Exposure to bullying by superiors and/or colleagues has been related to a variety of negative health results, such as sleep problems.
Now the research carried out by the University of East Anglia (UEA) in the United Kingdom, and the Complutense University of Madrid and the University of Seville in Spain, sheds light on the short -term consequences of intimidation in the workplace on several Sleep indicators.
These include waking up too early (severity of sleep), interference with daily life (sleep impact) and dissatisfaction with their own sleep (sleep satisfaction).
Writing in him Interpersonal violence magazine, The researchers aimed to examine how the intimidation of work impacts insomnia and prove the mediating role of the “rummy of anger”, which implies a repetitive and persistent thought in distressing events, such as bullying.
They found that the relationship between bully This constant rummy.
They also found evidence that insomnia’s symptoms were “contagious” between employees and their partners, which means that sleep problems (both severity and impact) of one person can influence the other, highlighting how the health of the dream interconnected in relationships.
The main professor of the United Kingdom, Professor Ana Sanz-Vergel, of the UEA Norwich Business School, said: “Our results show that the effects of workplace harassment depend on time and accumulate, and go beyond the individual and the I work, impacting the companion’s dream too.
“When people experience bullying at work, they can participate in rummy as a way of processing mentally and trying to deal with negative events. However, this repeated thought in anguish events can lead to the development of sleep problems, As difficulties to fall asleep, stay asleep or impact and sleep satisfaction.
“Therefore, rummy can be seen as an maladaptive coping strategy to deal with bully long -term damage.
Current knowledge is limited with respect to the short -time impact of sleep intimidation processes and association between bullying and sleep. This is especially important considering that sleep problems are often immediately short -term responses to stressful situations. There is also limited information about the effects of intimidation beyond the individual who experiences it.
To help address this, the team conducted two studies. In the first, 147 employees were followed for five days, and in the second, 139 couples were followed for a period of two months. In both participants, all from Spain, had to inform about their exposure to workplace harassment, the rummy of work related to work and the different insomnia indicators.
The first study showed that intimidation indirectly affected the severity of the dream through rummy and in the second, also sleep satisfaction and sleep impact, indicating that rummy is a key factor in how bullying affects several aspects of sleep quality.
“It is very interesting that the insomnia is contagious,” said Professor Sanz Vergel. “The partners seem to influence the seriousness of the dream and the impact of sleep, which is not surprising, since the awakening of an individual could also make the other wake up too.
“If that is the case, then both may feel that lack of sleep interferes with their daily life. However, sleep satisfaction is less susceptible to this contagion, possibly because it implies more subjective elements.”
The authors recommend that interventions around work harassment be designed both at the organizational and individual level. From an organizational point of view, reduce stressful factors and promote a healthy organizational culture becomes crucial.
At the individual level, interventions should focus on developing skills to help people deal more effectively with stressful factors.
Professor Sanz Vergel added: “Training on how to disconnect from work has proven efficient and it has been demonstrated that it minimizes the effects of intimidation. In addition, prevention programs oriented to couples are necessary in the context of the workplace; this It could help provide coping strategies for both members of the couple, which in turn would reduce the levels of rummy and insomnia. “
The investigation was supported by funds from the Department of Spanish Science and Innovation.