4 Ways Your Job Might Be Harming Your Health

If you are like many professionals, your job takes up most of your daily hours. Have you ever stopped to think about how your professional career is affecting your overall health? Your work habits and behaviors may be taking a toll on your mental, physical and emotional well-being. Read on to find out how your job is harming your health and what you can do to prevent that from happening.

Working Overtime

Americans are known for being workaholics and numerous studies and statistics have shown that the workers in the U.S. take less vacation time, put in longer hours than workers in other countries and retire later. That “all work and no play” may make you an all-star employee on the surface, but if we are observing things in the long run, this will only hurt you.

A study conducted in Kansas State University has found that employees who have worked for over 50 hours every week are likely to have reduced mental and physical well-being. These workers had the tendency to skip meals because they were too caught up in their work and also had a higher risk of depression. The other study found that employees who work at least 10 hours every day have an over 50% higher risk of heart problems, with even fatal consequences, due to heart disease or a heart attack, than the ones who did not work overtime.

Crowded Inbox

If you are the kind of person who opens and responds to an email as soon as it comes in, you might be causing a lot of unnecessary anxiety. The University of British Columbia conducted a study which showed a connection between psychological stress and how frequently you check your inbox. People who participated in this study were restricted to checking their email only three times in one day for one week.

During the next week, they were given unlimited email access, and they found it difficult to limit their use of emails. People who participated in the study have shown lower daily stress levels when they checked their inbox a couple of times every day.

Avoiding Breaks

A formal break was something that employees were eagerly waiting for, but a study conducted by “Staples” found that over one-quarter of all workers do not take breaks during their workday, except one for lunch, because 20 % feel guilty and 55% feel that they cannot leave their desk. Not taking breaks at work is causing job-related stress between employees and they are aware of it. Almost 60% of people who participated in the survey said that breaks would improve their happiness at work, 43% said that it would boost their personal happiness and 37% said that taking regular breaks would improve their health.

Commuting

Do you have a long commute to work? Getting to and from work can be the reason for your stress. A study founded by the University of Montreal’s School of Industrial Relations has shown that commutes that are longer than 20 minutes in one way can increase the risk of a burnout and commutes that are longer than 35 minutes increase the risk of job cynicism, and not to mention that they can endanger your health if you have to walk, as this can cause vein disease.

Stress levels can vary depending on your options and method of transportation, but the general rule is: the larger the city, the more tiring the commute. Unforeseen delays and lack of control over the circumstances that may occur while commuting all contribute to higher stress levels.