Effect of Long Working Hours on Depression and Mental Well-Being among Employees in Shanghai: The Role of Having Leisure Hobbies.

Publisher: MDPI Country of Publication: Switzerland NLM ID: 101238455 Publication Model: Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1660-4601 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 16604601 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Int J Environ Res Public Health Subsets: MEDLINE

Original Publication: Basel : MDPI, c2004-

Depression/*epidemiology ; Hobbies/*psychology ; Mental Health/*statistics & numerical data ; Personnel Staffing and Scheduling/*statistics & numerical data; Adolescent ; Adult ; China/epidemiology ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Female ; Humans ; Logistic Models ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Occupational Health ; Prevalence ; Young Adult

Our aim is to examine the associations between long working hours and depression and mental well-being among the working population in Shanghai, as well as to identify the impact of having hobbies on these relationships. A cross-sectional study was conducted in Shanghai, with depression assessed by the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) scale and mental well-being assessed by the World Health Organization five-item Well-Being Index (WHO-5) scale. The phenomenon of long working hours (69.3%) was quite common among employees in Shanghai, and the rate of working over 60 h was 19.3%. Those who worked over 60 h had the highest prevalence of poorer mental health compared with individuals working ≤40 h per week. After adjustment in the logistic regression model, those who reported weekly working time over 60 h were 1.40 (95%CI: 1.03-1.90) and 1.66 (95%CI: 1.26-2.18) times more likely to have depression and poor mental well-being (PMWB), respectively. Adjusted ORs for having hobbies were 0.78 (95%CI: 0.62-0.97) and 0.62 (95%CI: 0.51-0.75), respectively. Meanwhile, having hobbies could significantly lower the mean score on the PHQ-9 and elevate the mean score on the WHO-5 in each working time group, with no interaction effect. Long working hours could have a significantly negative impact on workers' psychological health. Importantly, having hobbies in their daily lives might help to mitigate the adverse effects of long working hours on workers' depression and mental well-being.

BMJ. 2015 Jan 13;350:g7772. (PMID: 25587065)
Psychol Med. 2011 Dec;41(12):2485-94. (PMID: 21329557)
J Health Polit Policy Law. 2014 Oct;39(5):971-88. (PMID: 25037834)
Health Rep. 1999 Autumn;11(2):33-48(Eng); 37-55(Fre). (PMID: 10618741)
Scand J Work Environ Health. 2013 Sep 1;39(5):515-20. (PMID: 23503616)
Scand J Work Environ Health. 2006 Dec;32(6):482-92. (PMID: 17173204)
J Occup Health. 2015;57(1):20-7. (PMID: 25422128)
Am J Epidemiol. 2012 Oct 1;176(7):586-96. (PMID: 22952309)
J Occup Environ Med. 2008 Jun;50(6):658-66. (PMID: 18545093)
J Occup Health. 2005 Mar;47(2):157-64. (PMID: 15824481)
Occup Environ Med. 2015 Aug;72(8):573-9. (PMID: 26101295)
Appl Psychol Health Well Being. 2015 Jul;7(2):230-48. (PMID: 26097155)
PLoS One. 2015 Jun 16;10(6):e0129142. (PMID: 26080022)
Scand J Work Environ Health. 2014 Jan;40(1):5-18. (PMID: 24100465)
Lancet. 2015 Oct 31;386(10005):1739-46. (PMID: 26298822)
Ind Health. 2017 Feb 7;55(1):46-53. (PMID: 27498571)
Acta Odontol Scand. 2002 Jun;60(3):136-40. (PMID: 12166905)
Occup Environ Med. 2016 Dec;73(12):816-822. (PMID: 27540105)
J Occup Environ Med. 2016 Sep;58(9):861-7. (PMID: 27305843)
Scand J Work Environ Health. 2006 Dec;32(6):502-14. (PMID: 17173206)
J Gen Intern Med. 2001 Sep;16(9):606-13. (PMID: 11556941)
Ann Occup Environ Med. 2013 Dec 05;25(1):38. (PMID: 24472652)
Occup Environ Med. 2016 Dec;73(12):877-884. (PMID: 27852890)
Scand J Work Environ Health. 2012 Sep;38(5):418-26. (PMID: 22234431)

Keywords: depression; having hobbies; long working hours; mental well-being

Date Created: 20191211 Date Completed: 20200427 Latest Revision: 20200427

20250114

PMC6950581

10.3390/ijerph16244980

31817855