Conflict at Work Impairs Physiological Recovery during Sleep: A Daily Diary Study

Katja Kerman (), Roman Prem, Bettina Kubicek, Edo Meyer, Sara Tement and Christian Korunka
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Katja Kerman: Department of Psychology, Faculty of Arts, University of Maribor, 2000 Maribor, Slovenia
Roman Prem: Institute of Psychology, University of Graz, 8010 Graz, Austria
Bettina Kubicek: Institute of Psychology, University of Graz, 8010 Graz, Austria
Edo Meyer: Department of Applied Psychology: Work, Education and Economy, Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna, 1010 Wien, Austria
Sara Tement: Department of Psychology, Faculty of Arts, University of Maribor, 2000 Maribor, Slovenia
Christian Korunka: Department of Applied Psychology: Work, Education and Economy, Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna, 1010 Wien, Austria

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 18, 1-9

Abstract: Sleep plays an essential role in maintaining employees’ health and well-being. However, stressors, such as conflict at work, may interfere with employees’ sleep. Drawing on previous literature on the relationship between conflict at work and sleep outcomes, we proposed a negative relationship between daily conflict at work and physiological changes during early sleep, particularly nocturnal heart rate variability (HRV). Furthermore, building on the perseverative cognition hypothesis, we proposed that daily work-related rumination mediates the relationship between conflict at work and nocturnal HRV. Ninety-three healthcare employees participated in a daily diary study for five workdays, resulting in 419 observations. Multilevel analysis revealed a significant relationship between daily conflict at work and nocturnal HRV, specifically high-frequency (HF) power. Daily conflict at work was found to predict rumination; however, rumination did not significantly predict nocturnal HRV. Our results suggest that daily conflict at work increases rumination during the off-job time and may directly alter nocturnal HRV, specifically parasympathetic function in early sleep.

Keywords: work stress; sleep; heart rate variability; RMSSD; HF; perseverative cognition (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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