---
title: "Psych News Alert: Long Work Hours May Lead to Major Depression"
description: All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. It can also make him depressed, claimed researchers at the Finnish Institute of Occupational Hea...
image: https://alert.psychnews.org/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/workinglate_46668157-Jun-24-2025-10-23-08-2527-PM.jpg
---

 1/26/12 12:00 AM

# Long Work Hours May Lead to Major Depression

![Picture of Psychiatric News Alert](https://alert.psychnews.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Psych%20News%20Email%20Banners/PN-Blue-Box_rgb.png?width=50&name=PN-Blue-Box_rgb.png) [ Psychiatric News Alert ](https://alert.psychnews.org/author/psychiatric-news-alert)

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All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. It can also make him depressed, claimed researchers at the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health in Helsinki in a study published online January 25 in *Plos One*.

In their prospective cohort study, the researchers evaluated baseline working hours, psychological morbidity (an indicator of baseline depression), and depression risk factors in a group of British civil servants (1,626 men, 497 women, mean age 47 years) participating in the Whitehall II study from 1991 to 1993. After a follow-up of major depressive episode in 1997 to 1999, the researchers found that the odds ratio for a subsequent major depressive episode was 2.43 times higher for those working 11+ hours a day compared to employees working 7 to 8 hours a day, even when adjusted for sociodemographic factors at baseline. Further adjustment for chronic physical disease, smoking, alcohol use, job strain, and work-related social support had little effect on this association. “Data from middle-aged civil servants suggest that working long hours of overtime may predispose to major depressive episodes,” concluded the researchers.

Recent work has also confirmed a genomic site for major depression. Read more about it in *Psychiatric News* by clicking [here](http://psychnews.psychiatryonline.org/newsarticle.aspx?articleid=115826).

(Image: StockLite/Shutterstock.com)

[occupational](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/occupational), [major depressive disorder](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/major-depressive-disorder), [work hours](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/work-hours)

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