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This paper takes a comparative approach to the topic of work time and health, asking whether weekly work hours matter for mental health. We hypothesize that these relationships differ within the United States and Germany, given the more regulated work time environments within Germany and the greater incentives to work long hours in the United States. We further hypothesize that German women will experience greatest penalties to long hours. We use data from the German Socioeconomic Panel and the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth to examine hours effects on mental health score at midlife. The results support our initial hypothesis. In Germany, longer work time is associated with worse mental health, while in the United States, as seen in previous research, the associations are more complex. Our results do not show greater mental health penalties for German women and suggest instead a selection effect into work hours operating by gender. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article assesses the health implications of emerging patterns in the organization of work time. Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979, we examine general mental and physical health (SF-12 scores), psychological distress (CESD score), clinical levels of obesity, and the presence of medical conditions, at age 40. Overall, we find that health varies more across work hours than across types of shifts, and part-time workers report worse physical and emotional health than full-time workers. However, controlling for individual, family and job characteristics explains the poorer health observed among part-time workers. Those who are satisfied with their jobs, have more education, or have an employed spouse, report better health, while women and those with a prior health limitation report worse health. After taking these factors into account, we find a curvilinear relationship between work hours and health, with those working between 40 and 59 hours per week reporting worse mental and physical health than those working 40 hours per week. We also find that obesity differs from current health problems in its relationship to work time. Those who work part-time or fixed-hour schedules are less likely to be obese, suggesting that long-term health risks operating through obesity, such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes, are affected by time availability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]