Trying Too Hard At Work Is Bad For Your Health, Study Says

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The latest stats show that Australians are donating an estimated $130 billion a year to their employers through unpaid overtime, with the average worker doing at least five extra hours for free, each week.

Does this include you? Well, new research has found that working too hard is not only bad for your health, but it also won’t even benefit your career. So consider this an excuse to swan out of the office at five o’clock on the dot.

The study – published in the journal Industrial and Labor Relations Review – analysed data collected from more than 50,000 people across a range of different industries. Researchers looked at the effect “work intensity” and overtime had on people’s wellbeing (like stress and fatigue) as well as their career (like recognition, progression and job security).

The results showed that increased work effort was linked to lower wellbeing and modest to inferior career outcomes, even in higher-level occupations where there’s a greater expectation that slogging it out will reap rewards.

Working yourself to the bone (and point of burnout) is doing you no favours when it comes to getting that promotion or pay rise so cancel that team coffee run.

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Lauren Williamson

Lauren Williamson is a digital writer, editor and social media fiend who's a huge fan of tackling new wellness trends, eating her way through foreign countries and getting worked up over politics.