Working is healthy: but no more than 8 hours per week

Are you clocking hours away at your desk while your entire damn Insta feed is lounging in Tulum, on Ibiza, or sunbathing on a yacht in a crystal blue sea? You're not doing something right.

Well, yes and no. New research shows that working is indeed good for you. But, experts warn, don't do it more than eight hours a week. Per week, yes, not per day. According to psychologists, having a job is good for you because it gives you a rhythm, you have a purpose during the day, and you can't avoid social conversations. Colleagues are just there, always. That makes you a happier person, that chit-chat by the coffee machine. Being unemployed or having an endless vacation may seem attractive, but in the end, it only makes you more depressed. That little palm tree will get boring after a while.

The research team from the universities of Cambridge and Salford looked at data from over 70,000 people and discovered something funny. All these people are not happier if they work many hours at the office. But if you don't work at all, or less than eight hours a week, then you are also unhappier. For your mental health, it is not advisable to hang around that desk longer than that one day a week.

In short: work your ass off, but don't do it too much, too long, too often. Do it nicely in moderation. Like they do in Norway, for example: they have workweeks of 37 hours. That makes a difference on that Friday afternoon. And in New Zealand, you only have to come to the office for four days a week for a full-time salary. But yes, here in Holland, we still have little knowledge of that, and workdays of at least nine hours are not uncommon, if you have a bit of ambition, of course. And you do, otherwise you won't fit in again.

Alright then, how are we going to tackle this? Who hires someone for one day a week, and, preferably for a full-time salary? Small problem, clever researchers. But if you have the solution for us: let us know. We'll have a cup of coffee together. Preferably on the boulevard in Cannes, okay? We'll also join a bit with the crowd on Instagram.

Source: AD / Medical News Today