Work
and family are the two domains from which most adults gain satisfaction in
life; equally they are the common sources of stressful experiences. The working
environment continues to change with globalization of the world economy and economic
rationalization driving job restructuring and outsourcing, greater part-time
and contract work, and greater workload demands that commonly occur in a
context of higher job insecurity. There is thus not an unreasonable perception
in the community that work is increasingly the source of much of our stress and
distress.
The
implications of work-related stress include the effects on worker satisfaction and
productivity, their mental and physical health, absenteeism and its economic cost,
the wider impact on family function and finally, the potential for employer
liability. While depression is the most likely adverse psychological outcome,
the range of other possible “psychological” problems include “burn-out”, alcohol
abuse, unexplained physical symptoms, “absenteeism”, chronic fatigue and
accidents, sick building syndrome and repetitive strain injury.
Stress at
work
Multiple studies confirm that on-the-job
stress and unsupportive workplaces may foster depression in the affected
employees. In the 2007 study, performed by Emma Robertson Blackmore, PhD, of
New York's University of Rochester, more than 24,300 workers in Canada were interviewed
about their depression symptoms. Based on the interviews, the researchers
concluded that 4.6% of the workers qualify for a diagnosis of major depression.
The results confirmed that work stress stood
out among the depressed employees. "High job strain, low levels of social
support in the workplace, low job security, and increased psychological demands
were associated with major depressive episodes in men," concluded the
researchers.
The risk list was slightly different for
women. High-stress jobs were not so substantial factor for depression, but
"among women, lower levels of social support and lack of decision
authority were associated with having major depressive episodes," reported
Blackmore and colleagues.
These results were consistent with findings of
the research, carried out by Maria Melchior and colleagues at the Institute of
Psychiatry, Kings College London. The researchers followed up with more than
1000 participants in Dunedin, New Zealand. The initial assessment was performed
in 1972-1973, when they were babies, and followed them up to their age of 32.
The participants were given a questionnaire
that asked questions about the psychological and physical demands of their job,
their freedom to make decisions at work, as well as the support that they
receive at work from colleagues. During the same visit, the participants
were assessed for any psychiatric disorders using a validated interview, by an
interviewer who was unaware of the other scores. Participants were considered
to have a new diagnosis of depression or anxiety disorder if they met the diagnostic
criteria at the time of interview, and had no previous diagnosis or related
medication or hospital treatment.
The results showed that participants exposed
to high psychological job demands had twice the risk for major depression
disorder or generalized anxiety disorder compared with those with low job
demands.
It
was found that women, who reported high psychological job demands, such as
working long hours, working under pressure or without clear direction, were 75
per cent more likely to suffer from clinical depression or general anxiety
disorder than women who reported the lowest level of psychological job demands.
Men
with high psychological job demands were 80 per cent more likely to suffer from
depression or anxiety disorders than men with lower demands. Men with low
levels of social support at work were also found to be at increased risk of
depression, anxiety or both.
The
researchers found that almost half of the cases of depression or generalized
anxiety disorder newly diagnosed at age-32 were directly related to workplace
stress and high job demands.
Long hours at
work
A
new British study reported another interesting finding. Working long hours
appeared to substantially increase a person's risk of becoming depressed,
regardless of how stressful the actual work is.
The
study, which followed 2,123 British civil servants for six years, found that
workers who put in an average of at least 11 hours per day at the office had
roughly two and a half times higher odds of developing depression than their
colleagues who clocked out after seven or eight hours.
The
link between long workdays and depression persisted even after the researchers
took into account factors such as job strain, the level of support in the
workplace, alcohol use, smoking, and chronic physical diseases.
Although
the findings are "consistent with previous studies, the degree of
increased risk was surprising," says Bryan Bruno, M.D., chair of the
psychiatry department at Lenox Hill Hospital, in New York City, who was not involved
in the research. "The biggest condition that I work with is depression,
and it is often related to work stressors."
Overworked
junior and mid-level employees appear to be more prone to depression than
people higher up the food chain, the study suggests. The length of the workday
didn't have a perceptible impact on the mental health of higher-paid, top-level
employees such as cabinet secretaries, directors, team leaders, and policy
managers.
That's
likely due to the amount of control higher-ups have over their own work, says
Alan Gelenberg, M.D., who, as the chair of the psychiatry department at
Pennsylvania State University, in University Park, is a higher-up himself.
"We
have more control over what we work on; we can choose the fun stuff," says
Gelenberg, who was not involved in the study. "I do mostly what I want to
do, and when I put in an extra hard week, it's my choice."
For
those lower on the totem pole, the researchers say long hours at the office
could contribute to depression in several ways—by creating family or
relationship conflicts, for instance, or by elevating levels of the stress
hormone cortisol.
Job
insecurity and sleep deprivation also may help explain the increased risk of
depression, Bruno says, noting that previous research has shown that poor sleep
is a key ingredient in work-related depression. "I often really focus on
that symptom," he says, referring to his own patients.
Recent
studies on overtime and depression have reported similar results, but most used
a less rigorous standard for measuring depression. The new study included
face-to-face consultations and used the American Psychiatric Association's
official criteria for clinical depression, making it one "one of the rare
studies" to do so, says lead author Marianna Virtanen, Ph.D., a researcher
at the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, in Helsinki.
The
new research drew upon data from a long-running study, known as Whitehall II,
that includes employees from 20 London-based branches of the British civil
service. The study participants Virtanen and her colleagues focused on were all
deemed mentally healthy when they were first evaluated between 1991 and 1993.
Six years later, slightly more than 3% of the employees were found to have
experienced clinical depression within the previous year. The more overtime
they worked, the more likely they were to be depressed.
The
majority of the study participants (52%) worked a normal seven- or eight-hour
workday. Thirty-seven percent averaged nine- or 10-hour days, and 11% worked 11
hours or more.
The
new discovery shows that people are accustomed to working long hours every day
has the potential to severely depressed.
The study showed that a person's inability to manage time for work and family care will extend the increased levels of stress hormones. The investigation also showed that long working primarily work the night shift is associated with cardiovascular disease, cancer, family problems and mental disorders.
The study showed that a person's inability to manage time for work and family care will extend the increased levels of stress hormones. The investigation also showed that long working primarily work the night shift is associated with cardiovascular disease, cancer, family problems and mental disorders.
World
Health Organization (WHO) predicts that in 2030 the number of individuals
affected by the global depression syndrome would become higher than other
health problems.
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