Understanding Work and Sleep Through A Machine Learning Approach

The present study will utilize machine learning methods to find the individual factors (e.g, demographic, lifestyle, contextual, work-related) best predict sleep. I will examine (1) whether machine learning techniques better predict sleep over linear prediction methods and (2) what factors are most important when predicting sleep. Using government-funded data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), a variety of prediction methods will be utilized to evaluate and compare predictive performance across 2018, 2019, and 2020. Results found will have a variety of theoretical and practical implications for scientists and practitioners

Is It My Job? Leaders\u27 Family-Supportive Role Perceptions

Purpose Despite a burgeoning literature on family-supportive supervisor behaviors (FSSB), it is unclear whether supervisors view these behaviors as in-role or discretionary. We proposed a new cognitive motivational construct, FSSB role perceptions (FSSB-RP; that is the extent to which supervisors perceive FSSB as an expected part of their job) and evaluated it as a mediator of the relationship between supervisors\u27 own work–family experiences and FSSB. Design/methodology/approach We used an online survey of 245 US based supervisors. Findings We find that FSSB role perceptions is a unique but related construct to FSSB, and that approximately half of our sample of 245 supervisors either do not believe that FSSB is a part of their job or are unsure as to whether it is. Path analyses revealed that supervisors\u27 own experiences of work–family conflict and enrichment are related to engaging in FSSB through role perceptions, especially when a reward system is in place that values FSSB. Practical implications These results may influence the design, implementation and dissemination of leader family-supportive training programs. Originality/value The factors that drive supervisors to engage in FSSB are relatively unknown, yet this study suggests the novel construct of FSSB role perceptions and supervisors\u27 own work–family experiences are important factors

Testing Bidirectional Within-Person Associations Between Mindful Attention and Sleep in Adolescence

Developments during adolescence increase risk for sleep problems. Research in adults suggests mindfulness and sleep are associated, with two different theoretical explanations for direction of effects. Our goal was to directly test these competing theoretical models at the daily level in adolescents using objective and self-reported measurements of sleep. Adolescents (N = 138; 14–21 yrs) reported mindful attention and sleep for a week, while wearing an actigraph. Results indicated that, within-person, poor sleep at night predicted less mindful attention the next day; however, mindful attention during the day did not predict sleep that night. These findings provide support for the developmental model of sleep and regulation and suggest poor sleep may impair regulatory abilities the following day

Daily Work, Nonwork, and Stress Experiences of Students

A substantial body of literature exists that examines work, nonwork, and stress in employed adults. Less is known about experiences of stress in adolescents and emerging adults. The goal of the present study is to examine the association between daily activities and next day stress within a sample of students. We propose that students use their personal resources to meet school demands, and then need to replenish those resources, or stress may ensure. One aim of this study is to examine the relationship of hours of exercise and sleep with students’ reports of stress the next day. Additionally, many students maintain employment. This study will also address the association of employment with the relationships between sleep, exercise, and stress in students. We hypothesize that 1) on days when participants exercise, stress will be decreased the next day, 2) on days when participants sleep more, stress will be decreased the next day, and 3) these relationships will be weakened a) when students are employed and b) on days following a workday. Participants were undergraduate students and adolescents, aged 14 to 21. Over seven days, participants reported stress and the time spent daily on exercise, sleep, and work. Multilevel regression analyses will be conducted to examine the within-person effects of exercise and sleep on stress, in addition to whether the between-person variable of employment and the within-person variable of workday moderates these associations. Results from this study will inform future stress interventions at both the school and organizational level

The Effects of Sleep on Workplace Cognitive Failure and Safety

Healthy employee sleep is important for occupational safety, but the mechanisms that explain the relationships among sleep and safety-related behaviors remain unknown. We draw from Crain, Brossoit, and Fisher\u27s (in press) work, nonwork, and sleep (WNS) framework and Barnes\u27 (2012) model of sleep and self-regulation in organizations to investigate the influence of construction workers\u27 self-reported sleep quantity (i.e., duration) and quality (i.e., feeling well-rest upon awakening, ability to fall asleep and remain asleep) on workplace cognitive failures (i.e., lapses in attention, memory, and action at work) and subsequent workplace safety behaviors (i.e., safety compliance and safety participation) and reports of minor injuries. Construction workers from two public works agencies completed surveys at baseline, 6 months, and 12 months. Our results suggest that workers with more insomnia symptoms on average reported engaging in fewer required and voluntary safety behaviors and were at a greater risk for workplace injuries. These effects were mediated by workplace cognitive failures. In addition, workers with greater sleep insufficiency on average reported lower safety compliance, but this effect was not mediated by workplace cognitive failures. These results have implications for future workplace interventions, suggesting that organizations striving to improve safety should prioritize interventions that will reduce workers\u27 insomnia symptoms and improve their ability to quickly fall asleep and stay asleep throughout the night

The Influence of Family-Supportive Supervisor Training on Employee Job Performance and Attitudes: An Organizational Work-Family Intervention

Training supervisors to increase their family-supportive supervisor behaviors (FSSB) has demonstrated significant benefits for employee physical health, job satisfaction, and turnover intentions among employees with high levels of family-to-work conflict in prior research in a grocery store context. We replicate and extend these results in a health care setting with additional important employee outcomes (i.e., employee engagement, organizational commitment, and supervisor ratings of job performance), and consider the role of the 4 dimensions underlying the FSSB. Using a quasi-experimental, pretest–posttest design, 143 health care employees completed surveys at 2 time periods approximately 10 months apart, along with their supervisors who provided ratings of employees’ job performance. Between these surveys, we offered their supervisors FSSB training; 86 (71%) of these supervisors participated. Results demonstrated significant and beneficial indirect effects of FSSB training on changes in employee job performance, organizational commitment, engagement, job satisfaction, and turnover intentions through changes in employee perceptions of their supervisor’s overall FSSBs. Further analyses suggest that these indirect effects are due primarily to changes in the creative work–family management dimension of FSSB

Alert at Work? Perceptions of Alertness Testing and Recommendations for Practitioners

Around-the-clock, 24/7 operations are common in many industries, yet contribute to employee fatigue, which can have grave consequences for worker safety, public health, and the environment. Alertness testing is one option for identifying and mitigating issues related to fatigue at work. We review alertness testing options, including fatigue risk management systems and app-based tools, and share results from a study evaluating employee and manager perceptions of alertness testing. Despite a growing body of research on the validity of app-based alertness tests, it is also critical to understand how these tools are perceived by workers and management. To investigate perceptions of alertness testing, mixed-method data were collected from organizations across four safety-sensitive industries (i.e., a mining company, fire department, and two construction companies) that were in the process of implementing an alertness testing platform. Results suggest that employees and managers are open to and optimistic about implementing new alertness testing safety tools. Employees in work environments with strong managerial support for safety were particularly open-minded to alertness testing at work. However, some employees and managers expressed reluctance towards alertness tests. We provide recommendations for how occupational health and safety professionals can effectively select alertness tests and implement alertness testing. Ethical considerations related to identifying whether workplace alertness testing is needed, and how to protect employees and their data, are discussed

Understanding the Role of Family-Specific Resources for Immigrant Workers

Very few studies to date have examined immigrant workers’ (i.e., workers who were not born in the United States) experiences of the work-family interface. In a sample of healthcare workers across two time points, the present study evaluates the role of different family-specific resources for immigrant workers compared to native-born workers (i.e., workers born in the U.S.). The results suggest that family-specific support from coworkers is especially beneficial for reducing immigrant workers’ experiences of family-to-work conflict. For both native-born and immigrant workers, those who experience more family-specific support from supervisors and coworkers, and those who work in an organization that does not expect workers to sacrifice their family or personal life for work (i.e., has perceptions of a positive organizational work-family climate), have lower work-to-family conflict and lower family-to-work conflict. Thus, family-specific support from coworkers, supervisors, and the organization have beneficial effects for workers, with coworker support being especially helpful for immigrant workers, which provides important insights for future work-family research and practice with increasingly diverse workforces

Inadequate Sleep Moderates Effects of Interparental Conflict Appraisals on Adolescent Adjustment.

Previous research and theory suggest that interparental conflict that is perceived by youth as frequent/intense, threatening, and/or the responsibility of the youth is predictive of adjustment problems. In contrast, sleep, an important precursor to emotion regulation, is likely a protective factor for youth experiencing interparental conflict. The goal of the current study was to investigate the extent to which adolescents who maintain better and/or longer sleep are buffered from the adjustment problems associated with greater interparental conflict

Intervention Effects on Safety Compliance and Citizenship Behaviors: Evidence From the Work, Family, and Health Study

We tested the effects of a work-family intervention on employee reports of safety compliance and organizational citizenship behaviors in 30 health care facilities using a group-randomized trial. Based on conservation of resources theory and the work-home resources model, we hypothesized that implementing a work-family intervention aimed at increasing contextual resources via supervisor support for work and family, and employee control over work time, would lead to improved personal resources and increased employee performance on the job in the form of self-reported safety compliance and organizational citizenship behaviors. Multilevel analyses used survey data from 1,524 employees at baseline and at 6-month and 12-month postintervention follow-ups. Significant intervention effects were observed for safety compliance at the 6-month, and organizational citizenship behaviors at the 12-month, follow-ups. More specifically, results demonstrate that the intervention protected against declines in employee self-reported safety compliance and organizational citizenship behaviors compared with employees in the control facilities. The hypothesized mediators of perceptions of family-supportive supervisor behaviors, control over work time, and work-family conflict (work-to-family conflict, family-to-work conflict) were not significantly improved by the intervention. However, baseline perceptions of family-supportive supervisor behaviors, control over work time, and work-family climate were significant moderators of the intervention effect on the self-reported safety compliance and organizational citizenship behavior outcomes