Self-Care Practices as a Mediator between Workaholism and Sleep–Wake Problems during COVID-19

Abstract

Self-care practices are considered an important resource for workers’ psychophysical well-being. These resources were especially relevant during the COVID-19 outbreak, during which both workaholism and sleep–wake problems were documented. Our study aimed to examine whether workaholism could predict sleep–wake quality through the mediating effects of self-care practices. A convenient sample of 405 Italian workers (71.1% females; mean age = 42.58 ± 10.68 years) completed the Self-Care Practices Scale, Mini-Sleep Questionnaire, and Working Excessively and Working Compulsively Scale during the first lockdown in Italy in 2020. The main results showed that workaholism directly affected sleep–wake quality, suggesting that high levels of workaholism increased the likelihood of sleep–wake problems being reported. At the same time, people with high levels of workaholism reported scarce use of self-care practices and, in turn, lower sleep–wake quality. Our findings confirm the importance of monitoring the quality of life at work to protect workers’ sleep–wake cycle quality and investing in self-care. Both individual and organizational efforts can help break the vicious cycle of workaholism and sleep–wake disorders.