Why work a lot is harmful: What science says about the risks of office life
We spend a lot of life at work. - it is no wonder that the influence of everyday life on the psyche of employees, and on the general state of health, takes scientists seriously. Harvard researchers found that flight attendants, for example, are at risk for several types of malignant tumors at once. A team of Swedish scientists found that bricklayers, electricians and other people forced to work in polluted air conditions are twice as likely to suffer from rheumatoid arthritis. Professional burnout is common, according to a study by the Stanford School of Medicine, half the doctors. Negatively affects the health and sedentary lifestyle, characteristic of office workers. We understand that the work causes the greatest harm to health and how to improve the situation.
Three hours a day, four days a week.
If you think that the working day should be as short as possible - you are right. Scientists from University College London argue that a lot of work is really harmful - and not only because then there is no time for anything. An analysis of the health indicators of 85,494 men and women from Denmark, Sweden, Finland and the United Kingdom revealed that in the long run, such an approach could trigger a stroke, heart failure and dementia. At the same time, an eight-hour working day does not mean that a person works all eight hours without a break - as it turned out, people do not work even half of that time. One study showed that the average employee is working 2 hours 53 minutes a day - and this allows us to talk about the prospects of a three-hour working day, which does not reduce productivity, but will increase motivation.
By the way, about motivation: while the theorists were arguing whether reducing working time would lead to a decrease in productivity, the New Zealand company Perpetual Guardian reduced the working week to four days as part of an experiment. For two months, the company’s management provided all its employees with an additional and, importantly, paid holiday - and after the control period, they estimated how this affected their profit. A large-scale analysis showed that the company's profits did not diminish at all, and the motivation of employees even increased. The four-day working week was finally decided to be made permanent - although it is not yet clear whether the results will continue if what was an experiment turns into a routine.
By the way, the scientists explained why most of us cannot stand Mondays: it turns out that the whole thing is in a compensatory dream during the weekend, which violates circadian rhythms, and also in the emotional contrast of Monday and Sunday. As part of the restoration of productivity after the weekend, they advise a more realistic approach to drawing up lists of cases, leaving themselves enough time for each of them. In other words, what can be postponed until Tuesday is better to postpone for Tuesday. Although the official diagnosis of "workaholism" does not exist (work is still perceived as something positive because of financial rewards), an unhealthy obsession with work can become a real problem affecting all spheres of human life. The Japanese are learning to cope with this with the help of "Inemuri" - a short restorative sleep on the benches in the parks, in the cafe or right at the meeting.
Stress and Gender Inequality
Proved that women suffer at work more than men. This is because employers, as a rule, do not give them enough opportunities for self-realization - it is known that the impostor syndrome in relation to work in women and men manifests itself in different ways. Men, in response to professional criticism, usually show deterioration in work, and women in such a situation, on the contrary, tend to exert double efforts to show the result they have been expected of. Another non-obvious manifestation of gender inequality: psychologists from Cornell University found that, speaking of professionals, men are more often than women called by their last name - and such mention automatically increases the importance of a person in the minds of those who are not familiar with him.
Our type of activity can also affect our well-being at work. Social workers, nurses, teachers, and business owners are regularly among the most stressful — that is, those that maximally affect mental health. On the other hand, those who are engaged in manual labor are less susceptible to stress - it is about repairing machines, installing air conditioners or pottery workshops. With regard to professions that are characterized by psychopathic personality traits (lack of empathy, bloated self-esteem, the need to manipulate others), the list will include public servants, lawyers, journalists, sales professionals, police and clergy.
Microbes in the building: why be afraid in the office
It would seem that office work is one of the most dust-free options. It rarely involves a large amount of physical labor - and although intellectual work may be no less easy, it is not so traumatic. On the other hand, it’s wrong to think that an office can only harm mental health, not physical health. Millions of pathogenic microorganisms lurk in our office - and not only in obvious places like the toilet. According to a study conducted at the University of Arizona, bacteria such as E. coli, Staphylococcus aureus, as well as Helicobacter pylori and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (Pseudomonas aeruginosa) live in the offices. An analysis of the bacterial environment has shown that more than 3 thousand microbes per square centimeter “live” on monitors and chairs, and more than 4 thousand per square centimeter on office phones.
The situation is even sadder in the office kitchen where the box with tea bags is stored. In it, scientists say, can contain up to 4 thousand bacteria, while on the rim of the toilet, which we used to be considered the dirtiest place in general, an average of about 300 microorganisms. How is this possible? The problem, the authors of the experiment explain, is that almost 80% of people do not wash their hands before making drinks for themselves and their colleagues. And obviously, this should be done. And recall that in public toilets, the most dangerous places are not the toilet, but the door handle and the drain button.
How sedentary work kills us (and what to do about it)
Work kills - say scientists, referring to a sedentary lifestyle. After studying about eight thousand people over the age of 45, employees of the Medical Center at Columbia University came to the conclusion that those who spend almost the entire working day in a sitting position die before their peers. Modern specialists are increasingly talking about "office syndrome" as a whole complex of diseases - it includes diseases of the musculoskeletal system, migraine, dry eye syndrome, varicose veins, hemorrhoids, and some other conditions provoked by the same sitting position.
Not less often than about the harm of a sedentary lifestyle in general, doctors talk about its harm in conjunction with overeating and obesity. Scientists have found that almost a quarter of office workers eat extra 1,300 calories per week, and 70% of them come in the form of coffee with sugar, sweetened beverages, sandwiches, cookies and sweets provided by companies in unlimited quantities - so a bonus in the form of free cookies can respond is not the best way. Information is confirmed by another study, in which it was found that a woman in the office consumes an average of one hundred thousand extra calories per year - and this agrees with the data that diabetes mellitus is more common in female workaholics.
In this sense, an interesting experiment conducted by Google under the guidance of researchers from Yale University. It was found that when there is an unlimited number of snacks in the workplace, we always take more than necessary. In addition, it turned out that people eat more products located in the office kitchen at eye level, and less often choose what is located below - and this can be used to strategically spread out vegetables and fruits and make sweets less attractive. The experiment with sweets for secretaries says the same thing: when the box was right on the table, workers ate 48% more than when it was a couple of meters away from the table.
Fortunately, there is still a chance to make sitting work less harmful. Studies have found that even minimal activity — but no less than two minutes every hour — helps reduce the risks associated with premature mortality and strong weight gain. What does not work, for example, work while standing, which, as it was found, burns only 0.15 additional calories per minute.
Light, Internet, business trips
If your company has restrictions on social networks and entertainment sites like YouTube, tell your boss about a recent study: it concluded that surfing the Internet during the work day does not affect employee productivity. On the other hand, if we are talking about constantly checking the phone, which a person literally can not let go of the hands, the situation may not be so safe. It has been proven that this significantly increases stress levels, reducing the overall level of happiness and well-being. Well, it's not far to "fabbing" - the habit of being distracted by the phone during personal conversations - with all its devastating consequences.
What is really worth paying attention to at work is a sufficient amount of lighting. Scientists from the University of Michigan found that poor lighting, which may seem a bit cozy, reduces the activity of the hippocampus - the brain area responsible for memory and learning - by 30%. Frequent business trips have a negative effect on the state of the body: according to a study conducted at Columbia University, they are fraught with an increase in anxiety and depressive moods, disturbed sleep quality and a tendency to uncontrolled consumption of alcohol.
And yet, work has an obvious positive aspect - salary. And its importance for health is confirmed by science. A group of scientists from the Harvard Business School and the University of British Columbia found out that happiness can be bought with money, if you spend this money to entrust someone with unpleasant work (say, cleaning the apartment - cleaning service, and going shopping) - online hypermarket). This, the authors note, gives us not so much a feeling of happiness, as free time, which can be spent on what you really like.
Photo: bogdandimages - stock.adobe.com (1, 2, 3)
