has lighting systems in its offices that regulate the sleep hormone melatonin, making it easier for employees to switch off when they finish work in the evening. It is entirely possible for companies to carry out their own, informal investigations with employees into the value of naps. Perhaps identify two groups of employees and allow one to take a nap, then compare the results over time, collating data where possible. This does not require sophisticated technology. Simply track whether either group enjoys better outcomes than the other, to decide whether naps are worthwhile. Introducing a small number of soundproof sleep spaces, or ‘pods’, could show a positive impact on employee productivity and wellbeing at a relatively low cost. Educating employees on the value of high-quality sleep and encouraging them to carve out time in their daily schedule for a nap – especially when working from home – could also pay off. It may seem counterintuitive to reduce somebody’s time working during the day, particularly at a time when budgets are squeezed and the cost of living is rising. But in the long term, the benefits could boost retention and engagement with the organisation. In future, we could see more companies embracing a siesta and reaping the benefits of happier, healthier, more productive employees. Those firms that are caught napping are likely to miss out.
into the office later because they were asleep for longer.
productivity by 14 per cent, which suggests that allowing participants to take a daytime nap increased their productivity as much as a 50 per cent wage increase would. More research would be beneficial. We also need more examples of how corporations can support employees to build naps into their working day. However, the widespread lack of sleep adds an element of risk to the bottom line. A cross-country analysis by research organisation RAND Corporation in 2018 found that, at a national level, up to three per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is lost due to lack of sleep. The financial cost adds up just as quickly at an organisation level. A 2014 survey by the National Sleep Foundation in the US found that poor sleep caused between 23 and 45 per cent of the population to lose more than two weeks of working productivity every year. Those stark figures have prompted some of the world’s biggest firms into action. Nike has reportedly created rooms where staff can sleep or meditate at its headquarters in Portland, Oregon. Meanwhile, Procter & Gamble
In contrast, employees in the nap trial saw improvements across all of those outcomes, despite reducing the time they were available to work. This could be because naps were timed to coincide with a mid-afternoon circadian dip in energy, or because the environment we created for the naps supported higher-quality sleep than workers were used to having at home, where they reported interruptions such as traffic noise or mosquitos. In addition to improved workplace productivity, those who had afternoon naps experienced better mental health, attention, and task cognition. How can we quantify these improvements? We worked out that, on average, participants who enjoyed a ‘power nap’ were 2.3 per cent more productive over the course of the day. As part of the experiment, we also randomly varied the pay rate that workers received. During some periods, workers were paid four times more than during other periods. Doing this only increased
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Fiza Farhan Warwick Business School Alum and Global Development Expert.
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