How is work–family conflict linked to sleep for men and women?

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This longitudinal study examined how work–family conflict relates to sleep duration by gender, distinguishing work-to-family conflict (WTFC) from family-to-work conflict (FTWC) and time-based conflict from strain-based conflict. Previous research had linked work–family conflict to adverse health outcomes. Although sleep is crucial to overall health, relatively few studies had explored its relationship with work–family conflict, particularly by conflict direction, type and gender. The researchers drew on Conservation of Resources Theory and Stress Process Theory, in which these distinctions are essential.

Using the German Family Panel study “pairfam” and a sample of 3,719 respondents, the researchers applied fixed-effects regression models to estimate how time- and strain-based WTFC and FTWC related to sleep duration for men and women.

Both WTFC and FTWC were associated with shorter sleep, consistent with previous findings. Overall, FTWC had a stronger association with sleep duration than WTFC. The pattern also differed by conflict type: time-based conflict was more strongly associated with sleep duration for WTFC, whereas strain-based conflict was more relevant for FTWC. Men slept less as either WTFC or FTWC increased, while women slept less only as FTWC increased. For women, only strain-based FTWC was associated with shorter sleep; for men, the association was mainly with time-based WTFC.

The researchers concluded that time-based work demands interfering with family life appeared to be linked to shorter sleep primarily among men, whereas for women, when family demands interfered with work, the psychological strain of the resulting conflict appeared relevant to sleep.