Employees — and their spouse — can have trouble falling asleep
Workplace incivility can affect employees’ sleep patterns — and also potentially disrupt their partner’s sleep, according to a new study.
Researchers who surveyed more than 300 dual-earner couples found when one spouse experiences workplace incivility, that person tends to complain about work more at home and report insomnia symptoms — whether it’s trouble falling asleep or waking up in the middle of the night.
In addition to altering workers’ sleep quality, being disrespected at work can also affect how well the employee’s spouse sleeps — but only if the couple works in the same company or occupation, according to researchers.
Sleep may also become a problem for spouses in the same organization or occupation, researchers theorized, because they understand and relate to the context of the workplace incivility and may be pulled into the venting or problem-solving process more than a partner who works in another company or field.
For more on researchers’ findings about conflict affecting workers’ sleep, view this information from Portland State University, which conducted the research with the University of Illinois, or the published article in the Occupational Health Science journal.