Not All Workers Experience Equal Sleep Changes: Insights from the "WorkInCovid" Project.

Abstract

The COVID-19 outbreak has changed work organization in favor of a working from home (WH) modality. We examined the association of WH during the pandemic with sleep health in workers of a public research organization. An online cross-sectional survey in 2022 at the National Research Council of Italy collected information on sociodemographics, work characteristics, and sleep pattern during WH compared with before WH. In the whole sample (n = 748), total sleep quality did not significantly change. Excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) decreased during WH. Total sleep quality increased during WH in poor sleepers, while it decreased in good sleepers. The morning chronotype was protective against sleep worsening in poor sleepers. Risk factors were depression in poor and good sleepers, and increased daytime sleepiness and body weight gain in good sleepers. These findings emphasize the importance of baseline sleep pattern in shaping the impact of WH on sleep.