Working on weekends linked to higher depression risk: study

PanARMENIAN.Net - Men and women who work on weekends may be more likely to develop depression, a UK study suggests, according to Reuters.

Although a growing number of people worldwide are working longer hours as more businesses operate 24/7, it’s not clear how evaporating “off time” is impacting workers’ mental health, researchers note in the Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health.

Data is particularly sparse about differences between women and men in the connection between work schedules and depression risk, the study team notes.

For the current study, researchers examined nationally representative survey data from 11,215 men and 12,188 women working in the UK between 2010 and 2012.

Almost half of the women worked less than 35 hours a week, while the majority of men worked longer hours. Only half of the women worked at least some weekends, compared with two-thirds of the men.

Compared to those working a “standard” 35- to 40-hour work week, men working less had more symptoms of depression. Women, however, had a greater risk of depression only when they worked at least 55 hours a week.

Women working most weekends had more depression symptoms than women who only worked weekdays. Men had more depression symptoms with weekend work when they also disliked their working conditions.