The relationship between working hours and workplace climate and employee health and productivity: a combined study including factors outside the workplace

2022 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 19K19439
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Early-Career Scientists
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: Basic Section 58030:Hygiene and public health-related: excluding laboratory approach
• Research Institution: Kanagawa University of Human Services
• Principal Investigator: Tsuno Kanami 神奈川県立保健福祉大学, ヘルスイノベーション研究科, 准教授 (30713309)
• Project Period (FY): 2019-04-01 – 2023-03-31
• Keywords: 労働時間 / ハラスメント / 組織風土

Outline of Final Research Achievements

In addition to conducting two prospective cohort studies and one ecological study, I participated in an international collaborative project with the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Labor Organization (ILO) and conducted a systematic review with researchers from other countries to examine the association between long working hours and depression. The results showed that there is no robust evidence of an association between working hours and depression, that workplace mistreatment, including harassment and incivility, is associated not only with mental health but also with physical health, that support resources inside and outside the workplace are not found to have a sufficient buffering effect to protect mental health when workplace mistreatment is experienced, and that organizational climate is associated with the incidence of workplace mistreatment.

Free Research Field

社会疫学、公衆衛生学、産業保健学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

本研究成果は、長らく結論が一致していなかった長時間労働と精神健康との関連について学術的に結論を出すものであり、社会的なインパクトは大きいと考えられる。また、職場の非尊重的態度や組織風土が労働者の精神健康だけでなく身体健康とも関連すること、しかし個人や職場資源が例え多くても、非尊重的態度を経験した際に精神健康の不調発生を予防するには不十分であることが示されたことにより、職場の非尊重的態度の発生を未然に予防するような対策が重要であること、それには本研究で明らかになった非尊重的態度が発生しにくい組織風土の要素を取り入れることが重要であると示せたことは、社会的にも意義が大きいと思われる。