Presenteeism and sleep duration on workdays and days off

Area of Science:

• Occupational Health
• Sleep Medicine
• Productivity Studies

Background:

• Presenteeism, defined as reduced productivity while at work due to health issues, is linked to sleep loss.
• Workers often exhibit longer sleep durations on rest days compared to workdays.
• Extended sleep on days off may potentially mitigate presenteeism.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the association between sleep duration on both workdays and days off and the occurrence of presenteeism.
• To quantify the impact of different sleep patterns on work performance.

Main Methods:

• A study involving 1967 workers with a 5-day work and 2-day rest schedule.
• Sleep duration categorized as short (<6 hours), medium (6-8 hours), or long (≥9 hours) for workdays and days off.
• Presenteeism assessed using the World Health Organization Health and Work Performance Questionnaire.

Main Results:

• Short sleep duration on both workdays and days off was significantly associated with increased odds of presenteeism compared to medium sleep duration.
• Specific short sleep patterns (e.g., short workdays/short days off, short workdays/medium days off) showed significantly elevated odds ratios for presenteeism.
• A medium sleep duration on workdays combined with short sleep on days off (M-S) demonstrated a substantially higher odds ratio for presenteeism (OR 6.82).

Conclusions:

• Sleep debt incurred on workdays cannot be effectively offset by increased sleep on days off.
• Maintaining adequate sleep duration consistently on both workdays and days off is essential for reducing presenteeism.
• This highlights the importance of consistent sleep hygiene for sustained workplace productivity.