Associations among working hours, sleep duration, self-rated health, and health-related quality of life in Korean men

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to examine the relationship between working hours and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in men and to determine whether this relationship was mediated by sleep duration and self-rated health (SRH). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Our study population included 2141 working men aged 20 to 49 years old from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2016–2017. Working hours, SRH, and HRQOL were measured by a structured questionnaire survey. Sleep duration was calculated based on self-reported data. We investigated the association between working hours and HRQOL and performed a mediation analysis to evaluate the contributions of sleep duration and poor SRH to this relationship. RESULTS: This study identified a significant association between working hours and HRQOL. Long working hours directly and indirectly affected HRQOL through poor SRH. Men who overworked were more likely to report poor HRQOL due to worsened SRH. Poor SRH was responsible for 26.3% of this relationship. But sleep duration did not explain the relationship between working hours and HRQOL. CONCLUSIONS: Working hours were directly associated with HRQOL in men. Furthermore, there was an indirect effect of working hours on HRQOL mediated by poorer SRH. An improved work-life balance is necessary to promote men’s health and quality of life.