment and health perspectives, as the massive hazardous volatile organic compounds (HVOCs) being driven off during the coking process. Here, we conducted a health risk assessment study on coking workers, through on-situ HVOCs measurements and questionnaire investigation on activity time parameters and protection measures. The ambient HVOCs at major working stations were 58.4–376.5 μg/m3 with relative deviation of 59.4% for the certain station. The total working hours during career would reach 43283–51695 h, and protection efficiency (PE) to resist HVOCs inhalation ranged from 16% to 87%. According to the exposure evaluation model recommended by the U.S. EPA, there was little non-cancer risk for the workers at most positions with hazard quotient (HQ) value of less than 1; however, the cancer risk widely existed with lifetime cancer risk (LCR) value of 3.6–15.0 × 10−6, in which benzene, 1,2-dichloropropane, 1,2-dichloroethane, and 1,3-butadiene were dominant inducers. The cancer risk regarding the large plants was about 28.6% lower compared to the small and medium plants, due to the greater PE. In terms of the response of the health risk to exposure duration (ED, working years) and PE, non-cancer risk effectively responded only for the byproduct recovery stations, while cancer risk more sensitively responded for all stations. Health risk management therefore is essential, and the potential health hazards can be avoided by limiting ED and strengthening PE. For workers in coking, byproduct recovery and office areas, the PE should be higher than 93.8%, 97.7% and 77.3% under the ED of 20 years, the ED in three areas should be lower than 12.5 years, 4.5 years and 30 years under PE of 90%, respectively.

COVID-19 pandemisinin Türkiye’deki üroloji asistanlığındaki etkisi

Objective: The Covid-19 pandemic, which affects all areas of life, has also deeply affected academic and health services. There has previously been no assessment of the effects of the pandemic on the academic and health services of urology residents in Turkey, for this purpose, a survey was conducted. Material and Methods: The survey consisted of a total of 31 questions under four main topics (education and research activities, working conditions in health services, social-psychological effects, and personal health) and was carried out between July-August 2020. The survey was 89 urology training centers in Turkey; among them, 76 (85.4%; 38 universities and 38 state hospitals) completed and returned the questionnaire. Results: The average weekly education hours decreased (2.43±2.46 hours to 1.3±1.8 hours; p=.00) and 67 centers (88.15%) used new technologies such as webinars and videoconferencing. The time devoted to weekly research activities also decreased during the pandemic (2.15±2.54 hours to 1.8±1.93 hours; p&lt;0.001). However, university hospitals increased their research activities (9.9%), while state hospitals decreased (44%). The average weekly outpatient clinic hours decreased from 86.23±86.54 to 37.22±19.88 (p&lt;0.001) and the regression was higher in state hospitals (63.61%) compared to university hospitals (42.41%) (p &lt;0.05). A significant decrease was observed in the number of operations per week compared to the pre-pandemic period (from 40.7±24.25 to 14.3±16.44; p&lt;0.001). In addition, 74 centers (97.36%) reported that they continued to perform emergency urological cases and 41 centers (53.9%) reported that the total working hours decreased, but 72 centers (94.7%) reported that they were employed in non-urology areas such as Covid outpatient clinics or services. For the residents, 10 centers (13.15%) provided childcare, 55 centers (72.36%) provided accommodation, and 18 centers (23.68%) provided transportation, but 33 centers (43.42%) lacked protective personal equipment and 26 centers (34.21%) gave leave to employees with comorbidity. Residents were concerned about not having enough surgical cases in 57 centers (75%), the transmission of Covid-19 to their family in 73 centers (96.05%), and in 34 centers (44.73%), they had moved away from their homes to protect their families. Furthermore, residents were isolated in 25 centers (32.89%) and swabs were taken in 54 centers (71.85%) due to the query (doubt, suspicion) of illness. Residents were diagnosed with Covid-19 in 14 centers (18.42%). Conclusion: This survey has shown that as the Covid-19 pandemic affects all areas of life, it also causes serious negatives in the academic (educational and research), social, and psychological lives of urology residents. Keywords: COVID-19, residency, pandemic, urology training, surgical training

The association between circadian rhythm of cortisol and shift work regularity among midwives-A multicenter study in Southeast China.

ObjectiveThis article aims to explore the association between the trends of cortisol rhythm and the regularity of shift work among midwives.MethodsMidwives from six Southeast Chinese hospitals were recruited through cluster sampling in a multi-center cross-sectional study. Urine samples were collected half an hour after waking up, at 11:00, 19:00, and 23:00 on two consecutive days in a longitudinal cohort. The urinary cortisol was assayed by the chemiluminescence method.ResultsA total of 86 midwives were included in this study, contributing 688 cortisol samples. The midwives displayed a circadian rhythm in cortisol secretion, with zeniths in the morning and nadirs in the evening. The trend of the first day was repeated on the second day. Although the total working hours per week of the two groups, namely the regular shift group (N = 43) and the irregular shift group (N = 43), were the same, significant main effects of groups (F = 62.569, p < 0.001), time (F = 45.304, p < 0.001), and group-by-time interaction (F = 226.695, p < 0.001) were indicated through linear mixed models. The main effect of day was not statistically significant, with F = 0.105 and p = 0.746. The fluctuation range of cortisol curve in the group with irregular schedules was slightly lower than that in the group with regular schedules.ConclusionOur results may indicate that cortisol was more inhibited in midwives with irregular shift patterns than those with regular shift patterns. It is necessary to further study the relationship between cortisol rhythm and patterns of midwives' shifts in future so as to lay a foundation for hospital managers to develop a more reasonable scheduling system for midwives with the further purpose to minimize their occupational fatigue and ensure the safety of mothers and infants.

Impact of mobilization of residents in otolaryngology-head-neck surgery in COVID-19 units on mental health status.

BackgroundTo investigate mental health, sleep, and addiction features of young otolaryngologists (YO) according to the mobilization in COVID-19 units at the end of the third European wave of infections.MethodsA cross-sectional survey was sent to 220 YO of 6 European University hospitals. The following outcomes were evaluated: postgraduate year; age; management of COVID-19 patients; workload; nights on call; stress; Beck depression inventory; Insomnia severity index; sleep and mental health status evolutions throughout pandemic; consumption of alcohol, tobacco, and drugs before and during pandemic.ResultsA total of 128 YO completed the evaluations (58.2%). Twenty responders (15.6%) did not manage COVID-19 patients, while 65 (50.8%), 20 (15.6%), and 23 (18%) managed rarely, frequently or daily COVID-19 patients during the pandemic, respectively. The management of COVID-19 patients was associated with increases of workload (p = 0.023) and number of nights on-call (p < 0.001). At the end of the third wave, the depression rates were 34% (N = 31/68) and 57% (N = 34/60) in YO who worked less and more than 50 h weekly, respectively. Sleep disturbance concerned 39% (N = 26/66) and 55% (N = 27/60) of YO who worked less and more than 50 h weekly, respectively. Mobilized YO reported a significant increase of alcohol consumption compared with control group (p = 0.002). Tobacco and drugs consumptions did not evolve. The consumption of alcohol was positively correlated with the number of nights on-call (p = 0.036) and the total hours of work (p = 0.009).ConclusionsYoung otolaryngologists (YO) mobilized in COVID-19 units reported higher hours worked, nights on call, and alcohol consumption compared with others. Future large cohort-studies are needed to confirm our observations.

Optimal Path Planning With Minimum Inspection Teams and Balanced Working Hours For Power Line Inspection

Power line inspection plays a significant role in the normal operation of power systems. Although there is much research on power line inspection, the question of how to balance the working hours of each worker and minimize the total working hours, which is related to social fairness and maximization of social benefits, is still challenging. Experience-based assignment methods tend to lead to extremely uneven working hours among the working/inspection teams. Therefore, it is of great significance to establish a theoretical framework that minimizes the number of working teams and the total working hours as well as balances the working hours of inspection teams. Based on two real power lines in Jinhua city, we first provide the theoretical range of the minimum number of inspection teams and also present a fast method to obtain the optimal solution. Second, we propose a transfer-swap algorithm to balance working hours. Combined with an intelligent optimization algorithm, we put forward a theoretical framework to balance the working hours and minimize the total working hours. The results based on the two real power lines verify the effectiveness of the proposed framework. Compared with the algorithm without swap, the total working hours obtained by the transfer-swap algorithm are shorter. In addition, there is an interesting finding: for our transfer-swap algorithm, the trivial greedy algorithm has almost the same optimization results as the simulated annealing algorithm, but the greedy algorithm has an extremely short running time.

Proposed Determination of Work Criteria Standards on OMAX Ratio Performance to Increase Productivity

This study focuses on measuring the productivity of PT.X, especially the welding and painting unit, based on the total realization of production, several employees, working hours, overtime hours, and lost hours of employees. The purpose of this study is to propose a strategy for improving the productivity ratio of the welding and painting unit, which is still below the standard by setting performance criteria standards. The method used is the objective matrix (OMAX) and root cause analysis (RCA) which is carried out using six ratios of productivity measurement and looking for the root cause of the ratio at a level below the standard. The results show that three ratios are still below the standard of the six productivity measurement ratios, such as ratios 2, 3, and 5. These ratios need to be improved by increasing the realization of production results, reducing the number of absent workers, and reducing the total working hours of employees every month. Based on the study results, improvements in the three ratios were able to increase the productivity index of PT.X's welding and painting units.

Exploring Factors Associated With the Work Hours of Attending Physicians Working in Hospitals.

Long work hours for physicians not only harm the health of physicians, but also endanger patient safety. Compared with resident physicians, attending physicians-especially hospital-employed attending physicians-assume more responsibilities but has not gotten enough attention. The purpose of this study was to explore whether a hospital's geographic location and emergency care responsibility might influence the number of hours worked. The respondents of 2365 attending physicians from 152 hospitals in the 2018 survey of Taiwan physician work hours were used as the data source. The total work hour per week and its components, the regular scheduled shift and three types of on-call shifts, were used as outcome variables. Hospital geographic location and emergency care responsibility were the independent variables. The multilevel random effect model was employed to examine the study objective after adjusting for clinical specialty, hospital teaching status, and ownership. The average number of total working hours was 69.09 hours per week; the regular scheduled shift was account for 75% of total work hours. The results showed the total work hours were only varied by the level of hospital's emergency care responsibility. However, the results also demonstrated the hours of duty shifts were varied by hospital's geographic location and emergency care responsibility. The results of the multilevel random effect model revealed that the hospital's emergency care responsibility was the factor consistently associated with attending physician's work hour, no matter the total work hours or its composition. In this study, we explored how a hospital's location and its level of emergency care responsibility were associated with physicians' work hours for each type of shift. Our findings offer an opportunity to review the rationality of physician workforce allocation, and financial incentives and administrative measures could be the next steps for balancing the work hours of attending physicians.

Implementation of TOPSIS Method to Compare the Libraries of Top-Ranking Universities Abroad and in India

This study was made for comparison of university libraries in India and abroad. Ten top-ranking universities by Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) were considered for making a comparison from each category. The main objective of the study was to know whether the library plays any role to achieve top rank or not. Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) method was used for analyzing and for the TOPSIS method, 5 important criteria were considered, viz., total collection, total library staff, total budget, total working hours, and major divisions of the library. Important criteria were selected from University Grant Commission (UGC) and American Library Association (ALA). Initially, TOPSIS method was applied to university libraries abroad; next, to Indian university libraries and finally, both Indian and foreign university libraries were considered. Results represented that the library played a role in helping the parent university achieve a rank but not entirely. The University of Cambridge got the highest rank as per the study but in QS ranking MIT stood first.

The association between work hours, shift work, and job latitude with fecundability: A preconception cohort study.

The role of occupational stress on male fertility is understudied. We examined associations between male occupational stress and fecundability. We used data from Pregnancy Study Online (PRESTO), a North American preconception cohort study. At baseline (2013-2019), male participants aged ≥ 21 years completed a baseline questionnaire on employment status, hours worked per week, time of day worked (daytime, evening, nights, and changing or rotating shifts), and job title. We used the O*NET occupational database to rate independence by job title. Female partners were followed via bimonthly follow-up questionnaires for 12 months or until pregnancy. We restricted analyses to 1,818 couples attempting conception for ≤ 6 cycles at enrollment. We used proportional probabilities regression to estimate fecundability ratios (FRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). The FR comparing unemployed with employed men was0.84 (95% CI: 0.62-1.14). Among employed men, FRs and 95% CIs for evening shift work, night shift work, and rotating shift work were 0.89 (95% CI: 0.68-1.17), 0.94 (95% CI: 0.66-1.33), and 0.91 (95% CI: 0.75-1.11) relative to daytime shift work. The FR for any nondaytime shift work was 0.91 (95% CI: 0.78-1.07). Total work hours (long or short) and job independence scores were not appreciably associated with fecundability. In conclusion, working nondaytime shifts and being unemployed were associated with slightly decreased fecundability. However, the variability in these estimates was substantial and the results were reasonably consistent with chance. Little association was observed for other occupation measures. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Evaluation of burnout in physician members of the American Brachytherapy Society

PURPOSETo evaluate the prevalence of burnout among brachytherapy specialists and to identify factors associated with burnout. METHODS AND MATERIALSAn anonymous, online, cross-sectional survey was administered to non-trainee physician members of the American Brachytherapy Society. Burnout was evaluated using the validated Maslach Burnout Inventory-Human Services Survey (MBI-HSS). Demographic and practice-specific questions were collected from respondents. Univariate and multivariable analysis of outcomes were performed using probabilistic index models. RESULTSOverall, 51 of 400 physicians responded (13% response rate). Fifty-seven percent of respondents demonstrated at least one symptom of professional burnout. However, only 6% of respondents met strict criteria for high burnout. Analysis of the individual MBI-HSS subdomains demonstrated higher subscale scores for emotional exhaustion and depersonalization, but also higher scores for personal accomplishment. On multivariable analysis after adjusting for increased feelings of burnout due to the COVID-19 pandemic or total hours of work per week, younger age was associated with both increased subscale scores for emotional exhaustion (p = 0.026) and lower personal accomplishment (p = 0.010). Lastly, nearly half of all respondents (47%) reported increased feelings of burnout due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Respondents from academic facilities were significantly more likely to report increased burnout due to COVID-19 compared to those from non-academic facilities (odds ratio, 7.04; 95% CI 1.60–31.0; p = 0.010). CONCLUSIONSNearly 60% of brachytherapists demonstrated symptoms of professional burnout, which is higher than other radiation oncology groups (academic chairs, program directors, residents). Managing stressors related to workload, COVID and support for junior physicians are potential areas for improving feelings of burnout.

Teachers\u2019 working time as a risk factor for their mental health - findings from a cross-sectional study at German upper-level secondary schools

BackgroundThe work of teachers has changed due to an increase in the range of tasks. However, there is a lack of current information on working hours, task distribution and the possible health effects.MethodsFor the first time for Germany as a whole, a cross-sectional survey determined how long teachers at upper-level secondary schools work per week, what influences their working hours and how different recording methods affect the total working hours. To this end, 6,109 full-time teachers estimated their working hours based on twelve categories and then documented these daily over 4 weeks. Afterwards, the effects of long working hours on teachers' ability to recover and emotional exhaustion were analysed.ResultsThe article shows the large interindividual variance in the working hours of teachers and a significant influence of sex, age, and subject profile. Self-reported working hours varied substantially by method used to record working time with work time reported via daily diaries totaling 2 h per week more than hours recorded by a single estimation.A substantial proportion of the teachers (36%) work longer per week than European guidelines allow (> 48 h); 15% work even more than 55 h per week. Teachers who work more than 45 h per week suffer more often from inability to recover (46%) and emotional exhaustion (32%) than teachers who work less than 40 h per week (26% and 22% respectively).ConclusionsTaking professional experience and teaching subjects into account could in future contribute to a fairer distribution of workload among teachers. This could protect individual teachers from long working hours, ensure sufficient recovery and also reduce the risk of emotional exhaustion. In order to identify teachers whose health is at risk at an early stage, voluntary preventive care offers would be considerably helpful.

Abstract WP197: Timing Of Anticoagulation After Ischemic Stroke In Patients With Atrial Fibrillation: An International Survey

Introduction: The timing of direct oral anticoagulant (DOAC) after atrial fibrillation (AF)-related stroke is unknown. Most guidelines are inconsistent and based on expert opinion. We conducted a survey to evaluate the global practice patterns of this common clinical scenario. Methods: We used an electronic survey with practice-related demographic and clinical questions of 10 cases with different stroke severities and sizes: transient ischemic attack, small, medium, large, and strokes with hemorrhagic infarction and parenchymal hematoma. Results: A total of 242 clinicians from 21 countries completed at least one clinical scenario. The majority of the respondents were from Australia (36.4%) or Canada (22.7%). Stroke-specific sub-specialty training was self-reported in 82.2% of the respondents. Median (IQR) time spent dedicated to stroke patient care/research was 70 (60) % of total working hours. Only 14% of responding clinicians reported current participation in a randomized trial of DOAC initiation timing after AF-related stroke. Stroke size, severity, and the grade of hemorrhage if present seem to be determinants of the decisions. Lack of consensus was observed in moderate stroke, multi-territory infarcts, large stroke, and in the presence of HT. The majority of respondents would be willing to randomize patients with different stroke sizes and severities with/without HT in a clinical trial of early versus delayed initiation of DOAC after AF-related stroke. Conclusions: Decisions related to the timing of DOAC initiation after AF-related stroke vary globally. The variability in clinical practice will continue until randomized controlled trials are completed.

Working hours, side work, and depressive symptoms in physicians: A nationwide cross-sectional study in Japan.

Long working hours in Japan is a social concern. This is also true for the working hours of physicians, who often do side work in addition to working at their main hospital. New physician work regulations to be implemented in Japan require work-hour management, including side work. This study examined the association between physicians' overtime and side work hours and their health outcomes. We conducted a cross-sectional study using data from a survey of working physicians conducted by the Japan Medical Association from 2021 to 2022. Questionnaires completed by 2906 full-time working physicians aged 24-69, excluding junior resident doctors, were analyzed. Depressive symptoms and the presence of thoughts of death or suicide using the Quick Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology - Japanese version was used to assess health outcomes. Logistic regression analysis was performed using overtime at the main place of employment and side work hours as exposure factors. Both depressive symptoms and thoughts of death or suicide increased in the group with longer overtime hours at the main place of work. A similar tendency was observed for side work but adjusting for overtime hours eliminated the association. In other words, total working hours had an impact on health, regardless of whether overtime work at the main place of employment or side work. Despite the existence of multiple hurdles to managing working hours, including side work, the working environment for physicians needs to be improved to protect their health and quality of medical care.