The study, conducted with the International Labour Organization (ILO), is the first global study of its kind.<br />It found that in 2016, 745,000 people died from stroke and heart disease related to working long hours.<br />People in South East Asia and the Western Pacific were found to be the most affected.<br />Those who work over 55 hours a week were found to have a 35% greater risk of stroke and 17% more of a chance of dying from heart disease.<br />According to researchers, there are two ways workers were affected by working long hours.<br />First, they encountered physiological responses to stress.<br />Second, longer hours left workers more susceptible to less sleep and exercise, an unhealthy diet, and increased tobacco and alcohol use.<br />Almost three quarters of the people who died from working long hours in 2016 were middle-aged or older men.<br />According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the recent shift to remote working amid the pandemic may have increased these risks.<br />"We have some evidence that shows that when countries go into national lockdown, the number of hours worked increase by about 10%." WHO technical officer Frank Pega, via statement
