Search

Background: Although various work-related adverse events affect workers' mental health, the association between long working hours and mental disorders remains unclear. We investigated the characteristics of overtime work and work-related adverse events among all cases of compensated work-related suicide in Japan to empirically reveal the context of the serious consequences. Methods: We analysed all 167 cases of mental disorders resulting in suicide that were compensated in fiscal year 2015–2016. Hierarchical clustering was applied to the overtime working history. Work-related adverse events were also evaluated as the qualitative aspects of their jobs. Results: More than half of the cases committed suicide within a month of developing a mental disorder. The Administrative and professional or engineering workers had a higher suicide rate. The clustering analysis revealed chronic long working hours (19%), gradual increase (27%), or rapid increase (25%) in working hours before the onset of a mental disorder. A group of cases with less overwork experienced more interpersonal conflicts. Conclusion: This is the first study to employ a clustering technique to objectively reveal the actual working patterns behind suicide. The patterns of working overtime before the onset of mental disorders varied considerably among the cases. Taking the transition of working overtime into account may provide clearer insight into the relationship between long working hours and workers' mental health. These results highlight the need for countermeasures especially for causes of chronic overworking, drastic increases in working hours, and interpersonal conflicts to prevent work-related suicide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: We aimed to examine the prospective associations of monthly working hours measured in a month, the 6-month averaged hours, and the frequency of long working hours (≥ 205 h/month) during the past 6 months with health indicators. Methods: This study included 6,806 Japanese company workers (response rate = 86.6%). Data on the workers' monthly attendance during the second half of fiscal year 2016 and annual health checkups in fiscal years 2016 and 2017 were collected. We evaluated the association of the above three types of monthly working hours with subsequent health checkup data in fiscal year 2017. We adjusted for the corresponding data in fiscal year 2016. Results: Multivariate logistic regression analyses revealed significant associations between monthly working hours and workers' systolic and diastolic blood pressure as well as aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL), and triglyceride levels. However, the associations were not consistent between months. The average monthly working hours were significantly associated with higher LDL levels for the 220–240 h/mo group (OR: 1.49, 95%CI: 1.07–2.08) and lower triglyceride levels for the < 140 h/mo group (OR: 0.15, 95%CI: 0.03–0.77), compared to the 140–180 h/mo group. The frequency of long working hours was significantly associated with higher LDL levels. Conclusions: Working hours over several months produced various associations with health indicators compared to those measured in a single month. Our present data suggest that the effects of average or frequency of long working hours during the past 6 months are likely to appear in LDL levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses the process of learning, performing, and recording Babbitt's Post-Partitions (1966), as well as Overtime (1987) and other Babbitt works, in the U.S. and in Japan. Issues discussed include: learning away from the instrument, pedalling, voicing, and body movement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This study aimed to examine the association between overtime work and the frequency of preventive dental visits among workers in Japan.Methods: A self-administered questionnaire was completed by 14,847 daytime-workers. We used a logistic regression model stratified by sex and age and adjusted for marital status, occupation, education, and oral status to investigate the association between overtime work hours and the frequency of preventive dental visits.Results: In total 1037 men (9.3%) and 511 women (13.9%) attended quarterly preventive dental visits, and 2672 men (23.9%) and 1165 women (31.8%) attended annual preventive dental visits. Overtime work was statistically significantly associated with quarterly preventive dental visits among men aged 50-59 years, with adjusted odds ratios (aOR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) of 0.73 (0.56-0.95), 0.75 (0.54-1.04), and 0.55 (0.34-0.90) for < 20, 20-39, and ≥40 h overtime/month, respectively. No such trends were observed for men aged < 50 years and women of all ages. Overtime work of < 20, 20-40, and ≥40 h overtime/month was statistically significantly associated with annual preventive dental visits among men aged 40-49 years (aOR [95%CI]: 0.76 [0.61-0.95], 0.84 [0.65-1.09], and 0.72 [0.51-1.00], respectively) and 50-59 years (aOR [95%CI]: 0.75 [0.61-0.91], 0.76 [0.59-0.97], and 0.63 [0.45-0.88], respectively). No such trends were observed in men < 40 years and women of all ages.Conclusions: Our study revealed associations between overtime and preventive dental visits among male workers aged in their 40s and 50s. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Supportive measures for employees raising children may have increased workloads on other nurses, causing psychological stress. This study aimed to clarify the differences in working conditions and psychological status among female Japanese nurses based on child-rearing attributes. We used data from 1,600 female nurses at 10 Japanese hospitals collected by the study of the Work Environment for Hospital Nurses in Japan conducted in 2016. The variables included work conditions (number of night shifts per month, daily overtime, number of paid holidays per year, and social support received), psychological status (sense of coherence, emotional exhaustion, and work engagement), and sociodemographic characteristics. An analysis of covariance was performed on the differences between the three groups (without children, with preschool-age children, and with children of other ages groups). The group without children had a relatively higher workload (p<0.01) and lower social support (p<0.01 and p<0.05). Additionally, they had higher emotional exhaustion and lower work engagement (p<0.01). This study confirmed the uneven distribution of work environment by work-life balance measures.

Aims: To clarify the subgroups of overtime work motivations and to determine how fatigue, mental status, and work engagement differ among the subgroups. Design: Cross‐sectional. Methods: Questionnaires were distributed to 1,075 full‐time nurses working in four hospitals in Japan from October 2015 ‐ February 2016. Nurses were categorized into subgroups of overtime work motivation by latent class analysis. An analysis of covariance was conducted to examine how fatigue, mental status, and work engagement differ among subgroups. Results/Findings: We identified five types of overtime workers differing greatly in fatigue, mental status, and work engagement. Conclusions: Even when nurses worked approximately the same work hours, the difference in motivation corresponded to different degrees of fatigue, mental status, and work engagement. When introducing policies to reduce overtime work, managers should consider the different groups of overtime workers, as effective measures may differ. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

No information exists regarding the effects of working hours on glucose metabolism in adults with pre-diabetes, a high-risk group for developing diabetes. Further, longitudinal patterns in working hours and their effects on glucose metabolism have not been described previously. We investigated the association between changes in overtime working hours over 3 years and the risk for progression to type 2 diabetes among adults with pre-diabetes. We analyzed patterns of overtime working hours from 2008 to 2011 among 18,172 workers in Japan (16,474 men, aged 30 to 64 years) with pre-diabetes in 2011 (baseline) using the sub-cohort data from the Japan Epidemiology Collaboration on Occupational Health Study. Participants were followed up to March 2016. Overtime working hours per month were self-reported annually in 2008-2011 and trajectory patterns were identified using group-based trajectory modeling. Type 2 diabetes was diagnosed by fasting or random plasma glucose test, hemoglobin A1c, and history of diabetes. Multivariable-adjusted hazard ratios of incident diabetes were calculated using Cox regression. We identified 3 distinct trajectories of overtime work: persistently short, long-to-short, and persistently long. During a mean follow-up of 3.5 years, 1613 participants (8.9%) developed diabetes. Compared with persistently short overtime working hours, no material increase in diabetes risk was observed for either long-to-short working hours or persistently long working hours. After adjustment for potential confounders, this association was materially unchanged. The results suggest that among individuals with pre-diabetes, persistently long working hours over 3 years were not associated with an increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Japan, the "Act on the Arrangement of Related Acts to Promote Work Style Reform" was enforced in 2019 to reduce long working hours. However, work style reforms largely depend on workers' and companies' awareness and abilities. This study aimed to develop the Work Style Reform scale to assess the competencies required for work style reform and to examine its validity and reliability. This study was conducted with a diverse sample of 1,641 Japanese workers, and 17 questions across three subscales-Work Style, Personal Style, and Work Environment-were developed. After a response bias analysis, some items were discarded based on an exploratory factor analysis; the reliability coefficients were calculated; and a confirmatory factor analysis was performed. The convergent and discriminant validity were evaluated through a multi-trait multi-method analysis. Finally, nine questions remained. Construct validity, reliability and convergent validity were sufficient for all Subscales, and discriminant validity was sufficient only for Work Style. In conclusion, while Work Style was sufficient, issues remained in other subscales. To improve the accuracy of them in the future, it is necessary to examine the validation of discriminant validity using different indicates and the addition of new items to the smallest subscale; Personal Style.

Aim and Background: Recent research has suggested that the reasons why nurses work overtime hours exert differential effects on the overall impact of the work. This study aimed to clarify why nurses work overtime, and whether well‐being effects differed by reason, at both the ward and individual level. Methods: Participants were 1,075 permanent nurses from 54 wards. Overtime reasons’ distribution and impact on nurses were examined by a multilevel structural equation modelling approach. Results: Nurses typically worked overtime due to a pressure to conform, high workload and to enhance self‐development. Involuntary overtime work demonstrated a detrimental effect on mental health and work engagement at both the ward and individual level, whereas voluntary overtime work exerted a beneficial effect on well‐being. Conclusions: The distribution and impact of overtime work differed by the reasons for working the overtime. Implications for Nursing Management: These results suggest the importance of assessing the reasons for overtime, aside from the length of overtime hours. When trying to reduce overtime work, hospital managers and nurse managers need to advance the plan by ward as a whole, and also carefully assess the reasons for overtime. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of the present study was to investigate the buffering effects of job resources, utilizing the job demands-control (or demand-control-support) and effort-reward imbalance models (i.e., job control, workplace social support, and extrinsic reward), on the association of overtime work hours with psychological distress in Japanese employees. Methods: A total of 1,198 participants (valid response rate = 93.7 %) from five branches of a manufacturing company in Japan completed a self-administered questionnaire comprising the scales assessing job resources, psychological distress, and demographic characteristics. We obtained the information on working hours in the most recent month from the personnel records of the surveyed company. Multiple logistic regression analyses were conducted. In a series of analyses, interaction term of overtime work hours with each job resource was included in the model. Results: Significant interaction effect of overtime work hours with job control was observed. Among the low job control group, the long overtime (80 h or more) subgroup had a significantly higher prevalence odds ratio of psychological distress compared to the short overtime (44 h or less) subgroup. No significant association of overtime work hours with psychological distress was found among the high job control group. On the other hand, there was no significant interaction effect of overtime work hours with workplace social support or extrinsic reward. Conclusions: The present findings suggest that high job control has an effect on reducing psychological distress in relation to overtime work hours in Japanese employees. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Long working hours have been associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, but its relationship with hypertension remains unclear. The objective of this study is to examine the relationship between overtime and presence of hypertension using data from a large-scale multi-company study in Japan. Participants were 52 365 workers of four companies that provided both health-checkup data and self-reported data on overtime worked. Hypertension was defined as systolic blood pressure ≥140 mmHg, diastolic blood pressure ≥90 mmHg, and/or the use of antihypertensive drug. Logistic regression analysis was performed to determine the odds ratio for hypertension for each category of overtime work (<45, 45-79, 80-99 or ≥100 h/month) with adjustments for age, sex, company, smoking status and body mass index. The prevalence of hypertension tended to decrease with increasing overtime work: 17.5, 12.0, 11.1 and 9.1% for the shortest (<45 h/month) through the longest overtime category (≥100 h/month). The age-, sex- and company-adjusted odds ratios (95% confidence interval) were 1.00 (reference), 0.81 (0.75-0.86), 0.73 (0.62-0.86), 0.58 (0.44-0.76), respectively ( p for linear trend <0.001). In a sub-cohort, the inverse association remained statistically significant after an additional adjustment for other potential confounders. Results of the present large-scale study among Japanese workers suggest an inverse association between overtime work and presence of hypertension. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Epidemiologic evidence on long working hour and diabetes has been conflicting. We examined the association between overtime work and prevalence of diabetes among Japanese workers. Methods: The subjects were 40,861 employees (35,170 men and 5,691 women), aged 16 to 83 years, of 4 companies in Japan. Hours of overtime were assessed using self-reported questionnaires. Diabetes was defined as a fasting plasma glucose ≥126 mg/dl (7.0 mmol/l), hemoglobin A1c ≥6.5% (48 mmol/mol), or current use of anti-diabetic drug. Multiple logistic regression analysis was used to calculate odds ratio of diabetes for each category of overtime. Results: After adjustment for age, sex, company, smoking, and BMI, there was a suggestion of U-shaped relationship between overtime work and prevalence of diabetes (P for quadratic trend = 0.07). Compared with those who worked <45 hours of overtime per month, the adjusted odds ratios (95% confidence interval) of diabetes were 0.86 (0.77–0.94), 0.69 (0.53–0.89), and 1.03 (0.72–1.46) for those who worked 45–79, 80–99, and ≥100 hours of overtime per month, respectively. In one company (n = 33,807), where other potential confounders including shift work, job position, type of department, alcohol consumption, sleep duration, leisure time physical activity, and family history of diabetes was additionally adjusted for, similar result was obtained (P for quadratic trend = 0.05). Conclusions: Long hours of overtime work may not be associated with increased prevalence of diabetes among Japanese workers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we adapt Bell and Hart's model (1999) to examine paid overtime work by using Japanese Survey of Company Fringe Benefits data which includes information on the employer's provision of fringe benefits as well as paid overtime hours for individuals. By including a crucial labor demand variable- the quasi-fixed cost which is omitted from Bell and Hart's (1999) report, the present study provides more complete documentation of the structure of labor costs with paid overtime work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How would people spend additional time if confronted by permanent declines in market work? We examine the impacts of cuts in legislated standard hours which raised employers' overtime costs in Japan around 1990 and in Korea in the early 2000s. Using time-diaries from before and after, we show the shocks were effective -- per-capita hours of market work declined discretely. The economy-wide drops in market work were reallocated solely to leisure and personal maintenance. In the absence of changing household technology a permanent time gift leads to no increase in time spent in household production by the average individual. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Adverse health behaviors and obesity are key determinants of major chronic diseases. Evidence on work-related determinants of these behavioral risk factors is inconclusive, and comparative studies are especially lacking. We aimed to examine the associations between job strain, working overtime, adverse health behaviors, and obesity among 45–60-year-old white-collar employees of the Whitehall II Study from London (n =3397), Helsinki Health Study (n =6070), and the Japanese Civil Servants Study (n =2213). Comparable data from all three cohorts were pooled, and logistic regression analysis was used, stratified by cohort and sex. Models were adjusted for age, occupational class, and marital status. Outcomes were unhealthy food habits, physical inactivity, heavy drinking, smoking, and obesity. In London, men reporting passive work were more likely to be physically inactive. A similar association was repeated among women in Helsinki. Additionally, high job strain was associated with physical inactivity among men in London and women in Helsinki. In London, women reporting passive work were less likely to be heavy drinkers and smokers. In Japan, men working overtime reported less smoking, whereas those with high job strain were more likely to smoke. Among men in Helsinki the association between working overtime and non-smoking was also suggested, but it reached statistical significance in the age-adjusted model only. Obesity was associated with working overtime among women in London. In conclusion, job strain and working overtime had some, albeit mostly weak and inconsistent, associations with adverse health behaviors and obesity in these middle-aged white-collar employee cohorts from Britain, Finland, and Japan. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The article focuses on the study that examines the associations between overtime work, job stressors, or the quantity of sleep/rest and subjective symptoms of fatigue of Japanese workers at a plant of a manufacturing company, and whether sleeping hours and monthly days off are associated with the accumulated fatigue parameter. Objective of the study was to determine the usefulness of a 21-item checklist. The study suggests that it may be possible to assess overwork by the fatigue guideline.

Excess workload has been regarded as an important psychosocial factor at work in Japan. In particular, overtime work could reduce sleep time and consequently exacerbate both physical and mental health, while excessive sleepiness induces work-related accidents. This study aimed to investigate correlations between excess workload and sleep-related symptoms among commercial long-haul truck drivers. We conducted a self-administrated anonymous questionnaire survey of 2054 commercial long-haul truck drivers in a medium-sized city in northern Japan. 1385 replies were collected and 1005 replies from male workers (mean age 41.8 ± 9.0 years old) were examined. The questionnaire mainly consisted of questions of sociodemographic characteristics, working conditions, the Japanese version of the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and the Japanese version of the 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12). 33% of the subjects worked more than 80 h per month in addition to their regular work. 34.6% mainly worked at night and 54.2% worked at night and during the day. 41.5% of the subjects replied that their work schedules were irregular. A multiple logistic regression analysis revealed that excessive sleepiness while driving was significantly associated with overtime work, working hour distribution (night dominant), irregular schedules and a GHQ-12 score. Similarly, an association between subjective sleep quality and overtime work, irregular schedules, habitual exercise and a GHQ-12 score was found to be significant. Sleep disturbance was significantly associated with body mass index, overtime work and a GHQ-12 score. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sick building syndrome (SBS) is an increasingly common health problem for workers in modern office buildings. It is characterized by irritation of mucous membranes and the skin and general malaise. The impact of environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) exposure and overtime work on these symptoms remains unclear. The authors examined these relations using data from a 1998 cross-sectional survey of 1,281 municipal employees who worked in a variety of buildings in a Japanese city. Logistic regression was used to estimate the odds ratio for symptoms typical of SBS while adjusting for potential confounders. Among nonsmokers, the odds ratio for the association between study-defined SBS and 4 hours of ETS exposure per day was 2.7 (95% confidence interval: 1.6, 4.8), and for most symptom categories, odds ratios increased with increasing hours of ETS exposure. Working overtime for 30 or more hours per month was also associated with SBS symptoms, but the crude odds ratio of 3.0 for SBS (95% confidence interval: 1.8, 5.0) was reduced by 21% after adjustment for variables associated with overtime work and by 49% after further adjustment for perceived work overload. These results suggest that both ETS exposure and extensive amounts of overtime work contribute to the development of SBS symptoms and that the association between overtime and SBS can be explained substantially by the work environment and personal lifestyle correlated with overtime. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Presents a factor demand model which explicitly takes into account specific features of quasi-fixity of employment and of flexible overtime hours in Japan. Application to time-series data on the electrical machinery industry of Japan; Effect of quasi-fixed employment and institutionally regulated scheduled hours; Prevalence of a long-term employment relationship in Japan.

Much current Japanese popular discussion centres around the sudden death, at an early age, of Japan's hard-working white-collar workers: karoshi- death from overwork - or Salaryman's Sudden Death Syndrome. Officially it does not exist as the Government and big business are hesitant to legitimatize the phenomenon because of the response which, both local and international, it would evoke. Nonetheless, it is a common phenomenon. Describes karoshi, defines the extent of the phenomenon, and analyses its future impact on Japan and the world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: We aimed to cross-sectionally investigate how work and sleep conditions could be associated with excessive fatigue symptoms as an early sign of Karoshi (overwork-related cerebrovascular and cardiovascular diseases; CCVDs)., Methods: We distributed a questionnaire regarding work, sleep, and excessive fatigue symptoms to 5410 truck drivers, as the riskiest occupation for overwork-related CCVDs, and collected 1992 total samples (response rate: 36.8%). The research team collected 1564 investigation reports required for compensation for Karoshi. Of them, 190 reports listed the prodromes of Karoshi, which were used to develop the new excessive fatigue symptoms inventory., Results: One-way analyses of variance showed that the excessive fatigue symptoms differed significantly by monthly overtime hours (p < 0.001), daily working time (p < 0.001), work schedule (p = 0.025), waiting time on-site (p = 0.049), number of night shifts (p = 0.011), and sleep duration on workdays (p < 0.001). Multivariate mixed-model regression analyses revealed shorter sleep duration as the most effective parameter for predicting excessive fatigue symptoms. Multiple logistic regression analysis confirmed that the occurrences of CCVDs were significantly higher in the middle [adjusted ORs = 3.56 (1.28-9.94)] and high-score groups [3.55 (1.24-10.21)] than in the low-score group., Conclusion: The findings suggested that shorter sleep duration was associated more closely with a marked increase in fatigue, as compared with the other work and sleep factors. Hence, ensuring sleep opportunities could be targeted for reducing the potential risks of Karoshi among truck drivers.

Background Effects of overtime work on health is a controversial issue. Aims To determine the effects of overtime work on blood pressure and body mass index (BMI) for male workers in Japan. Methods Participants were 323 male participants of three companies. Data were collected by occupational physicians at periodic physical examinations and additional examinations. The time courses for the development of definite hypertension and an increase in BMI were recorded. The Kaplan-Meier method was used to estimate the cumulative incidence rates of developing definite hypertension and increasing BMI, and the Cox proportional hazard model was used to determine the adjusted relative hazard of overtime work. Results The age-adjusted incidence rates of developing definite hypertension and increasing BMI were significantly lower among the participants whose mean overtime was ⩾50 h than among those whose mean overtime was <50 h/month (log-rank P <0.05). The Cox proportional hazard model indicated that those who worked a mean overtime of ⩾50 h/month had lower risks of developing definite hypertension (hazard ratio, 0.36; 95% CI, 0.15-0.88; P < 0.05) and increasing their BMI (hazard ratio, 0.44; 95% CI, 0.31-0.63; P < 0.01) after adjusting for age. Conclusions The results of this study indicate that workers whose mean overtime was ⩾50 h have lower risks of developing definite hypertension and increasing their BMI. Key words Body mass index; hypertension; karoshi; overtime. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This study investigated the correlation between objective and subjective working hours (OWH and SWH, respectively) and their relation to the workers' health. The study included 6,806 workers of a Japanese company (response rate=86.6%). OWH were collected as the monthly data during fiscal year 2017 from the company record. SWH were self-reported as the weekly data during the past month in November 2017. Both OWH and SWH corresponded to the same period of one month (October 2017). Additionally, the data for the annual health checkup in fiscal year 2017 and self-reported mental health in November 2017 were collected. The results indicated that the longer OWH was related to more underestimation of SWH. The analyses of covariance adjusted for the selected variables showed that irrespective of OWH or SWH, significant relationships were found for stress responses but not for body mass index, aspartate and alanine aminotransferase, fasting blood glucose, hemoglobin A1c, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, or triglyceride. However, significant relationships with only OWH were noted for systolic and diastolic blood pressure, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase, and positive work-related state of mind. The present findings show that SWH should be used carefully when assessing the health effects of long working hours.