I don’t think that disagrees too much with the hypothesis. There’s plenty of jobs with good pay but will double the rate of your aging — Amazon is one of them. If you’re someone who has the skills and can put up with the culture then collect that paycheck.
Right now today I could switch companies and make about 30% more if I was willing to take a corporate job. I don’t because I have a great work life balance and the money just isn’t worth it right now.
The life expectancy of people with similar living conditions to Amazon's high-paid employees is higher than average. The correct comparison is with people who have similar living conditions, except significantly lower stress levels, which is higher still.
Which is besides the point. Who works for Amazon for 30 years? Amazon hasn't been around for 30 years, and their turnover is high enough that I expect it'll be a while before they have any 30-year employees, excluding the owners. So Amazon workers probably wouldn't have a life expectancy as low as 50, regardless, even if working there did make your body degrade twice as fast.
I have no evidence that the hyperbolic figure of speech is literal truth, no. I do have evidence that people in high-stress environments have health complications.
My dad flew 30 some missions over Germany. The cohort he went over with had an 80% casualty rate. Some missons had a 10% death rate. He could do the math, and assumed he was going to die.
(Obviously, he did not die, since I exist, but he came literally within a couple inches.)
When he arrived back in the US, he was bemused by all the stuff back home people worried about. He thought "what the heck are you worried about, you're going to live another day!"
Stress is a physiological reaction to certain stimulus. You can stab people with blood monitors and conclude that yes, it is a high-stress environment.
Right now today I could switch companies and make about 30% more if I was willing to take a corporate job. I don’t because I have a great work life balance and the money just isn’t worth it right now.