According to the WHO and ILO, there has been a 29% increase in deaths
caused by strokes from 2000-2016. The primary reason touted for this is
long working hours. As of 2016, 3,98,000 people died from a stroke and 3,47,000 from ischemic heart disease as a result of having worked at least 55 hours a week. In the Western Pacific and South-East Asia regions, 72% of deaths occurred in middle aged or older men. Between 2000 and 2016, the largest number of deaths regionally was estimated for South-East Asia with 158,987 deaths while the lowest number was for the Americas — 18,285 deaths. Long working hours are now established as the largest occupational
disease burden. Drawing on data from 194 countries, it has been concluded that if someone works more than 55 hours a week, they are at a 35% higher risk of succumbing to a stroke and 17% from heart disease. The COVID-19 pandemic is actually increasing the amount of time people
spend at work with no clear demarcation between domestic and personal
commitments.Teleworking has become the norm in many industries, often blurring the boundaries between home and work. In addition, many businesses have been forced to scale back or shut down operations to save money, and people who are still on the payroll end up working longer hours. No job is worth the risk of stroke or heart disease. Governments, employers and workers need to work together to agree on limits to protect the health of
workers.Capping hours would be beneficial for employers since that has been shown to increase worker productivity said Frank Pega, technical officer at WHO.The study suggested that governments and employers should enforce regulations and policies that ban mandatory overtime, make working hours more flexible and put a cap on maximum working hours in a week.

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