Better previous night sleep is associated with less next day work-to-family conflict mediated by higher work performance among female nursing home workers

Abstract

Objectives: Cross-sectional research has found that shorter and poorer sleep are associated with lower work performance and greater work-to-family conflict (WTFC). However, we know little about daily mechanisms linking sleep, work performance, and WTFC. This study tested whether previous nights' sleep was linked to next day WTFC, mediated by work performance.

Design: Daily interview methodology.

Setting: US extended-care workplaces.

Participants: One hundred seventy-one female employees with children aged 9 to 17 years.

Measurements: In telephone interviews on 8 consecutive evenings, participants reported their daily work performance (work productivity, work quality), WTFC (e.g., "how much did things you wanted to do at home not get done because of the demands your job put on you?"), and previous nights' sleep duration (in hours) and sleep quality (1 = very badly, 4 = very well).

Results: Multilevel models revealed a significant association between previous night's sleep with next-day work performance. More specifically, on days following better sleep quality than usual, participants reported better work productivity than usual. Moreover, higher work productivity was associated with less WTFC on that day. A mediation test revealed that poorer previous night's sleep quality predicted less work productivity the next day, which, in turn, predicted more WTFC on the same day.

Conclusion: Results provide evidence for the downward spiral of resource losses starting from poor sleep. Better quality sleep, as a replenished resource, may promote next-day productivity at work, which may bring less interference from work to the home.

Keywords: Daily telephone interview; Female employees; Sleep duration; Sleep quality; Work performance; Work-to-family conflict.