Effect of workplace psychosocial resources on employees’ sleep disturbances

Editor's Note

This study, led by Swedish, Danish, and Finnish researchers, examines the association of clustering and changes in workplace psychosocial resources (ie, leadership quality, procedural justice, culture of collaboration, and coworker social support) with sleep disturbances in workers.

Sleep is essential for physiological restitution and recovery, and impaired sleep can have far-reaching effects on the immune system and metabolism; therefore, investigating the preventive potential of a favorable psychosocial work environment on reducing sleep disturbances is essential, the researchers note.

A total of 114,971 participants with 219,982 participant-observations from data collected biennially in Swedish, Danish, and Finnish surveys were included in the analysis.

Among the findings:

• Clustering of favorable workplace psychosocial resources was linked to a statistically significant lower risk of sleep disturbances in workers.
• Improvements in leadership quality and procedural justice as well as in culture of collaboration and coworker social support were tied to a lower risk of persistent sleep disturbances in workers.

The findings suggest that multilevel workplace interventions are needed to promote sleep quality in workers, the researchers say.