Employers of the world unite: Time to protect brains

Copyright © HT Digital Streams Limit all rights reserved. Mint Redaction 3 Min Read 16 May 2025, 07:30 Hours IT In general, there are already adverse effects on the long hours and face legal limits in many countries. (Istockphoto) Summary of a South Korean study showed a probable link between long working hours and brain changes. The finding needs deeper studies, but still needs to tackle businesses to jointly enforce safety constraints. The interests can be higher than they seem. Even though it is uneven, Karl Marx remains in the popular memory for his Clarion call in 1848 who asks workers of the world to unite because they have lost nothing but their chains. Unevenly because we have been making a long way since the days of chimney in Europe. Or do we have? Uneven workload continues. In a recent study by South Korean researchers, published in the journal Occupational Health and Environmental Medicine, some of us may work too many hours for our own benefit. It’s not just things in the work-life balance. These scientists, from the South Korea University of Chung-Ang and Yonsi University, which followed 110 healthcare professionals, divided into ‘overworked’ and ‘non-earworked’ groups, found basic shifts that occurred in the physiology of those who had their noses to the grind. Also read: Work and Life Balance: Dream employees of Excel skins? Workers who place 52 hours or more per week, who were also on average younger and more trained than the other lot, showed structural changes in their brain volume, as mapped over time. It has been found that the parts of this important organ that control our cognitive abilities, executive functions and emotional processing increase among them. This indicates a probable connection between overwork and brain work-which can include everything from our short-term memory and attention to our ability to solve problems. The authors of the study suggest that further research “understands” the long-term cognitive and emotional implications of overwork. Also read: 90 hours a week: What is with this foot in the mouth, the sample of the study was drawn small and out of a single field, but any correlation between weekly work and changed brains should push science to delve deeper for answers that can inform the policy. How safe or unsafe is it? Apart from what these brain changes can imply, or be viewed, it must also be investigated. The study is conducting future studies to investigate the risk of cognitive decline or mental health disorders. In general, it is seen that long hours have adverse effects and face legal limits in many countries. In South Korea, a work week is illegal longer than 52 hours. It is quite high in global comparison. The International Labor Organization (ILO) standard is a week of 48 hours. The legal limit under India’s 1948 factory law is 48 hours a week, with a maximum of nine hours a day and one day off per week. Also read: Four-day work week: An idea of ​​which time is anything but sure that the South Korean finding should be read with other research. A study by Oxford Academics investigated the relationship between long hours and cognitive function at the middle age among British civil servants working full -time. Compared to those doing a maximum of 40 hours a week, those who achieved 55 hours and a lower in vocabulary and reasoning tests. In a study of 194 countries by the ILO and the World Health Organization, published in 2021, 488 million people were exposed to 55 hours of work weeks in 2016, leading to 745.194 deaths due to heart disease and stroke. The Western Pacific, Southeast Asia (India), men and older people had the bulk of it. Today, unions have mostly disappeared, Marx’s economic ideas have failed and market forces play a key role in expanding our economy. India Inc. should never unite in the pursuit of profit, as the implicit lack of rivalry would serve the markets badly, but about the issue of overworked workers, it could be good. If India Inc.’s working debate tilts in favor of people’s health, as this new study indicates that it belongs, the self -interest of business can play better self -regulation of working hours. It may be a good time for employers to unite, but to protect brains. Catch all the business news, market news, news reports and latest news updates on Live Mint. Download the Mint News app to get daily market updates. More topics #labour Law #labour Union #Healthcare Mint Special