A recent survey indicated that the American workplace loses billions of dollars in productivity to sleep deprivation and worker fatigue. Though the idea of encouraging employees to work less and sleep more may be anathema to CEOs and management everywhere, it may be time to wake up and smell the coffee about the losses being incurred as a result of exhaustion and burnout.
Napping and working to invigorate employees is not actually all that new. Albert Einstein is famous for his naps, and so was Ronald Reagan. Though some may choose to point to Thomas Edison or Margaret Thatcher and their famous twenty-hour days as the pinnacle of efficiency, but sleep experts say that there are few people who fall into the category of short sleepers who can thrive on limited sleep. The rest of the population needs between seven and nine hours of sleep per night, but in our demanding work environment challenged by family and social obligations, few are able to get what they need. Continue reading