Work-Family Conflict, Psychological Distress, and Sleep Deficiency among Patient Care Workers

Abstract

Objectives-There is a well-established link between psychological distress, work-related stress and sleep. The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that work-family conflict was associated with sleep deficiency both cross-sectionally and longitudinally while controlling for potential covariates.Methods-In this two-phase study, a workplace health survey was collected from a cohort of patient care workers (n=1,572) at two large hospitals. Follow-up was collected nearly two years later in a subsample (n=102). Self-reported measures included work-family conflict, sociodemographics, workplace factors, psychological distress, and outcomes of sleep duration, sleep insufficiency, and sleep maintenance. Bivariate associations (P<0.2) from the baseline sample were used to build multivariable logistic regression models. Author Manuscript Author ManuscriptAuthor Manuscript Author ManuscriptResults-The participants were 90 % women with a mean age of 41 (±11.7) years. At baseline, after adjusting for covariates, higher levels of work-family conflict were significantly associated with sleep deficiency, short sleep duration and perceived sleep insufficiency, but not with sleep maintenance problems. Higher levels of work-family conflict also predicted sleep insufficiency at follow-up nearly two years later. None of the other variables were associated with sleep outcomes longitudinally.Conclusion-This is the first study to determine the predictive and cross-sectional associations of work-family conflict on sleep deficiency, also controlling for other measures of job stress and psychological distress. The results indicate that future interventions on sleep deficiency in patient care workers should include a specific focus on work-family conflict.

A workplace intervention improves sleep: results from the randomized controlled Work, Family, and Health Study

“…39 CDC analyses of 2010 National Health Interview Survey data revealed that 30.0% of employed US civilian adults report short sleep duration (≤6 hours/day), with significant variation by sector. 73 Healthy People 2020 articulates a federal goal of increasing the proportion of Americans receiving adequate sleep by 1%, 11 an uphill battle in the face of increasing short sleep among employed US adults. 74 The full mediation of the intervention effect on sleep sufficiency via reductions in control over work hours and work-family conflict suggests that we should also expect other generalized benefits of reduced work stress for employees and employers, such as improved health and reduced absenteeism/turnover.…”

Recent Updates in the Social and Environmental Determinants of Sleep Health

“…Conflict between work and family is associated with lower quality [37–39] and quantity [38] of sleep. These effects are largest when work and family demands are highest [40] and tend to persist: high work-family conflict is associated with higher frequency of insufficient sleep 2 years later [39].…”

“…These effects are largest when work and family demands are highest [40] and tend to persist: high work-family conflict is associated with higher frequency of insufficient sleep 2 years later [39]. There is compelling evidence that this relationship may be causal; a randomized-controlled workplace intervention to reduce work-family conflict increased actigraphy-assessed sleep duration and reduces self-reported sleep insufficiency 1 year later as compared to a control group [41].…”

Do sleep disturbances mediate the association between work‐family conflict and depressive symptoms among nurses? A cross‐sectional study

“…In addition to the sleep problems that impact most shift workers, nurses often have family responsibilities such as child and/or elder care that interfere with daytime sleep. Sleep disturbances have been reported as a possible consequence of work‐family conflict in patient care workers (Jacobsen et al., ) and other occupational groups (Aazami, Mozafari, Shamsuddin, & Akmal, ; Lallukka et al., ).…”