The hidden workload behind burnout: Why unpaid work may worsen women's mental health
Why it matters: The study of 3,959 Japanese workers reveals unpaid labor worsens women's mental health.
- Professors Akiko Morimoto and Naho Sugita led a research group that comprehensively examined the relationship between total daily working hours (paid plus unpaid), nonrestorative sleep, and mental health.
- A self-administered postal questionnaire was distributed across five cities in Osaka Prefecture, with data from 3,959 healthy Japanese workers (aged 40-64) analyzed.
- The study found that women, despite working fewer paid hours, spend significantly more time on unpaid work, resulting in longer total working hours than men.
- Longer total working hours were associated with a higher risk of nonrestorative sleep for both men and women, but only correlated with a higher risk of poor mental health specifically in women.
- Professor Morimoto stated that for women, total daily working hours are a more important predictor of nonrestorative sleep and poor mental health than paid working hours alone.
- Professor Sugita concluded that quantifying total daily working hours and incorporating this data into policymaking and institutional design is crucial for reducing health disparities and achieving gender equality.
A new study from Osaka Metropolitan University reveals that the "hidden workload" of unpaid domestic labor, predominantly shouldered by women, significantly contributes to longer total working hours, nonrestorative sleep, and poor mental health for women, even though they work fewer paid hours than men. This research highlights that total daily working hours, encompassing both paid and unpaid work, are a more crucial predictor of women's well-being than paid hours alone, a perspective often overlooked in previous studies.
