Research progress on health effects associated with exposure to long working hours

The phenomenon of workers working beyond standard working hours is called long working hours. In recent years, more and more relevant studies at home and abroad have shown the association between long working hours and adverse health effects of occupational populations, such as increased risks of cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and various psychological conditions such as depression and occupational stress. However, the current research has not yet reached a consistent conclusion. The main reason is that the physiological and psychological effects of exposure to long working hours need to be explored in depth. Therefore, based on the relevant research progress at home and abroad, this article introduced the health effects of long working hours from both physical and psychological aspects, including hypertension, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, depression, and job burnout, expounded related mechanisms involved, and indicated deficiencies in current research on long working hours and the next research directions.