Women who work more than 55 hours a week are more likely to suffer from depression than those who work the more standard 35-40 hours, a British study has found.
In contrast, men who put in the same hours are no more likely to exhibit signs of the condition, researchers say. They suggest this could be because women face a “double burden” of very long hours spent in their job on top of domestic chores, which they tend to do much more of than male partners.
Both men and women who work on most or all weekends are more likely to become depressed than those who only work during the week, the research also found.
The results are based on data from more than 20,000 British adults taking part in Understanding Society: the UK household longitudinal study, which has been tracking family life and society since 2009.
Women who work at least 55 hours a week had 7.3% more likelihood of symptoms of depression than those who worked between 35 and 40 hours.
Women were also likelier than men to display signs of debilitating low moods linked to working on Saturday and Sunday, though both were affected (4.6% and 3.4% more likely).
“Women in general are more likely to be depressed than men, and this was no different in the study,” said the study’s lead author, Gill Weston, a PhD student at University College London.
“Independent of their working patterns, we also found that workers with the most depressive symptoms were older, on lower incomes, smokers, in physically demanding jobs, and who were dissatisfied with work.”
Two-thirds of men work at weekends compared with half of women, according to the study, which has been published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.
NHS Digital research has found that 19% of women in England suffer at some point from a common mental disorder – mainly anxiety or depression – and around 12% of men. Similarly, 10% of women and 6% of men display severe symptoms of either condition.
Weston stressed that the authors’ findings did not prove that long hours led directly to depression.
“This is an observational study, so although we cannot establish the exact causes, we do know many women face the additional burden of doing a larger share of domestic labour then men, leading to extensive total work hours, added time pressures and overwhelming responsibilities,” she said.
Andy Bell, the deputy chief executive of the Centre for Mental Health thinktank, said: “Long hours can be symptomatic of insecurity and unrealistic expectations at work, which are known risk factors for poor mental health. So the context in which a person is working long hours may be just as important as the time spent working.”