Faculty of Economics, Hosei University, 4342 Machita-shi Aiharamachi, Tokyo 194-0298, Japan.
Faculty of Economics, Toyo University, Tokyo 112-8606, Japan.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2024 Jun 27;21(7):842. doi: 10.3390/ijerph21070842.
Using the 2010-2019 Comprehensive Survey of Living Conditions (CSLC) conducted in Japan, we examined the impact of long working hours on mental health in Japan while addressing the endogeneity issue arising from non-random selection bias. We assessed the variations in the effects of long working hours on mental health across different groups. The results show that first, individuals working longer hours (55 h or more per week) exhibited a higher likelihood of developing mental illness than those working regular hours or fewer hours. Second, the negative effect of long working hours on mental health is more pronounced among non-regular workers than among regular workers. Third, the effect of long working hours on mental health varies among different demographic groups, with a greater impact observed among women, managers, non-regular workers, employees in small- or large-sized firms, and those in smaller cities compared to their counterparts. Thus, to enhance worker productivity, the Japanese government should address the issue of long working hours to improve employees' mental well-being. Initiatives aimed at promoting work-life balance, family-friendly policies, and measures to ameliorate working conditions are expected to help mitigate the challenges associated with long working hours and mental health issues, especially among non-regular workers.
利用日本 2010-2019 年进行的综合生活状况调查（CSLC），我们在解决非随机选择偏差引起的内生性问题的同时，考察了长时间工作对日本心理健康的影响。我们评估了长时间工作对不同群体心理健康的影响差异。结果表明，首先，每周工作 55 小时或更长时间的人比正常工作时间或工作时间更短的人更容易出现精神疾病。其次，长时间工作对心理健康的负面影响在非正规工人中比在正规工人中更为明显。第三，长时间工作对心理健康的影响因不同的人口群体而异，女性、经理、非正规工人、在小或大公司工作的员工以及在小城市工作的员工比他们的同行受到的影响更大。因此，为了提高工人的生产力，日本政府应该解决长时间工作的问题，以改善员工的心理健康。预计旨在促进工作与生活平衡、家庭友好政策和改善工作条件的举措，将有助于缓解长时间工作和心理健康问题带来的挑战，尤其是在非正规工人中。
