The World Health Organisation (WHO) and the International Labour Organisation (ILO) have stated that long working hours led to 745,000 deaths in 2016.
This is contained in a statement jointly released on Monday by the WHO and ILO.
It was estimated that 398,000 people died from stroke while 347,000 died from heart disease due to long working hours.
“This work-related disease burden is particularly significant in men as 72 per cent of deaths occurred among males.
“55 or more hours per week is associated with an estimated 35 per cent higher risk of a stroke and a 17 per cent higher risk of dying from heart disease.
“Also, the number of people working long hours is increasing as teleworking has become the norm in many industries since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic.
“We should note that no job is worth the risk of stroke or heart disease.
“Governments, employers and workers need to work together to agree on limits to protect the health of workers,” the statement said.
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