Chennai, India (CU)_ According to the World Health Organization, hundreds of thousands of people are dying every year due to long working hours and this issue is escalating due to the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown. According to the journal Environment International, which published the first global review of the deaths linked to longer working times, around 745,000 people died of stroke and heart disease related to long working hours in 2016. That was a nearly 30 percent rise since 2000.
Maria Neira, director of the WHO’s Department of Environment, Climate Change and Health, said, “Working 55 hours or more per week is a serious health hazard. What we want to do with this information is promote more action, more protection of workers”. According to the WHO and the International Labour Organization’s joint report, the majority of victims, around 72 percent, were middle-aged or older men. Most of them died in the later stage of life, at times even years later, than the shifts worked.
According to the report given by WHO, the worst affected are the people in Southeast Asia and the Western Pacific area which includes China, Japan, and Australia. The Commonwealth countries that face this issue are Brunei, Malaysia, Singapore, Australia, India, Brunei, Fiji, Kiribati, Malaysia, Nauru, New Zealand,Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, etc.
Overall, based on evidence from 194 countries, the study found that working 55 hours or more a week is linked to a 35% higher risk of stroke and a 17% higher risk of dying from ischemic heart disease than working 35-40 hours per week. As the research evaluated the time from 2000 to 2016, COVID-19 pandemic was not included in the study. However, WHO officials believe that the rise in remote working and the global economic downturn caused by the coronavirus outbreak may have increased the risks. Predicting that at least 9% of people work long hours, the WHO report said, “The pandemic is accelerating developments that could feed the trend towards increased working time”. Staff at the WHO, including its chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, claimed that they worked long hours during the pandemic, and Neira said the UN agency would change its policies as a result of the report. According to WHO technical officer Frank Pega, capping hours would benefit employers as it has a positive impact on productivity and improves worker productivity as well. He said, “It’s really a smart choice not to increase long working hours in an economic crisis
