Long Working Hours: The Scientific Basis for Concern

Abstract

Efforts to regulate hours of work have often drawn attention to the deleterious effects of long working hours on workers’ health. Felix Frankfurter submitted the passages in Figure 1 as evidence in a 1915 Supreme Court brief arguing for labor laws to create a shorter standard workday.1 Similar medical and scientific concerns were raised during the early stages of the Industrial Revolution (in support of the British Ten Hours Movement of 1830 to 1847, for example, which sought protective legislation to limit working hours). In such cases, scientific concerns about the health effects of long working hours were placed in a larger political and economic context, and proponents’ ultimate aims had as much to do with curbing the exploitation of child labor, defending the interests of female laborers, and securing fair wages and job security as with protecting the health of people working long shifts.Renewed interest in this topic in recent years has been sparked by new methods for investigating disease causation, technological and organization changes in work methods, and public-health concerns about the growing prevalence of stress, fatigue, and chronic disability among working populations. Globalization and other economic developments have created pressures for increased productivity and streamlined employment practices. The entry of women into traditionally male vocations and the growth of two-career couples have prompted interest in “work-life” balance and the potential impact of long working hours on the health and well-being of workers and their families.