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The role of compensation in explaining harmful effects of overtime work on self‐reported heart disease: Preliminary evidence from a Germany prospective cohort study
Author(s) -
Li Jian,
Siegrist Johannes
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
american journal of industrial medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.7
H-Index - 104
eISSN - 1097-0274
pISSN - 0271-3586
DOI - 10.1002/ajim.22895
Subject(s) - overtime , medicine , poisson regression , job strain , prospective cohort study , cohort study , cohort , socioeconomic status , occupational medicine , environmental health , demography , gerontology , surgery , labour economics , occupational exposure , psychiatry , population , psychosocial , sociology , economics
Background Research evidence suggests harmful effects of overtime work on risk of heart disease. However, whether withdrawing compensation for overtime work (time‐off or money) provides a relevant explanation of this association has not been explored. Methods Using cohort data, we included 6345 employees from Germany (3079 men and 3266 women), and applied Poisson regression analysis to examine the prospective association of overtime work without compensation with risk of self‐reported incident heart disease over 2 years. Results Uncompensated overtime work was associated with an elevated risk of heart disease after adjustment for relevant variables (RR = 1.85, 95%CI: 1.05‐3.25), compared to no overtime work. Stratified analyses indicated particularly strong effects among women and among employees with low socioeconomic position. Conclusions In line with the stress‐theoretical model of effort‐reward imbalance at work, these findings document an important role of compensation on heart disease in the frame of overtime work.