Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Working hours and depressive symptoms over 7 years: evidence from a Korean panel study

  • Original Article
  • Published:
International Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to examine how working hours influence depressive symptoms and the association between working hours and depressive symptoms differently across genders.

Method

The sample consists of salaried workers aged 25–64 years who participated in two consecutive waves of the seven-wave Korean Welfare Panel Study (2007–2013) (n = 6813 individuals, 27,986 observations) which is a survey of a nationally representative sample of the South Korean population. I apply logit regression and fixed-effects logit regression to examine the causal relation between (intra-)individual changes of working hours and depressive symptoms over a 7-year period.

Results

Results from logit model and fixed-effects logit model show that less than 30 h of work per week and more than 60 h of work per week are associated with significantly higher levels of depressive symptoms. Sex-stratified analyses reveal that women who worked over 60 h per week were at increased risk of showing depressive symptoms compared with women who worked 30–40 h per week. No significant increase in depressive symptoms was seen in men who worked more than 60 h per week. However, men working less than 30 h per week are more likely to report higher levels of depressive symptoms.

Conclusions

These results suggest that work arrangement affects the mental health of men and women differently.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. Data for current study are publicly available and further details about the data can be found in its website (http://www.koweps.re.kr/).

  2. Therefore, the first two waves are excluded because the second wave did not collect information on weekly working hours.

  3. It is appropriate to distinguish between singlehood (i.e. never married) and other statuses such as divorced, widowed and separated. Stressful life events such as marital dissolution are likely to be linked to depressive symptoms.

References

  • Ai C, Norton EC (2003) Interaction terms in logit and probit models. Econ Lett 80:123–129

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Allen H Jr, Slavin T, Bunn W 3rd (2007) Do long workhours impact health, safety, and productivity at a heavy manufacturer? J Occup Environ Med Am Coll Occup Environ Med 49:148–171

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Amagasa T, Nakayama T (2012) Relationship between long working hours and depression in two working populations: a structural equation model approach. J Occup Environ Med 54:868–874

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Amagasa T, Nakayama T (2013) Relationship between long working hours and depression: a 3-year longitudinal study of clerical workers. J Occup Environ Med 55:863–872

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Andrea H, Bültmann U, van Amelsvoort LG, Kant Y (2009) The incidence of anxiety and depression among employees—the role of psychosocial work characteristics. Depression Anxiety 26:1040–1048

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Artazcoz L et al (2009) Understanding the relationship of long working hours with health status and health-related behaviours. J Epidemiol Community Health (1979-) 63:521–527

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bell LA, Freeman RB (2001) The incentive for working hard: explaining hours worked differences in the US and Germany. Labour Econ 8:181–202

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bildt C, Michélsen H (2002) Gender differences in the effects from working conditions on mental health: a 4-year follow-up. Int Arch Occup Environ Health 75:252–258

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Booth AL, Van Ours JC (2008) Job satisfaction and family happiness: the part-time work puzzle*. Econ J 118:F77–F99

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bültmann U (2012) Long working hours are associated with incident depressive and anxiety symptoms in women. Evid Based Ment Health 15:58

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cho MJ, Kim KH (1993) Diagnostic validity of the CES-D (Korean version) in the assessment of DSM-III-R major depression. J Korean Neuropsychiatr Assoc 32:381–399

    Google Scholar 

  • Cho MJ, Kim KH (1998) Use of the center for epidemiologic studies depression (CES-D) scale in Korea. J Nerv Ment Dis 186:304–310

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Courtemanche C (2009) Longer hours and larger waistlines? The relationship between work hours and obesity. Forum Health Econ Policy 12(2):1–31. doi:https://doi.org/10.2202/1558-9544.1123

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Date Y et al (2009) Depressive symptoms in Chinese factory workers in Nagasaki. Jpn Ind Health 47:376–382

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • De Raeve L, Jansen NW, Kant I (2007) Health effects of transitions in work schedule, workhours and overtime in a prospective cohort study. Scand J Work Environ Health 33(2):105–113

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ferrer-i-Carbonell A (2005) Income and well-being: an empirical analysis of the comparison income effect. J Public Econ 89:997–1019

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Geiger-brown J, Muntaner C, Lipscomb J, Trinkoff A (2004) Demanding work schedules and mental health in nursing assistants working in nursing homes. Work Stress 18:292–304. https://doi.org/10.1080/02678370412331320044

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Greene W (2010) Testing hypotheses about interaction terms in nonlinear models. Econ Lett 107:291–296

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Grosch JW, Caruso CC, Rosa RR, Sauter SL (2006) Long hours of work in the US: associations with demographic and organizational characteristics, psychosocial working conditions, and health. Am J Ind Med 49:943–952

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Härkönen J (2007) Jobless couples in Europe: Comparative studies with longitudinal data. Doctoral dissertation. European University Institute

  • Korean Ministry of Health and Welfare (2014) Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service. Ministry of Health and Welfare, Sejong

    Google Scholar 

  • Heo HT, Kim DW, Lee JS, Jo HA, Jang SS, Kim SY, Kim IA (2012) An association between working schedules and depression in public sector employees Korean. J Occup Environ Med 24:347–355

    Google Scholar 

  • Hilbe JM (2011) Negative binomial regression. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, England

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Hobson J, Beach J (2000) An investigation of the relationship between psychological health and workload among managers. Occup Med 50:518–522

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • International Labour Office (1990) International standard classification of occupations: ISCO-88. International Labour office, Geneva

    Google Scholar 

  • Karasek Jr RA (1979) Job demands, job decision latitude, and mental strain: implications for job redesign. Adm Sci Q 24(2):285–308

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kim I, Kim H, Lim S, Lee M, Bahk J, June KJ, Kim S, Chang WJ (2013) Working hours and depressive symptomatology among full-time employees: results from the fourth Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2007–2009). Scand J Work Environ Health 39(5):515–520

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kim W, Park E-C, Lee T-H, Kim TH (2016) Effect of working hours and precarious employment on depressive symptoms in South Korean employees: a longitudinal study. Occup Environ Med. https://doi.org/10.1136/oemed-2016-103553

    Google Scholar 

  • Kleiner S, Pavalko EK (2010) Clocking in: the organization of work time and health in the United States. Soc Forces 88:1463–1486

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kleppa E, Sanne B, Tell GS (2008) Working overtime is associated with anxiety and depression: the Hordaland Health Study. J Occup Environ Med 50:658–666

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kuehner C (2017) Why is depression more common among women than among men? Lancet Psychiatry 4:146–158

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kuroda S, Yamamoto I (2016) Workers’ mental health, long work hours, and workplace management: evidence from workers’ longitudinal data in japan. Technical report, Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI)

  • Lee K-H et al (2013) Long working hours and emotional well-being in Korean manufacturing industry employees. Ann Occup Environ Med 25:38

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lombardi DA, Folkard S, Willetts JL, Smith GS (2010) Daily sleep, weekly working hours, and risk of work-related injury: US National Health Interview Survey (2004–2008). Chronobiol Int 27:1013–1030

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Luecken LJ, Suarez EC, Kuhn CM, Barefoot JC, Blumenthal JA, Siegler IC, Williams RB (1997) Stress in employed women: impact of marital status and children at home on neurohormone output and home strain. Psychosom Med 59:352–359

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Marchand A, Bilodeau J, Demers A, Beauregard N, Durand P, Haines VY (2016) Gendered depression: vulnerability or exposure to work and family stressors? Soc Sci Med 166:160–168

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Michelsen H, Bildt C (2003) Psychosocial conditions on and off the job and psychological ill health: depressive symptoms, impaired psychological wellbeing, heavy consumption of alcohol. Occup Environ Med 60:489–496

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Milner A, Smith P, LaMontagne A (2015) Working hours and mental health in Australia: evidence from an Australian population-based cohort, 2001–2012. Occup Environ Med. doi:10.1136/oemed-2014-102791

    Google Scholar 

  • Murray CJ, Lopez AD (1997) Alternative projections of mortality and disability by cause 1990–2020: global Burden of Disease Study. Lancet 349:1498–1504

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Nagashima S, Suwazono Y, Okubo Y, Uetani M, Kobayashi E, Kido T, Nogawa K (2007) Working hours and mental and physical fatigue in Japanese workers. Occup Med 57:449–452

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nakata A (2011) Work hours, sleep sufficiency, and prevalence of depression among full-time employees: a Community-Based Cross-Sectional Study [CME]. J Clin Psychiatry 72:605

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • OECD. Stat [website] Paris: organisation for economic co-operation and development, 2010. http://stats.oecd.org/Index.aspx?DatasetCode=CRSNEW. Accessed 7 May 2017

  • OECD (2015) Labour market statistics. Main economic indicators (database) https://doi.org/10.1787/data-00046-en

  • OECD (2016) OECD economic surveys: Korea 2016. OECD Publishing, Paris. https://doi.org/10.1787/eco_surveys-kor-2016-en

    Google Scholar 

  • Otsuka Y, Sasaki T, Iwasaki K, Mori I (2009) Working hours, coping skills, and psychological health in Japanese daytime workers. Ind Health 47:22–32

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Petrongolo B (2004) Gender segregation in employment contracts. J Eur Econ Assoc 2:331–345

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Proctor SP, White RF, Robins TG, Echeverria D, Rocskay AZ (1996) Effect of overtime work on cognitive function in automotive workers. Scand J Work Environ Health 22(2):124–132

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Radloff LS (1977) The CES-D scale a self-report depression scale for research in the general population. Appl Psychol Meas 1:385–401

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sanderson K, Andrews G (2006) Common mental disorders in the workforce: recent findings from descriptive and social epidemiology. Can J Psychiat 51:63

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shields M (1999) Long working hours and health. Health Rep Stat Can 11:33–48

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Statistics Korea [website] http://www.index.go.kr/potal/main/EachDtlPageDetail.do?idx_cd=2478. Accessed 7 Sept 2017

  • Suwazono Y, Okubo Y, Kobayashi E, Kido T, Nogawa K (2003) A follow-up study on the association of working conditions and lifestyles with the development of (perceived) mental symptoms in workers of a telecommunication enterprise. Occup Med 53:436–442

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Tarumi K, Hagihara A, Morimoto K (2003) A prospective observation of onsets of health defects associated with working hours. Ind Health 41:101–108

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tijdens K, Dragstra A (2007) ‘How many hours do you usually work?’ An analysis of the working hours questions in 26 large-scale surveys in six countries and the European Union. Time Soc 16(1):119–130

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tokuyama M, Nakao K, Seto M, Watanabe A, Takeda M (2003) Predictors of first-onset major depressive episodes among white-collar workers. Psychiatry Clin Neurosci 57:523–531

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • United Nations (2008) International Standard Industrial Classification of all Economic Activities (ISIC), Rev.4. New York: United Nations

  • Varma A, Marott JL, Stoltenberg CDG, Wieclaw J, Kolstad HA, Bonde JP (2012) With long hours of work, might depression then lurk? A nationwide prospective follow-up study among Danish senior medical consultants. Scand J Work Environ Health 38(5):418–426

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Virtanen M, Ferrie JE, Singh-Manoux A, Shipley MJ, Stansfeld SA, Marmot MG, Ahola K, Vahtera J, Kivimäki M (2011) Long working hours and symptoms of anxiety and depression: a 5-year follow-up of the Whitehall II study. Psychol Med 41:2485–2494

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Virtanen M, Heikkilä K, Jokela M, Ferrie JE, Batty GD, Vahtera J, Kivimäki M (2012) Long working hours and coronary heart disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Am J Epidemiol 176:586–596

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Pension Research Institute, 180 Giji-ro, Jeonju-si, Jeollabuk-do, Korea

    Seoyeon Ahn

Authors
  1. Seoyeon Ahn
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Seoyeon Ahn.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The author declares that she has no conflict of interest.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Ahn, S. Working hours and depressive symptoms over 7 years: evidence from a Korean panel study. Int Arch Occup Environ Health 91, 273–283 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00420-017-1278-z

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00420-017-1278-z

Keywords

Search

Navigation