Sleeping on the Job
We’ve all been tempted to doze off at the office. A new report, however, explains that some companies are actually encouraging their employees to sleep at work!
A story on Yahoo News explains the trend:
With Americans averaging fewer than seven hours of sleep per night—and around 20 percent suffering from sleepiness during the day, according to a recent Stanford University study—many companies have turned to the humble nap in an attempt to stave off billions in lost productivity each year. Following the rise of workplace perks like lactation rooms, gyms, and child-care facilities, Nike workers now have access to nap-friendly “quiet rooms” that can also be used for meditation. Google, a forerunner in employee perks, has a number of futuristic napping pods scattered throughout its Mountain View (Calif.) campus.
It’s no secret that most of us need more sleep. With employers competing to offer the best perks, this might seem like a positive trend. Plus, research supports the incredible value of naps. From the same article:
Sleep scientist David Dinges helped found the modern science of napping in the early ’80s at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, short periods of sleep have been shown to improve alertness, memory, motor skills, decision-making, and mood. All while cutting down on stress, carelessness, and even heart disease.
…
“Tiny naps are much more refreshing than people tend to realize,” said Jim Horne, director of the Sleep Research Centre at Loughborough University in England. “A short nap in the afternoon will get rid of sleepiness without interfering with nighttime sleep.”
Some companies are now offering “sleep rooms” filled with specially-designed chairs for taking a quick forty winks. But is this just an underhanded strategy to try to encourage workers to put in 16-hour days? Or is it the beginning of a new era in which we tell employees that we trust them to do their work and manage their own time?
Back in February of this year, we explained the telecommuting policy at Slaughter Development. The same philosophy applies to our view on sleeping at work:
Please conduct your work wherever and whenever you feel you can be most productive, most efficient, most effective and most satisfied.
We don’t need sleeping pods and cube farms. Instead, we need to respect our employees enough to not worry about when and where they are working. Change your perspective. Reach out to Slaughter Development!
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September 24th, 2010 at 10:21 am
I’ve written about power napping several times: http://uhri.com/blog/category/power-napping/
My first experience with the power nap were with my dad. Every day he came home for lunch and after eating he would relax in his recliner. He fell asleep until his office called him for his next appointment. He got up and drove back to worknone the worse for wear.
Having seen his example, I used the same technique in college. I scheduled my classes around a central lunch break and had time to squeeze in a quick snooze before afternoon class. I crashed on the couch in our apartment in favor of my bed… I didn’t want to be too comfortable and oversleep. I didn’t use an alarm clock then; my internal clock was able to wake me up in 20 minutes every time. These refreshing naps recharged my mind and body and made long days of classes bearable.
A variation of the power nap I like to use is the caffeine nap. Drink a double shot of espresso right before laying down. The caffeine kicks in while you’re asleep and when you wake up, you are AWAKE
I found that my perfect time these days is 17-18 minutes. I usually wake up at that point and panic that I overslept my alarm, although I never do.
September 24th, 2010 at 10:36 am
Thanks for the comments, John!
Glad to hear you’ve found a strategy for managing your energy that works for you. Best of all, it sounds like you’ve got a workplace schedule and clients that respect you for what you produce, not how much facetime you put in.