Gaby
A team of researchers from Harvard and the University of Pennsylvania has conducted a study revealing that moving away from a fixed workday can reduce the likelihood of cardiovascular diseases. Even more impressively, a flexible work schedule can help keep the heart youthful.
Therefore, employers who have the option to transition their employees to flexible work hours are encouraged to do so for the sake of their health.
What the Researchers Discovered
Those who work under caring supervisors tend to experience fewer heart-related issues.
The study involved 1,528 employees holding high- and mid-level positions in IT, as well as low-wage workers in caregiving roles. All participants were switched to a flexible work schedule. At the beginning and after 12 months, the research team recorded data on blood pressure, body mass index, glycated hemoglobin, smoking status, and cholesterol levels from the volunteers.
The health information of the participants was used to calculate their cardiometabolic risk score (CRS), as reported by the Daily Mail. (A higher score indicates a greater risk to heart health.)
Experts confirmed that employees who initially had a higher risk of cardiovascular diseases showed significant improvements. The reduction in their CRS was equivalent to a decrease in their biological age by 5.5 to 10.3 years.
In fact, these employees had heart health comparable to those who were, on average, five to ten years younger, the researchers suggested.
The greatest benefits from the transition to a flexible work schedule were observed among participants aged 45 and older, who were at a significant risk for cardiovascular diseases. It turned out that, as a result of the experiment, they reported improvements in well-being more frequently than their younger colleagues.
Additionally, during the study, the team trained company leaders on strategies to support employees’ personal lives. Both managers and staff also attended practical workshops to learn ways to enhance self-control among employees working flexible hours.
Key Takeaways
As noted by Professor Orfeu Buxton, director of the Sleep, Health, and Society Laboratory at the University of Pennsylvania, this research was conducted to “ultimately change workplace culture.” This, in turn, is necessary to reduce conflicts between work and personal life for employees and, ultimately, improve their health. According to the professor, the research team is now confident that such changes should be implemented on a broader scale.
Professor Lisa Berkman, director of the Harvard Center for Population and Development Studies, stated that the team’s work demonstrated “how important working conditions are as social determinants of health.”
“When stressful working conditions and conflicts between work and family were alleviated, we observed a decrease in cardiovascular disease risk among the most vulnerable employees without any negative impact on their productivity,” she added.
The researchers believe these findings will be particularly significant for low- and middle-wage workers, who traditionally have less control over their schedules. The conclusions of the study were published in the American Journal of Public Health.
