What question did this study set out to answer?

The aim is to decipher how changes in work hours impact various well-being outcomes in pre-retirement adults.

June 10, 2026PLoS ONEOpen Access

How work hours affect well-being: A target trial emulation

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Target trial emulation estimates well-being changes in adults with varying work hours, suggesting implications for health policies.

The aim is to decipher how changes in work hours impact various well-being outcomes in pre-retirement adults.
Analyzed data from the New Zealand Attitudes and Values Study (NZAVS) spanning 2020-2023 with N=24,579.
Estimated changes in well-being outcomes with a 10-hour increase and decrease in work hours using target-trial emulation.
Applied machine-learning methods to adjust for baseline differences and potential confounding.
Increasing work hours by 10 hours raises fatigue and reduces sleep, with BMI and physical health also adversely affected.
Decreasing work hours by 10 hours lowers fatigue and improves BMI and physical health, with outcomes being sensitive to confounding.
Overall, most outcomes show slight movement, suggesting downward shifts in work hours offer more favorable effects.

Chong et al. (2026) studied this question.

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