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Organizational Justice and Sleeping Problems: The Whitehall II Study

From the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health (M.E., J.E.F., D.G., R.D.V., M.S., E.J.B., M.K., M.G.M., M.K.), UCL Medical School, London, England, UK; Finnish Institute of Occupational Health (J.V., M.K.), Helsinki, Finland; National Research and Development Centre of Welfare and Health (STAKES) (M.E.), Helsinki, Finland; and the University of Texas School of Public Health (D.G.), Health Science Center at Houston, Division of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, San Antonio Regional Campus, San Antonio, Texas.

Address correspondence and reprint requests to Marko Elovainio, National Research and Development Centre for Welfare and Health, P.O. Box 220, Fi-00531 Helsinki, Finland. E-mail: marko.elovainio{at}stakes.fi

Objectives: To test the hypothesis that organizational injustice contributes to sleeping problems. Poor sleep quality can be a marker of prolonged emotional stress and has been shown to have serious effects on the immune system and metabolism.

Methods: Data were from the prospective Whitehall II study of white-collar British civil servants (3143 women and 6895 men, aged 35–55 years at baseline). Age, employment grade, health behaviors, and depressive symptoms were measured at Phase 1 (1985–1988) and baseline sleeping problems were assessed at Phase 2 (1989–1990). Organizational justice was assessed twice, at Phases 1 and 2. The outcome was mean of sleeping problems during Phases 5 (1997–1999) and 7 (2003–2004).

Results: In men, low organizational justice at Phase 1 and Phase 2 were associated with overall sleeping problems, sleep maintenance problems, sleep onset problems, and nonrefreshing sleep at Phases 5 and 7. In women, a significant association was observed between low organizational justice and overall sleeping problems and sleep onset problems. These associations were robust to adjustments for age, employment grade, health behaviors, job strain, depressive symptoms, and sleeping problems at baseline.

Conclusions: This study shows that perceived unfair treatment at workplace is associated with increased risk of poor sleep quality in men and women, one potential mechanism through which justice at work may affect health.

Key Words: fairness • sleep • psychosocial factors • work organization • public sector

Abbreviations: BMI = body mass index; GHQ = general health questionnaire.