[Click! Health] "Workers with Irregular Long Hours Have 3 Times Higher Risk of Musculoskeletal Pain"

A study has found that workers with irregular working hours who work long hours have more than three times the risk of musculoskeletal pain.

[Image provided by Pixabay]

The team of Dr. Yang Moon-young, a resident in occupational and environmental medicine (first author), Professor Kang Mo-yeol (corresponding author), Clinical Instructor Park Min-young, and Professors Lee Jong-in and Myung Jun-pyo (co-authors) at Seoul St. Mary's Hospital, The Catholic University of Korea, analyzed the 6th Working Environment Survey conducted in 2020 and confirmed that irregular working hours are correlated with work-related musculoskeletal pain. The survey was conducted on 50,538 subjects.

In particular, the risk of musculoskeletal pain increased more than threefold when working long hours of 52 hours or more per week with irregular working hours. Additionally, male workers who worked 52 hours or more per week with irregular working hours had a 3.5 times higher risk, and female workers had a 2.4 times higher risk of musculoskeletal pain.

Professor Kang Mo-yeol emphasized, "In the typical domestic environment where long working hours are common, the combination with irregular working hours can be more harmful from a musculoskeletal perspective. This research result is very important at the current time when discussions on working hours reform are underway."

He added, "Musculoskeletal disorders can start as simple pain and lead to mental health issues such as depression, decreased productivity, and early retirement. This study provides academic evidence that needs to be carefully considered when reforming working hour systems."

The study results were published in the July special issue of the Journal of the Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.

Professor Kang Mo-yeol (left) and resident Yang Moon-young at Catholic University Seoul St. Mary's Hospital. [Photo by Seoul St. Mary's Hospital]

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