Effects of long workhours on life-style, stress and quality of life among intermediate Japanese managers.

OBJECTIVES In accordance with international coordination of labor conditions a Japanese campaign advocating less work finally got under way recently in the form of work-reducing policies of the government to prevent occupational and stress-related diseases. However, long workhours among intermediate managers, who are key persons in most organizations in Japanese industry, are still considered to be prevalent. This study was conducted to examine the workhours of intermediate managers and clarify the effects of long workhours on the life-style, subjective stress, and subjective quality of life among them. METHODS Questionnaires were administered concerning workhours, life-styles, subjective stress, and subjective quality of life to 3870 heads of a division or a section and 2666 foremen in 110 firms in Japan. RESULTS The prevalence of > or = 10 workhours was 69.7% for the divisional or sectional heads and 53.2% for the foremen. Long workhours had significant effects on the managers' life-style, such as sleeping pattern and regularity of daily life and meals. The divisional or sectional managers with long workhours perceived higher stress [odds ratio (OR) 2.51, 95% confidence interval (95% CI) 2.17-2.90] and lower quality of life (OR 1.17, 95% CI 1.02-1.36) than those who worked relatively short hours. The foremen with long workhours perceived higher stress (OR 2.35, 95% CI 2.01-2.75) and lower quality of life (OR 1.26, 95% CI 1.08-1.46) than those who worked relatively short hours. CONCLUSIONS Long workhours may be associated with poorer life-style, higher stress, and lower quality of life among managers at the intermediate level.

[1]  J M Harrington.  Working long hours and health , 1994, BMJ.

[2]  K. Morimoto,et al.  Behavioral lifestyle and mental health status of Japanese factory workers. , 1994, Preventive medicine.

[3]  T. Watanabe,et al.  Relationships between health status and working conditions and personalities among VDT workers. , 1993, Environmental research.

[4]  K. Morimoto,et al.  Healthy lifestyles are associated with higher natural killer cell activity. , 1992, Preventive medicine.

[5]  S. Aymé,et al.  Comparison of job demands, control and psychosomatic complaints at different career stages of managers in Finland and the United States. , 1992 .

[6]  J. J. Hurrell,et al.  Comparison of job demands, control and psychosomatic complaints at different career stages of managers in Finland and the United States. , 1992, Scandinavian journal of work, environment & health.

[7]  T. Uehata,et al.  Long working hours and occupational stress-related cardiovascular attacks among middle-aged workers in Japan. , 1991, Journal of human ergology.

[8]  Y Ono,et al.  Working hours and fatigue of Japanese flight attendants (FA). , 1991, Journal of human ergology.

[9]  E. Simonsick.  Personal health habits and mental health in a national probability sample. , 1991, American journal of preventive medicine.

[10]  K. Morimoto,et al.  [Relationship between working-life satisfaction, health practices and primary symptoms/problems]. , 1991, Nihon eiseigaku zasshi. Japanese journal of hygiene.

[11]  R. Burke,et al.  Occupational stress and job satisfaction among physicians: sex differences. , 1991, Social science & medicine.

[12]  K. Morimoto,et al.  Life-Style and Genetic Factors that Determine the Susceptibility to the Production of Chromosome Damage , 1990 .

[13]  T B McCall,et al.  The impact of long working hours on resident physicians. , 1988, The New England journal of medicine.

[14]  V. Clark,et al.  Personal health habits and symptoms of depression at the community level. , 1988, Preventive medicine.

[15]  J. Roden,et al.  Mental health and satisfaction among tax officers. , 1985, Social science & medicine.

[16]  M. Sato,et al.  Human health situation and chromosome alterations: sister chromatid exchange frequency in lymphocytes from passive smokers and patients with hereditary diseases. , 1984, Basic life sciences.

[17]  L. Breslow,et al.  Health and Ways of Living: The Alameda County Study , 1983 .

[18]  C. Cooper,et al.  Stress in the Police Service , 1989, Journal of occupational medicine. : official publication of the Industrial Medical Association.

[19]  L. Breslow,et al.  Mortality from coronary heart disease in California men who work long hours. , 1960, Journal of chronic diseases.

[20]  B. L. Zohman,et al.  RELATIVE SIGNIFICANCE OF HEREDITY, DIET AND OCCUPATIONAL STRESS IN CORONARY HEART DISEASE OF YOUNG ADULTS BASED ON AN ANALYSIS OF 100 PATIENTS BETWEEN THE ACES OF 25 AND 40 YEARS AND A SIMILAR GROUP OF 100 NORMAL CONTROL SUBJECTS , 1958, The American journal of the medical sciences.