Asssociation between occupational stress, work arrangements, and depression in men: Review of observational studies 2020-2025.

BACKGROUND

Men may be particularly vulnerable to cumulative occupational stress because of breadwinner expectations, employment in high-risk industries, night work, and delayed help-seeking. However, evidence linking occupational stress and nonstandard work arrangements to depression in men remains inconsistent because of heterogeneous study designs, exposure definitions, and outcome measures.

METHODS

This review synthesized observational studies published between 2020 and 2025 that examined the effects of psychosocial occupational stress, shift or night work, and long working hours on clinically diagnosed depression or depressive symptoms in men. Studies were eligible if they included male-only cohorts or reported sex-stratified results. PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, Korean Citation Index, and Research Information Sharing Service, were searched for records published from January 1, 2020, through February 2, 2026. Risk of bias was assessed using Risk Of Bias In Non-randomized Studies: of Interventions.

RESULTS

Eleven observational studies were included. Overall risk of bias was rated Moderate in 36.4% (4/11) and Serious in 63.6% (7/11) of the studies; none were rated Critical. High job strain was associated with an increased risk of major depressive episodes in men. Shift work was associated with higher depression risk in the UK Biobank, whereas a German cohort showed a positive but uncertain association. In Korean studies, associations between night or shift work and depression generally weakened after adjustment for confounders. In contrast, psychosocial stressors: including high job demands, interpersonal conflict, job insecurity, and rigid workplace culture: remained strongly associated with incident depression. Long working hours also significantly increased depression risk among young adults.

CONCLUSION

These findings indicate that depression risk in men reflects interactions between work schedules and qualitative occupational stressors rather than work arrangements alone. Future studies should employ longitudinal designs, standardized depression assessments, precise and repeated exposure measurements, and rigorous confounder control. Male-specific analyses stratified by age, occupation, and employment stability are also needed to strengthen causal inference.