The Cost of Poor Sleep: Workplace Productivity Loss and Associated Costs

Objective: To assess the impact of sleep disturbances on work performance/ productivity. Methods: Employees (N = 4188) at four US corporations were surveyed about sleep patterns and completed the Work Limitations Questionnaire. Respondents were classified into four categories: insomnia, insufficient...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of occupational and environmental medicine 2010-01, Vol.52 (1), p.91-98
Main Authors: Rosekind, Mark R., Gregory, Kevin B., Mallis, Melissa M., Brandt, Summer L., Seal, Brian, Lerner, Debra
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Biological and medical sciences
Comparative analysis
Cross-Sectional Studies
Disorders of higher nervous function. Focal brain diseases. Central vestibular syndrome and deafness. Brain stem syndromes
Dyssomnias - complications
Dyssomnias - epidemiology
Effects
Efficiency
Employee Performance Appraisal
Female
Health Surveys
Humans
Insomnia
Male
Medical sciences
Middle Aged
Nervous system (semeiology, syndromes)
Neurology
Occupational health
ORIGINAL ARTICLES
Prevalence
Productivity
United States - epidemiology
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Summary:Objective: To assess the impact of sleep disturbances on work performance/ productivity. Methods: Employees (N = 4188) at four US corporations were surveyed about sleep patterns and completed the Work Limitations Questionnaire. Respondents were classified into four categories: insomnia, insufficient sleep syndrome, at-risk, and good sleep. Employer costs related to productivity changes were estimated through the Work Limitations Questionnaire. Performance/productivity, safety, and treatment measures were compared using a one-way analysis of variance model. Results: Compared with at-risk and good-sleep groups, insomnia and insufficient sleep syndrome groups had significantly worse productivity, performance, and safety outcomes. The insomnia group had the highest rate of sleep medication use. The other groups were more likely to use nonmedication treatments. Fatigue-related productivity losses were estimated to cost $1967/employee annually. Conclusions: Sleep disturbances contribute to decreased employee productivity at a high cost to employers.
ISSN:1076-2752
1536-5948
DOI:10.1097/jom.0b013e3181c78c30