Helping employees sleep well: Effects of cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia on work outcomes

J Appl Psychol. 2017 Jan;102(1):104-113. doi: 10.1037/apl0000154. Epub 2016 Oct 3.

Abstract

Drawing from recent research advances indicating the harmful effects of insomnia on negative affect, job satisfaction, self-control, organizational citizenship behavior, and interpersonal deviance, we hypothesized that treating insomnia with Internet based cognitive behavior therapy for insomnia would lead to improvements in these outcomes. In a field experiment with a randomized wait-list control group, we found that treatment had a beneficial direct effect on negative affect, job satisfaction, and self-control. Moreover, the effect of treatment on job satisfaction was mediated by negative affect. We were not able to detect a direct effect of treatment on organizational citizenship behavior or interpersonal deviance. However, treatment had a beneficial indirect effect on organizational citizenship behavior through the mediators of negative affect and job satisfaction, and a beneficial indirect effect on interpersonal deviance through the mediator of self-control. These results move the applied psychology literature on insomnia beyond simply pointing out problematic effects of employee insomnia to providing evidence of a partial solution to such effects. (PsycINFO Database Record

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Affect*
  • Cognitive Behavioral Therapy / methods*
  • Employment / psychology*
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Job Satisfaction*
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Self-Control*
  • Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders / therapy*