Sleep quality and its predictors among waiters in upscale restaurants: A descriptive study in the Accra Metropolis

Poor mental and sleep health negatively affects work performance, turnover intention, and information retention. We examined the impact of waiting job in upscale restaurants on the sleep health of waiters.

This was a descriptive study which collected cross-sectional data from waiters of upscale restaurants, using PSQI and DASS-21 questionnaires. Descriptive and inferential statistics comprising mean, frequency, percentage, chi-square, and logistic regression were adopted in presenting the results.

Sleep quality was poor among 74% of the waiters. The predictors of sleep quality were sex (p = 0.002), role at restaurant (p = 0.004), non-prescription drug use (p<0.001), depression (p<0.001), anxiety (p<0.001), and stress (p<0.001). The prevalence of anxiety, depression, and stress among the waiters was 52.3%, 38.3%, and 34.4% respectively. Stationed (AOR = 4.72, 95%CI = 1.7-812.53, p = 0.002) and supervising (AOR = 3.08, 95%CI = 1.25-7.57, p = 0.014) waiters were more likely to have good sleep quality than headwaiters. Waiters who had depression, anxiety, and stress were, however, 8% (AOR = 0.92, 95%CI = 0.46-1.85, p = 0.819), 28% (AOR = 0.72, 95%CI = 0.38-1.36, p = 0.315), and 49% (AOR = 0.51, 95%CI = 0.24-1.07, p = 0.073) less likely to have a good sleep quality than those who respectively did not have depression, anxiety, and stress.

Sleep quality was poor among most of the waiters. If this persists, Ghana may not be able to meet the Sustainable Development Goal 3.4 target of promoting mental health and wellbeing. To improve sleep quality and accelerate progress towards achievement of the SDG target, there should be increased collaboration among stakeholders in the health and hospitality industries to develop innovative interventions to reduce poor sleep quality among workers.