Work-related stress is not only detrimental to your mental health, but it also poses a significant risk to your heart, especially for men. Research has consistently shown that job strain can have negative effects on both the psychological and physical well-being of workers. However, a new study reveals that it actually increases the risk of heart disease in men.
Job stressors, such as heavy workloads, tight deadlines, and environments with limited autonomy, contribute to job strain that significantly impacts the heart health of workers.
Moreover, being in a job where you feel underappreciated, known as “effort-reward imbalance,” has serious adverse effects on heart health.
“Effort-reward imbalance occurs when employees put in a lot of effort into their work but perceive the rewards they receive, such as salary, recognition, or job security, as insufficient or unequal to their effort,” explained Mathilde Lavigne-Robichaud, the lead author of the study and a doctoral candidate in population health at CHU de Quebec-University Laval Research Center.
The study, published in the American Heart Association’s journal Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes, found that male workers who experience either job strain or effort-reward imbalance are 49% more likely to develop heart disease compared to men without these stressors.
Men who experience both job strain and effort-reward imbalance are twice as likely to develop heart disease compared to men who do not face these stressors simultaneously.
Job stress comparable to obesity
The negative health effects of job strain, combined with effort-reward imbalance, are equivalent to the effects of obesity on the risk of coronary heart disease. This finding emphasizes the need to understand the relationship between work stressors and cardiovascular health for the sake of public health and workforce well-being. Lavigne-Robichaud stated, “Our study highlights the pressing need to proactively address stressful working conditions and create healthier work environments that benefit both employees and employers.”
This study is one of the few that examines the compounded effects of job strain in combination with other undesirable job attributes like low pay or lack of flexibility. Lavigne-Robichaud further explained, “Job strain refers to work environments where employees face a combination of high job demands and low control over their work.”
Researchers tracked over 6,400 white-collar workers in Canada without cardiovascular disease, with an average age of 45, between 2000 and 2018. They measured levels of job strain and effort-reward imbalance in relation to the incidence of heart disease. The results regarding women were inconclusive.
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