0 Overtime Can Kill You

You gotta watch your back!  

Overtime is out there! 

 And if you haven't seen it... YOU WILL!

Gotta get that project finished in a hurry?  Working lots of overtime?  If so, you've got a 1.6 fold increased chance of a heart attack!  That's right, all that overtime can kill you!

At least that's what a recent study published in the European Heart Journal says.  Six thousand and fourteen British civil servants (4262 men and 1752 women), aged 39–61 years who were free from CHD and worked full time at baseline (1991–1994), were followed until 2002–2004, an average of 11 years. 

The study, adjusted for sociodemographic characteristics showed that 3–4 h overtime work per day was associated with 1.60-fold (95% CI 1.15–2.23) increased risk of incident CHD compared with employees with no overtime work. 

There are 21 independent risk factors for heart disease, and even once these risk factors were adjusted for, the results were largely unchanged.

The study concluded that overtime work is related to increased risk of incident CHD independently of conventional risk factors, and that overtime work adversely affects coronary health.

It seems pretty clear to me from this study, and it also makes a lot of sense, as stress is one of the leading causes of heart disease, and most people who work significant overtime are highly stressed.

Take home points:

1. Try to plan ahead more to avoid running into last minute crises that force you to work overtime.

2. If your boss won't pay you (at LEAST your regular rate... if not time and a half) for your overtime work, now you can at least tell him that you won't do it because it's bad for your health.

3. Always remember that next to not creating the stress in the first place, exercise and a healthy diet is your best way to combat stress.

4. Always pack a cooler to take with you to work each day, and make sure you always have a bit extra in the pack in case you have to stay and work late.  Don't worry, if you're packing healthy foods, you'll auto-regulate how much you should eat each day.

Hope you're heading home early today!

If you have any questions or comments about this post, please leave them below in the comments section!