Follow Berlin to work

Medical Matters: "Many a man works himself to death by burying himself in his work." - (Anonymous)

Medical Matters: "Many a man works himself to death by burying himself in his work." - (Anonymous)

"What is this life if, full of care, we have no time to stand and stare?" - W. H. Davies

People still express genuine surprise at the continuing good fortune of Ireland Inc. How can the Republic expand its economy at such a positive rate on a year-by-year basis, they ask?

One of the reasons is undoubtedly our willingness to work harder. But there are indications that this willingness to adopt an American-style work ethic could be compromising our health.

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Although good times seem like they should automatically bring with them good health, recent US research challenges this view.

According to Christopher Ruhm, an economist at the University of North Carolina, for every one percentage point drop in the unemployment rate, some 12,000 additional deaths a year are recorded that might otherwise not have occurred if the economy remained stable.

The number of car and workplace accidents rise due to the greater number of people at work and on the roads.

While cancer deaths do not show any change and the number of suicides falls, there is an increase in deaths from heart attack and pneumonia when economies improve.

People smoke more during a boom. And obesity levels rise while physical activity falls.

Unbelievably, given their already parsimonious annual leave entitlements, some 36 per cent of US workers say they do not intend to take their full holiday this year.

One of the early indicators that workplace stress might not be good for health came with the finding that heart attacks peak on a Monday morning.

This is a sign that, as our bodies rev up for work after a weekend of relaxation, vulnerable hearts "blow a gasket".

Now a large study, published in the September issue of the respected medical journal, Occupational and Environmental Medicine, points the finger firmly at the detrimental effects of over-work on employees' health.

The analysis of 10,236 job records and 5,139 work-related illnesses by researchers at the Centre for Health Policy and Research at the University of Massachusetts Medical School found that employees who worked overtime were 64 per cent more likely to sustain a work- related injury or illness than those who did not work overtime.

By adjusting for the type of industry and job that respondents worked in, the researchers were able to rule out any bias due to "riskier" industries or jobs.

The more hours worked, the greater the risk of illness. Specifically, the study established that working at least 12 hours a day was associated with a 37 per cent increased risk of illness. For people who worked in excess of 60 hours a week, the risk of ill health or injury increased by almost a quarter.

Commenting on the results, Prof Allard Dembe and his colleagues said: "These results are consistent with the hypothesis that long working hours indirectly precipitate workplace accidents and illness by inducing stress on affected workers.

"A notable result of our analysis was the detection of a clear dose-response effect, in which the number of hours worked per week [ over 40] and the number of hours worked per day [ over eight] were positively associated with an increasing risk of injury."

In an accompanying editorial, Occupational and Environmental Medicine says: "These findings draw attention to the potential importance of a pervasive trend in the current labour market."

Noting that the average hours worked by all employed people in the US have increased since the 1970s, it says: "The combination of lengthening work weeks and injury rates that increase with extended time on the job could result in an increase in the rate of injury for the entire workforce."

Both the quality of the research and its uncompromising conclusions are a shot in the arm for European Union initiatives to regulate working hours.

Equally, they are a strong message that the Americanisation of work practices in the Republic should be resisted.

It has become all too common for employers here to trim workforces even when profits are multiplying.

Efficiency is one thing, but the constant culling of workers can only increase work stresses on those left behind.

Not alone do employers risk the quality of their product but they are knowingly placing the health, and even the lives, of their employees at risk.

However, until such time as regulations to prevent workplace stress are placed on a statutory footing, this dangerous drift to Boston by Irish employers will continue.

For the sake of workers' health, it is time to turn the ship of industry back to Berlin, and the more balanced waters of the EU

Dr Muiris Houston is pleased to hear from readers at mhouston@irish-times.ie but regrets he cannot answer individual queries.