Sleep disorders can arise from work. Employees who experience work overload are more likely to develop sleep problems. Poor sleep leads to decreased performance, sick leave, and accidents. Therefore, sleep disorders may be linked to workplace hazards as well as decreased occupational health, however, the relationship remains unknown.
This relationship was examined using secondary data analysis of aggregated survey data from 97 companies based in Germany between 2003 and 2020 as part of Workplace Health Management project. Two extreme groups with respect to sleep problems were analyzed (
In total, 49.7% of staff reported moderate difficulty falling and/or remaining asleep. These poor sleepers perceived all health potentials worse than good sleepers, especially on scales such as fair assessment, work climate, and learning at work. Furthermore, poor sleepers perceived health hazards (physical environmental stress, job insecurity, and time pressure) more whilst positive health indicators (joy of work and confidence) were perceived less.
Overall, the determination of sleep difficulties could be used as a substantial health indicator. Also, these sleep problems are reported more frequently in certain occupations compared to others, which could mean that the perception of sleep health varies between professions. Therefore, it is important to implement specific recommendations for each industry in order to improve working conditions for poor sleepers which in turn, improves their health.