The relationship between insomnia symptoms and work productivity among blue-collar and white-collar Japanese workers engaged in construction/civil engineering work: a cross-sectional study

Momoko Kayaba,Yoshikazu Takaesu,Taeko Sasai-Sakuma,Yuichi Inoue

doi:10.1186/s12889-021-11273-y

Abstract

BackgroundThe situation of work productivity loss due to sleep disorders/problems among workers in industrialized societies remains unclear. The purpose of this study was to clarify the prevalence of insomnia symptoms and actual situation of work productivity by job type (white-collars/blue-collars) among construction/civil engineering workers in Japan and evaluate the association between insomnia symptoms and work productivity adjusting for sleep duration and sociodemographic, work-related, and health-related variables.MethodsThis cross-sectional study included 17,828 construction/civil engineering workers (15,837 males and 1991 females) aged 40 to 74 years in Japan. The questionnaire consisted of socio-demographic characteristics, information on work productivity (work performance and absence), respective insomnia symptoms (difficulty initiating sleep; DIS, difficulty maintaining sleep; DMS, and early morning awakening; EMA), bedtime schedule, work-related factors (job type, working hours), and perceived health condition. To identify the associated factors of work productivity, the logistic regression analyses were conducted.ResultsThe percentages of workers who reported to be experiencing DIS, DMS, and EMA were 7.9, 16.3, and 13.1%, respectively. Poor work performance was associated with every insomnia symptom in both the blue-collar and white-collar workers. Meanwhile, absence was associated with DIS in blue-collar workers and both DIS and DMS in white-collar workers; however, not with EMA in both the groups. In blue-collar workers, engagement in shift work was associated with poor work performance.ConclusionsThe present study revealed the association between insomnia symptoms and work productivity, suggesting the necessity of early prevention of insomnia among both blue-collar and white-collar workers.

Highlights

The situation of work productivity loss due to sleep disorders/problems among workers in industrialized societies remains unclear
About half of the workers were categorized as blue collar (40.9%), and 4.7% of the workers were engaged in shift work
Early morning awakening (EMA) was not associated with absence in either blue- or white-collar workers. This is the first study to investigate the difference in the association of insomnia symptoms and work productivity between the blue-collar and white-collar workers engaged in construction/civil engineering work

Summary

Introduction

The situation of work productivity loss due to sleep disorders/problems among workers in industrialized societies remains unclear. Espie et al reported that weekly frequency of symptom occurrence, morbidity duration, symptom constituents including difficulty falling asleep, and early morning awakening were significantly associated with presenteeism among workers of a global manufacturing company [4]. They showed that the levels of presenteeism varied depending on job type (office workers < retail; service workers < plant workers) and gender (male and female). A nationwide study confirmed the association between insomnia and both presenteeism and absenteeism after adjusting for sociodemographic characteristics and health status [6]. Another US nationwide study reported association of insomnia with presenteeism; not with absenteeism after other comorbid conditions were controlled [7]

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