
Researchers determine how many years of life you lose to a stressful job - pmcpinto
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonkblog/wp/2015/10/28/researchers-have-determined-how-many-years-of-life-you-lose-to-a-stressful-job
======
paulsutter
Clickbait.

The article claims a stressful job will shorten your life, but the data[1]
shows that "high job demands" have almost no impact on longevity, and that
"unemployment and layoffs, and a lack of health insurance were the factors
that exerted the biggest influence"

[1] [https://img.washingtonpost.com/wp-
apps/imrs.php?src=https://...](https://img.washingtonpost.com/wp-
apps/imrs.php?src=https://img.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/files/2015/10/life-
inequality.jpg&w=1484)

~~~
arethuza
A job could be low on the "job demands" and still create a lot of stress
through not providing healthcare, shift-work, difficult commutes etc.

~~~
mcguire
I suspect that, if you don't have healthcare, job stress is not the top
problem.

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jpatokal
It's worth noting that there is "good" stress and "bad" stress, and there's
some interesting research indicating that some types of stress managed well
can actually be good for you:

[https://www.ted.com/talks/kelly_mcgonigal_how_to_make_stress...](https://www.ted.com/talks/kelly_mcgonigal_how_to_make_stress_your_friend?language=en)

Of course, this article is mostly about the "bad" flavors of stress that are
entirely out of your control: if you're stressed because your kid has cancer
and you don't have health insurance, there's not a whole lot of positive in
that situation.

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xacaxulu
Even if it doesn't cost you years of your life, serious stress costs you
_quality of life_ while you're still breathing.

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tim333
28 or so years off for being an unemployed hispanic woman without insurance is
a bit of a shocker

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flexie
"you can see that people in some parts of the U.S. live as many as 33 years
longer on average than people in other parts of the country, the researchers
say"

That just can't be true.

~~~
mollmerx
Why do you not find this believable?

In the UK there is a 24.2 year difference between the life expectancy for men
in the Calton area of Glasgow and the national _average_. I think 33 years for
the difference between longest and shortest expectancies in the US sounds
about right.

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glasgow_effect](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glasgow_effect)

~~~
arethuza
Sad to say that the first thing I did when you mentioned an area of Glasgow
was to to find a map of support for football teams in different Glasgow areas.

By way of explanation:

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sectarianism_in_Glasgow](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sectarianism_in_Glasgow)

[NB I don't follow football, come from a part of Scotland that has no real
sectarianism and I married to someone from an Irish Catholic background - but
I've seen enough displays of horrible bigotry towards Catholics to know it can
be a serious problem, although it's not nearly as bad as it was]

~~~
collyw
Its a two way thing in Glasgow. Both sides are as bad as each other. "Normal"
peope are better staying out of the road.

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dade_
A lack of health insurance is a consistent, major factor for each demographic
provided in the article. Is it the job killing people or ideology?

~~~
Kurtz79
The article doesn't claim that a stressful job is the biggest responsible of
differences in life expectancy, but simply that for the first time has been
taken into account, together with more traditional factors.

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dschiptsov
That means Indian drives should die young.)

Those without _actual experience_ of driving a motorcycle, say, in Bihar
wouldn't get the joke.

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a3voices
A stressful job to one person is a relaxed job to another person. It all
depends on the individual's psychology. Perhaps other factors come into play
such as how much savings they have, and if they really need the job
financially.

~~~
collyw
Yes, I am sure some people find aggressive management relaxing to work with.

~~~
crpatino
Maybe not relaxing, but everyone can learn to cope with negative situations
and roll with the punches.

Not that I excuse unprofessional managers (or peers), but at the end of the
day the power they have to get under your skin is in large part a function of
how much (tacit) permission you give them.

~~~
collyw
"Coping" and "relaxing" are still worlds apart.

