Change in organizational justice as a predictor of insomnia symptoms: longitudinal study analysing observational data as a non-randomized pseudo-trial.

Tea Lallukka,Marianna Virtanen,Paula Salo,Jussi Vahtera,Sari Stenholm,Jaana I Halonen,Mika Kivimäki,Tuula Oksanen,Jaana Pentti,Marko Elovainio,Børge Sivertsen

doi:10.1093/ije/dyw293

Abstract

BackgroundDespite injustice at the workplace being a potential source of sleep problems, longitudinal evidence remains scarce. We examined whether changes in perceived organizational justice predicted changes in insomnia symptoms.MethodsData on 24 287 Finnish public sector employees (82% women), from three consecutive survey waves between 2000 and 2012, were treated as ‘pseudo-trials’. Thus, the analysis of unfavourable changes in organizational justice included participants without insomnia symptoms in Waves 1 and 2, with high organizational justice in Wave 1 and high or low justice in Wave 2 (N = 6307). In the analyses of favourable changes in justice, participants had insomnia symptoms in Waves 1 and 2, low justice in Wave 1 and high or low justice in Wave 2 (N = 2903). In both analyses, the outcome was insomnia symptoms in Wave 3. We used generalized estimating equation models to analyse the data.ResultsAfter adjusting for social and health-related covariates in Wave 1, unfavourable changes in relational organizational justice (i.e. fairness of managerial behaviours) were associated with increased odds of developing insomnia symptoms [odds ratio = 1.15; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.02-1.30]. A favourable change in relational organizational justice was associated with lower odds of persistent insomnia symptoms (odds ratio = 0.83; 95% CI 0.71-0.96). Changes in procedural justice (i.e. the fairness of decision-making procedures) were not associated with insomnia symptoms.ConclusionsThese data suggest that changes in perceived relational justice may affect employees’ sleep quality. Decreases in the fairness of managerial behaviours were linked to increases in insomnia symptoms, whereas rises in fairness were associated with reduced insomnia symptoms.

Highlights

Insomnia symptoms are common in working populations, and the evidence of an association with the increased risk of work disability emphasizes the need for identifying new targets for insomnia prevention.[1,2,3] An adverse psychosocial environment at work, consisting of factors such as high perceived demands, low job control, and effortreward imbalance, are linked to an increased riskof insomnia.[4,5] low organizational justice has recently been found to be associated with insomnia and disturbed sleep,[6,7,8,9] this is not a universal observation.[10]
An unfavourable change occurred among 17.1% and a favourable change among 40.7% of the participants included in the trials
Among participants without insomnia symptoms, an unfavourable change in relational justice was associated with the onset of insomnia symptoms both in the crude analysis, and after full adjustments

Summary

Introduction

Insomnia symptoms are common in working populations, and the evidence of an association with the increased risk of work disability emphasizes the need for identifying new targets for insomnia prevention.[1,2,3] An adverse psychosocial environment at work, consisting of factors such as high perceived demands, low job control, and effortreward imbalance, are linked to an increased riskof insomnia.[4,5] low organizational justice has recently been found to be associated with insomnia and disturbed sleep,[6,7,8,9] this is not a universal observation.[10]. Observational data with repeated measurements of organizational justice and insomnia symptoms would allow the opportunity to mimic a trial.[14] Analysing repeat data as pseudo-trials by using the clearly defined inclusion and exclusion criteria of the participants could address questions such as whether a decline in organizational justice is associated with increased odds of initially non-symptomatic employees with high organizational justice developing insomnia symptoms, and whether a favourable change in organizational justice is associated with lower odds of persistent insomnia symptoms among employees with initially low organizational justice and insomnia symptoms. In the analyses of favourable changes in justice, participants had insomnia symptoms in Waves 1 and 2, low justice in Wave 1 and high or low justice in Wave 2 (N 1⁄4 2903). Results: After adjusting for social and health-related covariates in Wave 1, unfavourable changes in relational organizational justice (i.e. fairness of managerial behaviours) were associated with increased odds of developing insomnia symptoms [odds ratio 1⁄4 1.15; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.02-1.30]. A favourable change in relational organizational justice was associated with lower odds of persistent insomnia symptoms

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Results

Discussion

Conclusion