Lack of sleep may impact women's ambition at work.
In her best-selling book, former Meta COO Sheryl Sandberg encouraged women to lean in and strive for more responsibility and status at work. But not everyone could relate. In response to Sandberg’s popular advice, comedian Ali Wong quipped, “I don’t want to lean in; I want to lie down.”
Wong may have been on to something, as researchers have now established that women who don’t get enough sleep may not be as inclined to lean in at work. Getting quality sleep impacts women’s moods and alters how they feel about pursuing more status and responsibility at work, says a new study from the peer-reviewed journal Sex Roles. For men, more shut-eye had no impact on their ambition.
Researchers asked full-time employees to respond to surveys twice daily for ten days. In the morning, participants rated their sleep from the previous night and their mood. Then, later in the day, they reported how much they desired more status, responsibility and influence at work. Both men and women reported having some nights with good sleep and others with bad sleep, and there were no gender differences in average sleep quality.
The gender difference emerged when the researchers looked at the impact of sleep on career aspirations. For women only, the more positive mood that resulted from a good night’s rest was related to a desire to pursue more status and responsibility at work. Lower quality of sleep resulted in a worse mood and less ambitious goals. For men, there was no such effect.
What causes the gender difference in the ambition-sleep link? The researchers suggest several possibilities, and one is that women and men respond to emotions differently. Men are generally taught to keep their emotions in check, so men may be more adept at regulating their emotions and maintaining their ambition, even on days when poor sleep results in a worse mood. Women, by contrast, may be more likely to respond to the mood boost that results from a good night’s rest.
The researchers also point out that we generally expect men to be ambitious; therefore, men may feel compelled to remain ambitious even when they don’t get enough sleep. And yet another possible explanation for the gender difference in findings is that women may hold themselves to a higher standard than men at work. When a woman’s work takes a hit after a poor night’s sleep, she may be more likely to doubt herself and her capacity to take on more work.
Among all these explanations, the underlying commonality is that quality sleep is essential for women’s career advancement. Previous studies have also established a link between sleep and work performance. Quality of slumber has previously been shown to impact leader behavior, ethical conduct, work engagement and how likely workers are to be proactive in setting goals. More generally, lack of sleep has been linked to impaired decision-making, learning, memory, risk assessment and strategic planning and reduced ability to focus attention.
The researchers suggest their study findings have implications for organizations that want to increase the representation of women in leadership roles. “Women who are noticed early on by management for their interest in or aptitude for leadership might be offered additional resources and support to bolster their cognitive and emotional resources against the ego-depleting impact of daily disruptions to sleep and mood,” they write.
They also suggest that organizations can promote better sleep through flexible work schedules and onsite exercise facilities. Workplace practices that add to sleep deprivation, like late-night emails and excessive work demands, should also be discouraged.
For women who want to maintain their intentions to climb the corporate ladder, prioritizing sleep is critical. “The insights we provide with this work might highlight the importance of self-care practices for ambitious individuals who might otherwise be inclined to neglect daily habits that bolster both sleep quality and mood, such as exercise and a healthy diet,” the researchers write.
