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Your job could be literally getting under your skin.

Skin experts have devised a nifty online calculator that will reveal whether one’s job is causing them to age prematurely.

Developed by UK skin care clinic Harley Street Skin, the “Aging Jobs Index” can allegedly tell how wrinkles and saggy skin can be caused by aspects of work life, including “shift patterns, regular hours, working location, stress levels, and physical activity,” per the site.

They reportedly based the calculator on studies from various institutions, including Harvard and the World Health Organization.


  According to the calculator, being hunched over at the computer for hours at a time can lead to poor posture and other maladies. deagreez – stock.adobe.com According to the calculator, being hunched over at the computer for hours at a time can lead to poor posture and other maladies. deagreez – stock.adobe.com

“Whether you work from home full-time or commute daily to a building site, our research will reveal how your job may affect the way you age,” they write.

To gauge whether one’s vocation is accelerating the work of father time, participants have to answer a series of questions ranging from how much time they sit down to their stress levels and whether they work around “harsh chemicals.”

Based on their responses, the calculator will generate a score out of 100.


  “Whether you work from home full-time or commute daily to a building site, our research will reveal how your job may affect the way you age,” Harley Street Skin writes. Harley Street Skin “Whether you work from home full-time or commute daily to a building site, our research will reveal how your job may affect the way you age,” Harley Street Skin writes. Harley Street Skin

Scores below 40 denote “minor ageing,” meaning the person is at low risk of work-induced “ugliness” and may only display minor signs like wrinkles around the eyes.

Scores between 40 and 60 indicate a risk of “moderate aging” denoted by poor posture and lines around the eyes — redefining “lines” of work.

The highest level, per the calculator, was 80-100 or extreme aging, in which the sufferer has thinning gray hair, frown lines due to stress and concentration, poor posture, sun spots, saggy skin, jowls and undereye bags and dark circles.


  Long hours and odd shifts can also contribute to premature aging. Getty Images/iStockphoto Long hours and odd shifts can also contribute to premature aging. Getty Images/iStockphoto

According to the calculator, being hunched over at the computer for hours at a time can lead to poor posture and other maladies.

Overwork is not just mentally taxing, meanwhile. The calculator cautions that working an excessive number of hours per week can result in burnout, poor sleep, decreased productivity and an increased risk of type 2 diabetes, heart disease and other health problems, the Daily Mail reported.

Having a vocation where you spend time outside sounds ideal. However, the calculator warns that this prolonged sun exposure can lead to sun spots on the face and other symptoms associated with “severe” and “extreme aging.”

Other risk factors for this level of aging include exposure to harsh chemicals such as cooking smoke or car exhaust and night shifts that disrupt sleep, leading to defined wrinkles, decreased skin elasticity and sagging around the jawline, cheeks and neck.

In summation, workers can mitigate this aesthetic occupational hazard by employing consistent work patterns, a proper sleep schedule, frequent screen breaks and a low-stress gig. In others words, they may want to avoid healthcare, education and other burnout-causing careers.

And these aren’t the only ways to help stave off job-induced aging.

The clinic also advised eating plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables, drinking lots of water, and wearing sunscreen while working outside to curb skin damage.

A stressful gig can manifest itself physically in more ways than the above, too.

A 2019 study out of South Korea found that working longer hours can double men’s chances of going bald.

Scientists chalked up this accelerated alopecia trend to increased stress levels caused by too much work and not enough time off.

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