For those forty winks
*A stressed out advertising executive is asleep, resting her head on her desk. Suddenly when her boss arrives on the scene, she does some quick thinking and murmurs a quick "Amen" before facing him. Truly ingenious!
* Another software professional is fond of her forty winks under her desk. The `weapon' she uses to throw off guard her colleagues and boss, is a marker. When discovered, she conveniently emerges from under the desk, cursing her drawer and evades retribution.
* An attorney talks of one of his co-workers who often dozed off during afternoons. Though he was likable and efficient, he wasn't respected and was the butt of many a joke in the office.
**A stock-and-options trader retreats to the restroom for his regular siesta.
Well, these are humorous tales that bring to the fore a sad aspect of today's lifestyle. Sleep-deprived people working through a haze of drowsiness and going to unbelievable lengths to avoid being seen sleeping. Interesting episodes, they are, but surely thought provoking too.
Is it really such a bad idea to sleep at your workplace? It is usually forgotten that your biological clock demands a siesta. Between 2pm and 5pm, metabolism levels drop, which is why our body requires those proverbial forty winks.
Snoozing at office is ridiculed often and snoozers are considered lethargic, inefficient and insincere. There have been several connotations surrounding the people who blinked as mush as more than a second longer! Okay, if the sentence seems exaggerated, excuse me with some `poetic licence!' However, here are some facts to wake you up if you have been sleeping on the sleep in aspect (pun very much intended).
Past studies in USA show:
50 percent of Americans are sleep deprived
Low productivity due to sleep loss cost corporate America almost $18 billion
Almost two-thirds of Americans, do not get the recommended eight hours
Most people get only six-and-half hours of sleep a day, which leaves them tired and frustrated by the end of the week
A short nap of 40 minutes improves performance by 34 percent and alertness by 100 percent
Drowsy driving causes at least 100,000 crashes in the United States each year, with 62 percent of the adults reporting that while driving they felt sleepy, and 27 percent saying they actually dozed off!
It surely is high time employers woke up to sleep. Let us look at some more interesting employee stories now.
* A CEO takes short naps, complete with eyeshades, earplugs and a reclining couch. His employees too have the liberty to do the same, as long as it is a part of their break.
*At OP Contract, employees have loads of options when it comes to relaxing. They can rest on a chaise lounge, cuddle up in a quilt, slip on an eye pillow or listen to relaxation
CDs. All their worrying about over-snoozing is taken care of by the alarm clock, which prevents sleeping for more than the stipulated time.
* An agency that specialises in workplace communications has a "soak-out-room", an exclusive enclosed spa for its employees. The company's president says, "We work in a creative environment. As long as you meet deadlines or projects, you can take naps or soak-outs any time you want."
* If you thought a nap did not require much, listen to what an architectural firm does. They have designer "spent-tents" for their employees to rest. That calls for sleeping in style!
These two sets of experiences were meant to drive home the point that sleeplessness takes its toll on not just your employees' health but also impacts their productivity. Therefore, `nap room' is the least expensive and the most beneficial way of increasing employee productivity and satisfaction.
Here are some more guiding principles that must be kept in mind when designing your `napping policies', lest you end up with a workplace, where the employees' `mantra' is "Work is what we do when we don't sleep!"
The nap must not be more than 20-25 minutes long, and surely not exceeding 45 minutes. After 45 minutes of sleep, humans enter deep sleep and if woken up, are still groggy.
Snoozing at workstations must be a strict `No'
Only one nap per shift my be allowed
Employees must inform superiors when they go for their naps
So, here's wishing that `nap rooms' become as common as cafeterias and siestas as much a part of our breaks!
HAZIRA SHAHEEN
faqs@cnkonline.com
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