SynthesisBMJ open2022
How the reduction of working hours could influence health outcomes: a systematic review of published studies.
Synthesis in BMJ open, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 23 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
23 citing papers in PubMed.
- Changes in working hours and burnout levels among physicians: a cohort study.Human resources for health · 2026Article
- Rewarding Work and Memory Perceptions: Evidence Among Older Workers in the Health and Retirement Study.Safety and health at work · 2026Article
- Exploring the health and well-being benefits of reduced working hours with maintained salary: A scoping review and evidence map.Scandinavian journal of work, environment & health · 2026Article
- The effect of adult psychological therapies on employment and earnings: Evidence from England.Psychological medicine · 2026Article
- Cohort profile: Guangdong Pharmaceutical University Occupational Health Cohort in Xishan Coal Electricity Group (GDPU-OHC).Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- Experiences of financial stress on health, wellbeing and food insecurity among student dietitians on unpaid mandatory student placements.Nutrition & dietetics : the journal of the Dietitians Association of Australia · 2025Article
- Work time reduction via a 4-day workweek finds improvements in workers' well-being.Nature human behaviour · 2025Article
- How the four-day working week could affect health.Nature human behaviour · 2025Article
- Protocol of a randomized controlled multicenter trial investigating process and effectiveness of a participatory organizational approach for preventing work-related mental health problems among employees: vital@work.BMC public health · 2025Article
- Time Tetris: a longitudinal study on compressed schedules and workplace well-being at IKEA.BMC public health · 2025Article
- Long working hours and cardiovascular diseases, time for preventive action.Occupational medicine (Oxford, England) · 2024Article
- Extrinsic goals benefit capitalism but not well-being. Rethinking the economy's goal for a healthier future.Health promotion international · 2024Article
- Working hours and labour productivity from the occupational medicine perspective.Industrial health · 2024Article
- An organizational working time reduction and its impact on three domains of mental well-being of employees: a panel study.BMC public health · 2024Article
- Stress management: how does the academic staff cope with it? a cross-sectional study at the university of Udine.BMC public health · 2024Article
- Working hours and health - key research topics in the past and future.Scandinavian journal of work, environment & health · 2024Review
- Job Flexibility, Job Security, and Mental Health Among US Working Adults.JAMA network open · 2024Article
- Prevalence and associated factors of burnout among working adults in Southeast Asia: results from a public health assessment.Frontiers in public health · 2024Article
- Part-time work and sickness absence - an organization-level analysis.BMC public health · 2023Article
- Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivesThe health effects of work-time arrangements have been largely studied for long working hours, whereas a lack of knowledge remains regarding the potential health impact of reduced work-time interventions. Therefore, we conducted this review in order to assess the relationships between work-time reduction and health outcomes.
designSystematic review of published studies. Medline, PsycINFO, Embase and Web of Science databases were searched from January 2000 up to November 2019. OUTCOMES: The primary outcome was the impact of reduced working time with retained salary on health effects, interventional and observational studies providing a quantitative analysis of any health-related outcome were included. Studies with qualitative research methods were excluded.
resultsA total of 3876 published articles were identified and 7 studies were selected for the final analysis, all with a longitudinal interventional design. The sample size ranged from 63 participants to 580 workers, mostly from healthcare settings. Two studies assessed a work-time reduction to 6 hours per day; two studies evaluated a weekly work-time reduction of 25%; two studies evaluated simultaneously a reduced weekly work-time reduction proportionally to the amount of time worked and a 2.5 hours of physical activity programme per week instead of work time; one study assessed a reduced weekly work-time reduction from 39 to 30 hours per week. A positive relationship between reduced working hours and working life quality, sleep and stress was observed. It is unclear whether work time reduction determined an improvement in general health outcomes, such as self-perceived health and well-being.
conclusionsThese findings suggest that the reduction of working hours with retained salary could be an effective workplace intervention for the improvement of employees' well-being, especially regarding stress and sleep. Further studies in different contexts are needed to better evaluate the impact of work-time reduction on other health outcomes.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.