Control over working hours matters for health

The latest '24/7' report from the Work Life Balance Centre revealed that more than four in every 10 employees (44%) worked beyond their contracted hours simply because they wanted to, and because they enjoyed coming to work or "really enjoyed their job".

This was particularly true of people in "director-level jobs", who frequently worked well above their contracted hours, the Centre's Julie Hurst told us.

"Our research has shown us that this type of worker - those that have much more control over the hours they spend at work - tend not to suffer from ill-health as a result of their long hours," she said.

"On the other hand, those that might actually work fewer hours, but at the same time have less control over the amount of time they work, can suffer from work-related stress, or even from anxiety and depression."

She added: "Of course there are extremes in any situation, and if long hours affect people's diet and sleep then they are bound to suffer as a consequence. But the key, overall, seems to be the level of control or choice over hours, rather than the actual amount of hours worked."

The 24/7 survey showed that most people worked more than their contracted hours because of "sheer volume of work" and to "meet deadlines".

Sources of help

Overall, more than three quarters (76%) of the 2,300 people questioned for the study said they had experienced some degree of stress at work.

Just under half (47%) claimed to have suffered from some form of ill health that was related to stress in the year prior to the survey, with the most prevalent symptoms being extreme tiredness (69%), sleeplessness (60%), irritability (55%), difficulty in concentrating (48%) and headaches/migraines (47%).

One of the most worrying findings of the survey, according to the Work Life Balance Centre, was the high proportion of people who appeared to be suffering from depression (41%) and/or panic/anxiety attacks (35%).

Of those who had experienced a stress-related illness, just over a quarter (28%) had sought help from within their organisation. Worryingly, only a third said the assistance they received was "useful".

More than half (57%) sought assistance from outside their organisation, mainly from their GP, and found this to be far more helpful - 13% claiming such help had been "highly effective", and a further 51% saying it had been "effective".

A full copy of the latest 24/7 survey can be obtained here.