We’ve heard for years about the risks to your health if you work too hard for too long. A new look at a group of employees working for a financial firm finds that not necessarily the case.
Quite to the contrary, it’s not the hours. It’s the attitude. Dr. Daren Martin consults Fortune 500 companies on leadership and successful business cultures. “Hard work is not bad for your health. But there are a lot of people who work because they have to, they’re trying to make ends meet and they’re stressed out about the job. Those are the people who suffer from the long hours,” he tells KTRH News.
The study published in the current issue of Academy of Management Discoveries finds compulsive workaholics, people who reflexively work themselves sick at unfulfilling jobs are at higher risk, but people who put in long hours doing what they love apparently aren’t physically impacted in the same way.
Researchers found people who described themselves as unengaged or feeling trapped at their desks were more likely to suffer from headaches, insomnia, high blood pressure, and other ailments caused by stress.
“It’s not about the situation; it’s about how much meaning you’re putting into that situation. People who suffer are people who are going to a job every day that they’re miserable about. Those are the ones you’re going to see health concerns with,” Dr. Martin says.