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Longer working hours and burnout: current analysis shows possible links with gender and occupation
Longer working hours can increase the risk of burnout symptoms. However, it depends on various circumstances.
The debate about working hours in Germany is currently intense, sometimes even heated. While some employers and politicians are calling for longer working hours to counteract the shortage of skilled workers and boost the economy, other voices are calling for more flexibility and potentially shorter working hours to make certain professions more attractive.
A recent analysis by the Institute for Employment Research (IAB) based on a survey of employees sheds a differentiated light on the relationship between the length of working hours and the risk of developing burnout symptoms. The analysis is based on data from a survey conducted in 2019 as part of the “Digitalization and Change in Employment” (DiWaBe) project.
Different effects for women and men
Interestingly, the results of the analysis show that there are clear differences between the sexes in the possible connection between longer working hours and burnout symptoms. Although men work significantly longer hours on average than women, they report burnout symptoms less frequently. The proportion of men with such symptoms is 46 percent, while it is significantly higher for women at 54 percent.
The gender difference in working hours, which means that men work an average of 8.5 hours more per week than women, is evident in almost all professions. This difference is particularly pronounced in the cleaning professions, where men work more than twice as long as women on average. This indicates that the majority of part-time employees, especially in the cleaning professions, are women.
According to the analysis, a statistically significant correlation between longer working hours and the occurrence of burnout symptoms can only be found among women. Adjusted for other influencing factors, the probability of women being affected by at least one burnout symptom increases when their actual weekly working hours increase. An increase in working hours by five hours per week is therefore associated with a 2.6 percentage point higher probability of burnout symptoms for women on average. For men, on the other hand, there is no statistically significant correlation between actual working hours and burnout symptoms; in fact, men with burnout symptoms actually work slightly less on average than their symptom-free colleagues.
This result suggests that the risk of burnout in men may be more strongly influenced by factors other than pure time pressure, such as the type of job or aspects of private life. For women, the burden of care work could also play a role in addition to the workload. Many women who work part-time spend a large part of their time caring for relatives or raising children – all activities that can also be stressful. If working hours are extended, these effects can be correspondingly greater.
Occupation and working hours are linked
In addition to gender, actual working hours also vary considerably depending on the occupational segment. The highest average weekly working hours are in security occupations (46 hours) and in transport and logistics occupations (45 hours). At the other end of the scale are the cleaning professions with an average of only 19 hours per week. This is probably due, among other things, to the high proportion of part-time employees in this sector. Average working hours also tend to be lower in social and cultural service occupations (37 hours) and medical and non-medical healthcare occupations (35 hours).
This clearly shows that many occupational fields in which there is a particularly severe shortage of skilled workers are already working long hours. Extending working hours here is likely to have negative effects on employees’ health in particular. In contrast, there is a very high part-time rate in other occupational fields, meaning that there is potential for an expansion of activities.
Demands for a general increase in working hours not expedient
The finding that longer working hours significantly increase the risk of women suffering from burnout symptoms, at least occasionally, calls into question the blanket call for an increase in working hours as a means of combating the shortage of skilled workers. Particularly in professions where people already work long hours, this could increase the strain on health. Other workplace conditions such as deadline pressure or worries about the workplace can also have a significant impact on health and well-being.
The analysis suggests that instead of general demands for longer working hours, the potential of people who actually want to work more but have not yet been able to do so due to existing obstacles such as a lack of childcare should be exploited. The individual situation of the employee should always be taken into account. Those who would like to work longer should be given the opportunity and appropriate incentives to do so.
Summary
A recent study by the Institute for Employment Research (IAB) shows that the effects of longer working hours on the occurrence of burnout symptoms depend on gender and occupation. Particularly in professions with a major shortage of skilled workers, people often already work very long hours, meaning that extending working hours would hardly make sense.
