Background: There are individual differences in shift work tolerance; however, we lack knowledge about how this is experienced across different occupations, sex and shift types.
Aims: The aim was to describe and investigate shift work tolerance, and individual differences in shift work tolerance, in two occupations, between men and women and between day/evening workers and rotating shift workers.
Methods: Cross-sectional questionnaire study. The sample was comprised of 315 retail workers and 410 police employees.
Results Shift work tolerance was higher among police employees compared to retail workers, among men compared to women, and among day workers compared to evening/rotating shift workers. The difference was larger between occupations than between sex and shift type. Evening workers had more symptoms of shift work intolerance than rotating shift workers. Neuroticism and autonomy were related to all symptoms of shift work tolerance among retail workers, but not police employees.
Conclusions: It is important to consider the type of occupation and the work context when tailoring work arrangements to the
individual.
Beer, Leon de; Christensen, Marit, Sørengaard, Torhild Anita, Innstrand, Siw Tone & Schaufeli, Wilmar B. (2023)
The psychometric properties of the Burnout Assessment Tool in Norway: A thorough investigation into construct-relevant multidimensionality
Objective: The World Health Organization recognizes burnout as an occupational issue. Nevertheless, accurately identifying employee burnout remains a challenging task. To complicate matters, current measures of burnout have demonstrated limitations, prompting the development of the Burnout Assessment Tool (BAT). Given these circumstances, conducting an in-depth examination of the BAT's construct-relevant multidimensionality is crucial. Method: This study focuses on both the original 23-item BAT and the short 12-item version, using modern factor analytic methods to investigate reliability, validity, and measurement invariance in a representative sample from Norway (n = 493; 49.54% women). Results: Our findings revealed that the bifactor exploratory structural equation modeling solution (burnout global factor and four specific burnout component factors) best explained the data for both BAT versions. All factors demonstrated adequate omega coefficients, with the global factor showing exceptional strength. Both BAT versions correlated highly with each other and with another burnout measure, suggesting convergent validity. Furthermore, both BAT versions achieved full (strict) measurement invariance based on gender. Finally, our results showed that burnout acts as a mediator in our proposed job demands–resources model as preliminary evidence of predictive validity. Conclusions: The study validates the Burnout Assessment Tool in the Norwegian context. The study supports the reliability, validity, and unbiased nature of the tool across genders. The findings also reinforce the importance of job demands and resources, along with burnout as a key mediator, in understanding workplace dynamics in accordance with job demands–resources theory.
Sørengaard, Torhild Anita; Langvik, Eva , Olsen, Alexander & Saksvik-Lehouillier, Ingvild (2022)
Predictors of insomnia symptoms in police employees: a longitudinal investigation and comparison of personality and psychosocial work factors
Insomnia is a growing public health concern and a risk factor for reduced health, safety, and performance among workers. This study investigated and compared the predictive value of personality traits and psychosocial factors associated with symptoms of insomnia. The study followed a longitudinal design and included 206 Norwegian police employees (52% men). The predictors of insomnia symptoms were divided into the following groups in the multiple regression analyses: 1) demands, control, and support at work, 2) stress and overcommitment, and 3) the personality traits of the five-factor model. A fourth final model included significant predictors from the initial analyses. The results showed high stability in insomnia symptoms at baseline and follow-up six months later. Neuroticism was the strongest and most stable predictor of insomnia, and associated with an increase in insomnia symptoms after six months. Overcommitment and stress had positive associations with insomnia symptoms but could not predict changes after six months. Social support had a negative association with insomnia, whereas job demands and control at work had no significant association with insomnia symptoms measured at follow-up six months later. The findings demonstrate that the personality trait neuroticism can play an important role in the development and maintenance of insomnia symptoms. Job demands and resources only explained a marginal proportion of variance in insomnia symptoms measured six months later in police employees, indicating that they may be less crucial in the development of insomnia. However, more research on the potential interaction effects between personality and organizational factors is needed. The study highlights the importance of taking personality characteristics into consideration when investigating predictors of insomnia.
Background The aim of this study was to investigate the relations between underlying dimensions of burnout (ie exhaustion, mental distance, cognitive impairment and emotional impairment) and sleep reactivity in occupations that maintain critical societal functions during the COVID-19 pandemic. Sleep reactivity refers to the vulnerability of experiencing sleep disturbances during stressful and challenging situations, and manifests as difficulties with falling and staying asleep. Previous research has highlighted the importance investigating psychological factors that may influence or trigger vulnerability to stress induced sleep problems, including factors at work. Methods Longitudinal self-report data was collected using an online survey administered to Norwegian workers employed in health care, education, social services, emergency services and other sectors with critical tasks during the COVID-19 pandemic at two different time points three months apart. The sample in the present study (N = 1331) consisted of 76% females and 24% males with a mean age of 44 years. Results The results showed that work-related exhaustion measured at baseline was the strongest symptom of burnout associated with higher sleep reactivity three months later, followed by emotional impairment. Mental distance and cognitive impairment at work were not associated with sleep reactivity, indicating that these burnout dimensions have less of an impact on sleep than exhaustion and emotional impairment. Conclusion Work-related exhaustion and emotional impairment can lower the individual's tolerance to perceiving events as stressful as well as reinforce the stress response, and contribute to difficulties with initiating and/or maintaining sleep. Workers employed in occupations with critical tasks during the pandemic may be more susceptible to exhaustion, emotional strain and poorer sleep due to increased and prolonged work pressure. Organizational and individual measures that can decrease stress and increase coping should be offered to employees working in high-stress conditions.
Sørengaard, Torhild Anita & Langvik, Eva (2022)
The Protective Effect of Fair and Supportive Leadership against Burnout in Police Employees
Background This study investigated the association between fair and supportive leadership and symptoms of burnout and insomnia in police employees. Burnout and insomnia can have negative consequences for health, performance, and safety among employees in the police profession, and risk and protective factors should be thoroughly investigated. Methods Data were collected in a police district in Norway through questionnaires administered in October 2018 and May 2019. The sample consisted of 206 police employees (52% males), with an average age of 42 years and 16 years of experience in the police occupation. Results The results showed that a high degree of fair and supportive leadership was associated with lower levels of burnout and insomnia six months later. Fair and supportive leadership explained a greater amount of variance in burnout compared to insomnia. This finding indicates that fair and supportive leadership is a more important buffer factor against burnout than it is against insomnia. Stress was positively associated with burnout and insomnia, whereas quantitative job demands had no significant association with the concepts. Conclusion Fair and supportive leadership can help protect employees from adverse consequences of stress and contribute to improved occupational health, whereas a low degree of support and fair treatment from leaders can both represent a stressor by itself and contribute to poorer coping of stressful events at work. The important role of leadership should be incorporated in measures aimed at preventing and reducing burnout and sleep problems.
Objective This study investigates insomnia among employees in occupations critical to the functioning of society (e.g health, education, welfare and emergency services) during the COVID-19 pandemic. Many of these workers experience higher job pressure and increased risk of infection due to their work. It is crucial to investigate which factors that can contribute to insomnia in these important sectors. Methods Data was collected using an online survey administered in June 2020. The questionnaire measured demographic variables, sleep, stress, psychosocial factors and health concerns (i.e worrying about health consequences related to the pandemic). The sample in the present study consisted of 1327 (76% females) employees in organizations with societal critical functions. Results The employees reported higher levels of insomnia symptoms compared to normative data collected before the pandemic. Health concerns specifically related to COVID-19 had the strongest association to insomnia, followed by work stress. Job demands (i.e workload, time pressure and overtime) had merely a weak association to insomnia. Conclusion Worrying about consequences the pandemic can have on your own health and the health of your family or colleagues have a stronger negative impact on sleep than work pressure during the COVID-19 pandemic. Impaired sleep can have detrimental effects on performance and health, and a stronger focus on preventing insomnia as a mean of sustaining critical societal functions both during and after the pandemic is warranted. Organizations should consider interventions aimed at reducing health concerns among their employees during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The aim was to investigate how neuroticism moderates the affective consequences of personalized mild-moderate partial sleep deprivation. A total of 52 healthy subjects aged 18–35 years completed the NEO PI-3 at baseline, before they completed an 11-day study protocol. After maintaining habitual sleep for seven days, the participants were asked to sleep 2 h less than their average sleep duration, the last three nights of the study protocol. Sleep patterns were observed using actigraphs and sleep diaries. The participants completed the PANAS questionnaire measuring positive and negative affect at 9 am (±90 min) at day 1, 4, 8 (habitual sleep), 9 and 11 (partial sleep deprived). We found that participants with higher scores on neuroticism experienced a decrease in negative affect following sleep deprivation. Participants with lower scores on neuroticism experienced an increase in negative affect after sleep deprivation. Positive affect was reduced following sleep deprivation, regardless of scores on neuroticism.
Police employees working from home during COVID-19 lockdown: Those with higher score on extraversion miss their colleagues more and are more likely to socialize with colleagues outside work
There is a general opinion that extraverted people suffer more than introverted people in home-office arrangement and the social distancing regulation imposed by the government during the Corona Virus Disease 2019 pandemic (COVID-19). However, scarce research exists concerning how extraversion is associated with satisfaction with home-office arrangement, to what extent individuals miss their colleagues, level of stress, and whether they meet colleagues outside work during lockdown.
Aim
We aimed to examine the cross-sectional and longitudinal associations between sleep and work-related impaired cognitive and emotional functioning in police employees.
Methods
This study included 410 participants (52% men) employed in a police district in Norway at baseline, of which 50% also participated in the study at 6 months later follow-up. The questionnaires included items measuring work schedule, sleep length, insomnia, as well as impaired cognitive and emotional functioning at work.
Results
The results showed that insomnia was related to impaired work-related emotional functioning measured at baseline, and to impaired cognitive functioning measured at both baseline and follow-up. Sleep length and rotating shift work were not associated with future decline in cognitive or emotional functioning.
Conclusion
Our study indicates that the relationship between insomnia and emotional functioning at work may be transient, whereas insomnia can be related to both immediate and future impaired cognitive functioning. Replication of the findings in larger samples is advised. The findings call for an emphasis on the prevention and treatment of sleep problems among police employees as a mean of maintaining and improving cognitive and emotional functioning at work, and thereby reducing the risk for impaired performance and negative health and safety outcomes.
The effects of mild–moderate partial sleep deprivation on affective and cognitive functioning were evaluated in a naturalistic home environment, mimicking short sleep typically caused by demands from work or society. A total of 52 healthy individuals aged 18–35 was included in an 11-day study protocol. Participants slept at home, and sleep patterns were observed using actigraphs and sleep diaries. After maintaining habitual sleep for 7 days, the participants were asked to sleep 2 hours less than their average sleep duration for the last three nights of the study protocol. A not-X continuous performance test was administered at 9 am (± 90 minutes) on days 1, 4, 8 (habitual sleep), 9 and 11 (sleep deprivation). Performance-based measures included response accuracy and speed. Participant-reported measures included how well the participants felt they performed and how exhausted they were from taking the test, as well as positive and negative affect. There was a significant change in reaction time, number of commission errors, subjective performance, subjective exertion, and positive affect across the visits. Specifically, there was a linear decrease in reaction time, performance, and positive affect throughout the study, and a significant quadratic trend for commissions and exertion (first decreasing, then increasing after sleep deprivation). The univariate tests for omissions and negative affect were not significant. We conclude that sleeping 1.5–2 hours less than usual leads to faster response speed, but more commission errors and decreased positive affect. This indicates that individuals become more impulsive and experience less positive affect after a period of short sleep.
Langvik, Eva ; Saksvik-Lehouillier, Ingvild, Kennair, Leif Edward Ottesen, Sørengaard, Torhild Anita & Bendixen, Mons (2019)
Gender differences in factors associated with symptoms of depression among high school students: an examination of the direct and indirect effects of insomnia symptoms and physical activity
Objective: Scant research exists on the gender-specific association between physical activity, insomnia symptoms and depressive symptoms among adolescents. The present study investigates the direct and indirect association of insomnia and physical activity with symptoms of depression. Design: In a community-based sample (N = 1485) we investigated factors associated with symptoms of depression focusing on insomnia. The study also included measures of physical activity and controlled for parental work- and sexual minority status. Body mass Index (BMI) was calculated for a sub-sample (n = 617) reporting weight and height. Results: The results showed that self-reported insomnia was highly prevalent, and the association between insomnia and depression was strong. The association between insomnia and depression was significantly stronger for girls than for boys. The effect of physical activity was substantially weaker compared to insomnia. Insomnia mediated the relationship between physical activity and depression for both boys and girls. Despite expectation based on the existing literature, BMI showed no association with symptoms of depression or physical activity. Conclusion: The results address the importance of a gender-specific approach when investigating mental health among adolescents. Given the high prevalence, interventions aimed at reducing insomnia is important in the prevention of mental illness, especially among girls.
Sørengaard, Torhild Anita; Saksvik-Lehouillier, Ingvild & Langvik, Eva (2019)
Longitudinal and cross-sectional examination of the relationship between personality and fatigue among shift workers
The present study examines the relationship between the personality traits of the five-factor model and fatigue among shift workers. The participants were recruited from shift workers employed in a municipality in Norway. Questionnaires were administered at two times, once in January 2013 (T1) and again in June 2013 (T2). The results showed that neuroticism had a positive association with both physical and mental fatigue at T1, and was the only trait that could predict physical fatigue at T2. The study demonstrates the importance of distinguishing between physical and mental fatigue given the distinctive influence of personality traits on the two concepts.
Background: This study investigates insomnia as a partial mediator in the relationship between personality and symptoms of anxiety and depression. Methods: The study is based on partly longitudinal data from the ongoing cohort study “Survey of Shift work, Sleep, and Health” (SUSSH) among Norwegian nurses, a survey examining the work situation and health status of Norwegian nurses measured with annual questionnaires. The present study uses data collected in 2012 (Wave 4), 2013 (Wave 5), and 2014 (Wave 6). The final sample at Wave 6 consisted of 2002 participants, of which 91% were females. The questionnaires included items measuring, among others, demographic variables, work time schedule, insomnia (Bergen Insomnia Scale), personality (Mini-IPIP) and anxiety and depression (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale). Results: Extraversion and conscientiousness had no significant direct or indirect association with insomnia, anxiety or depression. Neuroticism and insomnia had direct associations to future symptoms of anxiety and depression. Insomnia was also a significant partial mediator of the relationship between both neuroticism and anxiety, and neuroticism and depression, meaning that neuroticism had an indirect relation to symptoms of anxiety and depression through insomnia. When adjusting for previous symptoms of anxiety and depression at Wave 5, insomnia was no longer a significant mediator between neuroticism and anxiety, and only marginally mediated the relationship between neuroticism and depression. Conclusion: The results showed that insomnia may act as a mediator between neuroticism and symptoms of anxiety and depression, but the indirect relationship between neuroticism and anxiety and depression through insomnia is considerably weaker than the direct association. Hence, the mediating effect of insomnia should be interpreted with caution. The sample mainly consisted of female nurses, and the generalizability of the findings to male dominated occupations is limited. Findings from the present study highlight the importance of an integrated approach and strengthen the understanding of how personality and psychopathology are connected.
