Your job really is killing you! Work stress and feeling under-valued increases the risk of a deadly health problem by up to 83 per cent, study finds

Stress at work could quite literally be killing you, according to researchers who found a link between job strain and a serious irregular heart rhythm condition. 

Someone working a job with high stress and low reward may face a 97 per cent increased risk for developing the problem, known as atrial fibrillation, according to a study in the Journal of the American Heart Association.

Researchers examined medical database records for nearly 6,000 office workers, in Canada. 

It revealed high job strain alone was associated with an 83 per cent higher risk of developing the heart condition.

Plus not being rewarded for your hard work alone, such as having a low salary or little recognition, was associated with a 44 per cent greater risk. 

Researchers revealed high job strain alone was associated with an 83 per cent higher risk of developing the heart condition

Also known as AFib or AF, atrial fibrillation, is a serious condition that causes disruptions to regular heart rhythm and, if left untreated, can lead to potentially deadly heart failure. It can lead to stroke or other cardiovascular complications. 

More than 1.5million people in the UK have been diagnosed with AF. But it is estimated that there are at least another 270,000 people in the UK who remain undiagnosed and unaware.

In the US more than 12 million people are projected to have AF by 2030. 

Previous research linked high job strain and effort-reward imbalance at work with an increased risk of coronary heart disease. 

This research is the first to examine the adverse effect of both stress and under-appreciation at work on atrial fibrillation, said the study’s senior author Xavier Trudel, an occupational and cardiovascular epidemiologist and associate professor at Laval University in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada.

‘Our study suggests that work-related stressors may be relevant factors to include in preventive strategies,’ Dr Trudel said. 

‘Recognizing and addressing psychosocial stressors at work are required to foster healthy work environments that benefit both individuals and the organizations where they work.’

Researchers studied the impact of job strain, which refers to a work environment in which employees face high job demands, such as a heavy workload and tight deadlines, and low control over their work with little say in decision-making and how they execute their tasks.

Another factor assessed in the study was the effort-reward imbalance. This occurs when employees invest significant effort into their work but perceive the rewards they get in return — such as salary, recognition or job security — as insufficient or unequal to their performance.  

A total of 5,926 workers — including an equal mix of men and women — were included in the analysis. 

Their average age was 45 at the beginning of the study in 1999 and 65 at the end, in 2018. 

The analysis identified 186 AF cases, and among that group, 19 per cent of the people with AF reported high job strain; 25 per cent said they perceived effort-reward imbalance; and 10 per cent reported experiencing both stressors simultaneously.

More than one-third of participants had been diagnosed with coronary heart disease or heart failure before their AF incidence.

But researchers found implementing flexible hours and holding meetings to discuss daily challenges reduced blood pressure levels. 

‘The effectiveness of workplace interventions to reduce psychosocial stressors that may also reduce the risk of AF should be investigated in future research efforts,’ Dr Trudel said. 

‘Our research team previously conducted an organizational intervention designed to reduce psychosocial stressors at work, which was shown to effectively reduce blood pressure levels. 

‘Examples of organisational changes implemented during the intervention included slowing down the implementation of a large project to prevent increased workload; implementing flexible work hours; and holding meetings between managers and employees to discuss day-to-day challenges.’

However, because all the participants were Canadian and in white-collar jobs, such as office workers, study authors admitted the results may not apply to other types of workers or to workers in other countries.