Second job may increase safety and health risks

Hopkinton, MA – People who work two or more jobs may be at an increased risk for fatigue and injury, according to a study from the Center for Injury Epidemiology at the Liberty Mutual Research Institute for Safety.

Researchers analyzed data from 2003 to 2011 using statistics from the Census Bureau’s American Time Use Survey. They found that multiple-job holders – who represented 9.8 percent of more than 76,000 adults surveyed – faced “large differences” in how they spent their time versus single-job holders.

Researchers concluded that multiple-job holders may be at heightened risk for fatigue compared with single-job holders because of a combination of the following factors:

• Long work hours concurrent with multiple shifts
• Longer daily commute time
• Less time for sleep
• Less time for household and leisure activities

When researchers analyzed 24-hour diary data, they found that people who worked two or more jobs on the same day averaged more than two additional work hours than single-job holders. They also found that multiple-job holders averaged less sleep (45 minutes on weekdays, 62 minutes on weekends) and were more likely to work odd hours between 5 p.m. and 7 a.m.