How does working time impact perceived mental disorders? New insights into the U-shaped relationship.

ABSTRACT: Based on a large-scale nationally representative survey in China, this paper uses the exogenous impact of automation on working hours as the instrumental variable to examine working time's impact on perceived mental disorders, on the basis of dealing with endogeneity. Different from existing literature, it is found that the impact of working time on perceived mental disorders is U-shaped, rather than linear. Mental disorders firstly decrease with working hours. After working more than 48.688 h per week, further increases in working time carry notable mental health costs, leading to a positive relationship between working hours and depression. The turning point of this U-shaped relationship is almost in line with the International Labor Organization's 48 working hours/week standard, justify

SUBMITTER: Niu X 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11252037 | biostudies-literature | 2024

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature