Citation

Li Z, Dai J, Wu N, Jia Y, Gao J, Fu H. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2019; 16(24): e16244980.

Affiliation

Health Communication Institute, School of Public Health, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2019, MDPI: Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute)

DOI

10.3390/ijerph16244980

PMID

31817855

Abstract

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.

Language: en

Keywords

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