In a fast-paced world where work schedules extend beyond the traditional 9-5 framework, the importance of quality sleep cannot be overstated. But sleep, a cornerstone of our overall health and well-being, is increasingly compromised by atypical work patterns with knock-on consequences for people’s health, productivity and the economy. As part of her PhD, Gill Weston…
Tag: Depression
Do family-friendly policies lead to long-term wellbeing?
France has long been known as a country where working parents are supported, with good family benefits and leave entitlements. But how good is the mental health of women who had full-time careers while bringing up a family in France? In this blog, Constance Beaufils of the National Institute for Demographic Studies in Paris describes…
Youth unemployment and later mental ill-health: who is at risk?
The pandemic has brought links between unemployment and mental health to the fore. With joblessness having risen across the globe, new research looking at the longer-term effects is particularly timely. Liam Wright and colleagues from UCL’s Department of Epidemiology and Public health describe new research which could motivate efforts to target vulnerable groups and use…
Lockdown – just how stressful has it been?
2020 is a year many will be happy to see the back of. It has been a stressful time for sure with periods of lockdown creating major challenges for our day to day work and family lives. But have the stresses and strains associated with lockdown affected the mental health of the UK population as…
Are some types of job bad for your mental health? And how can employers ensure poor mental health does not lead to early retirement?
Mental illness is a major cause of early retirement – but do those who are forced to leave work early for this reason get better afterwards? What is the relationship between work stress and mental health? A new study of public sector workers in Finland suggests there is a link – and there are important…
Anti-social working hours: Are they making women depressed?
The rise of globalisation and the 24/7 economy are fuelling demands for people to work long hours and weekends. But what’s the evidence about how these ways of working link with depression? Gill Weston and colleagues from the International Centre for Lifecourse Studies in Society and Health at UCL and Queen Mary University of London found such working conditions are linked to poorer mental health in women. Across the globe, the effects of overwork are becoming…
Does having a rotten job in middle age leave us depressed in retirement?
People’s working conditions have been high up the news agenda recently and not just in non European parts of the world either. Understandably, considerable concern has been expressed about the impact that low paid jobs with poor and uncertain conditions have on workers’ lives. But what are the impacts of poor or stressful working conditions…