Let Your Employees Nap At Work

Posted by mirsbblogger under Strategy
From http://smallbusiness.uprinting.com 5068 days ago
Made Hot by: BusinessBloggerPro on January 8, 2011 3:53 pm

A Cornell University study found that businesses in the U.S. lose more than $150 billion a year due to lower productivity and employee fatigue. Numerous research studies have shown that taking a nap improves an individual’s reflexes, alertness, dexterity, memory, and cognitive functionality. In fact, more and more studies suggest that taking an afternoon power nap is good for your health.

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Comments

Written by angshaf
5065 days ago

I think this should become a requirement. I would love to get a nap at work I'm sure a number of companies are doing this and seeing results. I think it is interesting that a number of studies are done around work and nothing is ever put into place.

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Written by mirsbblogger
5067 days ago

Weird that Bizsugar doesn't inform me when someone has commented.

Businessavante, you are correct if:

- people are sleeping on the job

- not everyone is allowed the 30 min nap break

- the 30 mins couldn't come out of your lunch break

However, in my scenario, the employer is encouraging his or her employees to take a nap after lunch. Assuming you take your lunch to work (possible), you could finish your lunch in 10-15 minutes. This would leave you over 30 mins to take a nap.

The real problem is having a place to take a nap. Yes, it would be stupid to have employees sleeping at their desks.

Not because people around them will think "oh this guy's sleeping on the job," (everyone can) but because it is very possible that a person may snore while taking a nap and this sound would be disturbing to coworkers.

I didn't think it was necessary to talk about snoring when I wrote the article, but maybe I need to bring it up as another reason employers should have a nap room.

Businessavante, check out Take a Nap! Change your life. by Sara Mednick. Note: I am in no way affiliated with her or the book company. I am just recommending the book. Check it out a the library if you don't want to purchase it. It's an interesting read.

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Written by ShawnHessinger
5067 days ago

Hi Mir,

Comment notification is one thing we've bounced around as a possible future upgrade here at BizSugar. I think I'm going to disagree with Duncan about the napping though. Work days are becoming longer, work is more spread out and irregular (those of us who work online, for example, have no real clock to speak of) so I think a workplace that is flexible to various lifestyle needs is a good idea. I worked at a newspaper for years where the 9 to 5 day never really existed anyway, but I gotta say that the idea of a workplace flexible enough to allow naps and a more relaxed view of the workday, especially for employees working ever longer and more irregular hours, seems sensible to me. Obviously it can't work for every company, but for some, I have no doubt they will see improvements...and maybe happy, more productive workers.

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Written by businessavante
5067 days ago

Who can nap right after eating? It's bad for the digestion. And what about people that don't Like to nap at work - those that want to Work at work? Are they going to be forced to nap like Kindergarten?

businessavante

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Written by businessavante
5068 days ago

Even in the face of all the provided research, Mir, I gotta say uh-uh. It's been 1 of the main ways to be automatically terminated at every job I've ever had - for reasons that are all too obvious. Two other reasons for instant termination: theft or violence.

businessavante

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Written by businessavante
5068 days ago

There's another downside, Mir - if I'm working my hynie off while others are napping on the clock, I'm going to be P-O'd!

businessavante

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