Constantly changing market dynamics and challenges continuously bring with them a level of work stress. This workplace stress impacts everyone not only physically but also mentally and psychologically. According to research by INRS and Université de Montréal, prolonged exposure to work-induced stress has been found to increase the likelihood of certain cancers (lung, colon, rectal, stomach, and non-Hodgkin lymphoma) in men.
The study examined this correlation across men’s professional lifetimes. Participants, on average, held around four jobs throughout their careers, some even having a dozen or more. Notably, significant cancer connections emerged in men exposed to 15 to 30 years of work-related stress, and in some cases, over 30 years. Out of the eleven cancers considered, five showed substantial links to prolonged work-related stress. However, no discernible link was established for participants exposed to stress for less than 15 years in their jobs. Occupations such as firefighting, industrial, and aerospace engineering, mechanic foremanship, and vehicle/railway equipment repair displayed high stress levels according to the participants.
“One of the biggest flaws in previous cancer studies is that none of them assessed work-related stress over a full working lifetime, making it impossible to determine how the duration of exposure to work-related stress affects cancer development. Our study shows the importance of measuring stress at different points in an individual’s working life,” explains the authors of the study.
The research advises:
- Stress isn’t solely about workload or time constraints but encompasses various stressors in different job roles.
- Chronic psychological stress, a potential public health issue. Further studies should try to understand the relationship between work-induced stress and cancer development.