The bidirectional relationships between effort-reward imbalance and sleep problems among older workers

Sleep problems are common among working individuals. A growing body of research has documented that effort-reward imbalance (ERI) predicts poor sleep outcomes.

Extending this literature, we investigated the bidirectional relationship between ERI and sleep problems; for each direction, we tested predictor's baseline level and its changes over time.

We drew a subsample of older workers aged 55 years and older from the Health and Retirement Study (N=860).

We examined whether baseline ERI and ERI changes predict sleep problems at follow-up. In parallel, we examined whether baseline sleep problems and sleep problem changes predict ERI at follow-up.

For the ERI-to-sleep-problems direction, baseline ERI predicted the experience of any sleep problems at follow-up. The odds of experiencing sleep problems at follow-up was higher among respondents who consistently perceived ERI over the 4-year compared with those who remain balanced. For the sleep-problems-to-ERI direction, baseline sleep problems predicted ERI at follow-up. Older workers who repeatedly reported sleep problems over the 4-year period had the greatest odds to perceive ERI at follow-up.

ERI and sleep problems are reciprocally related among older workers. Both ERI and sleep problems change over time, hence considering their dynamic nature may provide additional insights.