Imagine this: the workday is drawing to a close. You have been working tirelessly on a project and can’t resist putting in some extra hours to finish it. You are torn between an impending deadline and the need to rest and recuperate from a long work day. What do you do next? IOSH’s Genis Fernandes explores the dilemma and considers the health impacts of overworking, along with how we can address the issue.

Commonly, many would work the extra hours and see the project through to completion. This scenario might be an occasional occurrence for some, but dare I say it is a ‘normal’ way of working for others. Such instances of repetitive, glorified and uncompensated long working hours demand reflection on the implications of overworking.

Organisations inherently prioritise economic growth, with human capital being the most valuable resource. However, the impact of overworking on workers is often overlooked. A report highlighted that a third of workers globally work over 48 hours per week. Overworking is a significant psychosocial hazard with serious health implications. These include increased risk of cardiovascular disease, stroke, fatigue, stress, poor mental health3, sleep disturbances and even death.

In 2016, 488 million people worked long hours. 745,000 succumbed to heart disease and stroke, attributed to working over 55 hours per week. Even when overworking is voluntary, driven by non-financial aspects, it has a detrimental impact on mental health.

Ideally, having working time regulations might just be the solution, but the issue is more complex. There are various nuances surrounding a culture of overworking. These range from social and cultural differences through to capitalism, financial aspects such as job security, and blurred work–life boundaries. All of these have created conditions for overworking to flourish.

A common theme in all these factors is that there is minimal autonomy a worker possesses to overcome the challenges that enable overworking. Nevertheless, an interesting aspect of working hours is that they can be modified and managed. So, how can we address this issue?

Workplace culture
Workplace culture has a key influence on behaviours that are encouraged and rewarded at work. Revisiting expectations and workplace policies on working hours is a starting point. Current practices can be challenged and employees encouraged to have a healthy work–life balance and working hours. Working hours are addressed from the outset through workplace policies and risk assessments.

Job demands
One might argue that the nature of the job itself is so demanding that there is no escape from long working hours. In such instances, autonomy, flexibility and additional resources should be considered to better manage work demands.

Accessible help and support
A key component of addressing this issue is the ability of employees to ask for support. This will help them to raise concerns and work collaboratively with managers to address job demands and job resources to tackle overworking.

To conclude, overworking poses a serious threat to worker health and wellbeing. It is time to address this issue collectively to create a workplace where workers don’t survive but thrive.