Severance Study: Low Social Support at Work Increases Insomnia Risk
A recent study found that workers who are not respected by their supervisors or colleagues at the workplace have up to a 1.5 times higher risk of developing insomnia. It was also pointed out that this issue negatively affects not only sleep quality but also job satisfaction and overall mental health.
On September 22, a research team led by Professor Yoon Jinha from the Department of Preventive Medicine at Severance Hospital announced that they had confirmed these findings after analyzing the correlation between the level of social support in the workplace and insomnia among 19,394 workers (9,046 men and 10,348 women) who participated in the '6th Working Conditions Survey' conducted by the Korea Occupational Safety and Health Research Institute.
The research team measured the degree of social support based on factors such as: whether supervisors and colleagues show respect, whether helpful feedback is provided for work, and whether there is a willingness to listen to work-related concerns. They then divided participants into 'high' and 'low' groups based on the average value and compared the prevalence of insomnia between the two groups.
The analysis showed that in the group with low social support (3,148 people), the proportion of workers with insomnia was 390 (12.3%). In contrast, in the group with high social support (16,224 people), the proportion was only 6.2%, about half the rate. Across all workers, there were 1,391 cases of insomnia (7.2%).
Even after adjusting for external factors that could affect insomnia-such as age, income, working hours, smoking, and alcohol consumption-the difference remained clear. Workers with low social support had a 1.47 times higher risk of insomnia compared to those with high social support. When broken down by gender, men had a 1.71 times higher risk, and women a 1.34 times higher risk, respectively.
The research team stated, "The prevalence of insomnia was significantly higher among both men and women when social support at work was low," adding, "In particular, when job satisfaction is low, the risk of insomnia can increase further, so interventions to enhance social support and job satisfaction are necessary."
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