Daily sleep quality and naval work performance: the role of leadership

Background: Poor sleep is a growing concern in naval settings. Previous research has demonstrated that both civilian and military naval work strains sleep quality as well as a negative relationship between sleep quality and crew work performance. Variables moderating this relationship, such as leadership are of interest. Materials and methods: The present paper investigates how sailors’ daily variations in sleep quality influence self-rated naval work-performance and interacts with perceived daily transformational leadership during a 30-day naval training mission. Results: Using multi-level analysis, we found significant positive main effects of sleep quality and transformational leadership on naval work performance. Transformational leadership moderated the sleep quality-work performance link. Individuals who experienced higher levels of leadership were less prone to reductions in performance after poor sleep. Conclusions: Overall, the results suggest that leadership can partly negate some of the reduction in performance that often accompanies poor sleep, and that leadership becomes more important as the crew becomes sleepier

Tidsskrift

International Maritime Health