Sleeping with work dirtiness: The moderating role of discrepancy between explicit and implicit job satisfaction on sleep quality and depersonalization

Abstract

Research on dirty work has generated divergent findings in relation to its impact on dirty workers. Findings from qualitative studies generally report positive self- concepts of dirty workers while those from quantitative studies identify negative outcomes such as disidentification and withdrawal. Given that attitudes can exist at both conscious (explicit) and non-conscious (implicit) levels which are not always in sync, these inconsistent findings may suggest that implicit attitudes toward dirty work play a role. This study specifically examines how the discrepancy between implicit and explicit job satisfaction influences the impact of perceived work dirtiness on employees’ well-being, i.e., sleeping quality, with a sample of correctional officers in Macao. Furthermore, the relationship between perceived work dirtiness and depersonalization is explored, which may be mediated by sleep quality. The results support the hypothesized model except for the interaction with moral dirtiness. As expected, perceived work dirtiness is significantly and negatively related to sleep quality, and this relationship becomes stronger under the high discrepancy between implicit and explicit job satisfaction. Besides, sleep quality is a mediator between work dirtiness and depersonalization. Implications and limitations of these findings are discussed.