Are Better Sleepers More Engaged Workers? A Self-regulatory Approach to Sleep Hygiene and Work Engagement

Previous research has emphasized facets of both the organizational environment and individual differences as predictors of work engagement. This study explored sleep hygiene as another important behavioural factor that may be related to work engagement. With a sample of 328 adult workers, we tested a multiple mediator model in which sleep hygiene predicts work engagement through one's appraisals of resource depletion stemming from demands (psychological strain) and general self‐regulatory capacity (self‐control). Results indicated that individuals who frequently engaged in poor sleep hygiene behaviours had lower self‐regulatory capacity, experienced higher subjective depletion and were less engaged at work. Additionally, the path from poor sleep hygiene to decreased work engagement was attributed to perceptions of personal resources that are needed to exert self‐regulatory energy at work. This is consistent with current self‐regulatory theories suggesting that individuals have a limited amount of resources to allocate to demands and that the depletion of these resources can lead to stress and lower self‐regulatory functioning in response to other demands. Specifically, poor sleep hygiene results in the loss of self‐regulatory resources needed to be engaged in work tasks by impairing the after‐work recovery process. Practical and research implications regarding sleep hygiene interventions for well‐being and productivity improvement are discussed. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.