Work is necessary because it gives us an income, but it can come at the expense of our health. According to health group MBF, research shows that Aussies work longer hours than almost every other developed country in the world.

'Every job has its own health issues,' says Dr David Harris from workplace health and productivity program AlphaOne.

'For example, long-haul truck drivers and on-call doctors are among the most sleep deprived, sheep shearing is one of the most physically demanding jobs and publicans have the highest death rate from cirrhosis of the liver.'

'And let's not forget motherhood,' Dr Harris says. 'A mother's day never finishes - while kids are sleeping or at school they tend to do other duties such as cleaning, shopping and housework.'

I think it's equally interesting what happens when we change jobs. My best mate retired from being a professional golfer to become a statistician. He's maintained the same eating habits and is possibly doing a little more exercise outside work hours but he's put on 8kg simply because he's pushing a pen each day rather than walking around a golf course.

Desk-bound jobs carry their own stresses, particularly because the job is never done. There's a constant stream of emails and phone calls keeping you tied to the one position.

A great way to overcome this is to use your pop-up timer on the computer screen to remind you to get up and have a stretch and walk around.

Studies show that working mums are more stressed than almost any other group, with many clocking up 72-hour working weeks. Unfortunately, there are no quick-fixes here.

Sometimes a walk into a room full of mirrors is what's needed. Is this sort of workload sustainable, year-in, year-out and at what expense? Most of us enjoy working hard, but we need to consider our health and happiness a lot more in the calculation. Being conscious of the trappings of your job is the first step towards making sure you don't fall victim to it.

But it's not all doom and gloom. Dr Harris makes these suggestions to get healthy.

1. Sleep your way to happiness. The experts recommend seven to eight hours a day.

2. Play. Physical activity is an opportunity, not
an inconvenience. It releases the feelgood hormones that help manage stress.

3. Schedule 15 minutes of relaxation time in your diary, like you'd schedule an appointment.

4. Lose yourself in a good book, but don't feel you have to do it only after everything else is done, because that moment never arrives.

5. Don't drink more than three glasses of alcohol a day. There are strong links between too much alcohol and stress and depression.

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