Job Characteristics and Troubled Sleep Among U.S. Workers

Sarah A. Burgard, University of Michigan
Jennifer A Ailshire, University of Michigan

Poor sleep quality is a common problem – estimates of prevalence range from 10-40% of the working population – and is costly for workers and others. Negative conditions at work have been cited in a small number of studies as a predictor of troubled sleep. A more complete understanding of the consequences of a range of negative working conditions for worker sleep quality and quantity in the United States is needed to inform policy and intervention. Troubled sleep may also help to explain the link between low socioeconomic status (and low quality jobs) and health. We compare two prospective, nationally-representative samples of U.S. workers and consider a variety of psychosocial stressors at work. Longitudinal data allows us to examine chronicity and change in exposure over different lag periods, and to examine the potential for reverse causation; these represent substantial improvements over the evidence available to date.