Published In

Journal of Occupational Health Psychology

Document Type

Post-Print

Publication Date

8-2019

Subjects

Sleep deprivation -- Physiological aspects, Sleep deprivation -- Research, Sleep -- Physiological aspects, Industrial safety -- Effect of sleep deprivation on, Insomnia

Abstract

Healthy employee sleep is important for occupational safety, but the mechanisms that explain the relationships among sleep and safety-related behaviors remain unknown. We draw from Crain, Brossoit, and Fisher's (in press) work, nonwork, and sleep (WNS) framework and Barnes' (2012) model of sleep and self-regulation in organizations to investigate the influence of construction workers' self-reported sleep quantity (i.e., duration) and quality (i.e., feeling well-rest upon awakening, ability to fall asleep and remain asleep) on workplace cognitive failures (i.e., lapses in attention, memory, and action at work) and subsequent workplace safety behaviors (i.e., safety compliance and safety participation) and reports of minor injuries. Construction workers from two public works agencies completed surveys at baseline, 6 months, and 12 months. Our results suggest that workers with more insomnia symptoms on average reported engaging in fewer required and voluntary safety behaviors and were at a greater risk for workplace injuries. These effects were mediated by workplace cognitive failures. In addition, workers with greater sleep insufficiency on average reported lower safety compliance, but this effect was not mediated by workplace cognitive failures. These results have implications for future workplace interventions, suggesting that organizations striving to improve safety should prioritize interventions that will reduce workers' insomnia symptoms and improve their ability to quickly fall asleep and stay asleep throughout the night.

Description

This is the author’s version of a work that was accepted for publication in Journal of Occupational Health Psychology. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. A definitive version was subsequently published in Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 24(4), 411-422.

© 2019 American Psychological Association, all rights reserved

Locate the Document

http://doi.org/10.1037/ocp0000139

DOI

10.1037/ocp0000139

Persistent Identifier

https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/29546

Included in

Psychology Commons

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