How did you sleep last night? Did you get your full
seven-plus hours of restful shut-eye and spring out of bed this morning, ready
to take on the day? Your employer hopes so.
For companies, employees not getting enough sleep creates
conflict between productivity and worker well-being. Companies have demands and
time pressures. But individuals also need to stay healthy and alert. Sleep
plays a big part in how well individuals contribute to an organization's goals.
According a recent report from the RAND Corporation,
sleep deprivation costs US firms 1.2 million employee work days and roughly
$411 billion in revenue a year. That knocks an estimated 2.28 percent off the
nation's gross domestic product each year.
A groggy workforce is a challenge to organisations
anywhere in the world, and it's especially bad here in the United States. One
root of this issue can be found in employment regulations: European Union
countries, for instance, have regulations and cultural norms that generally
support worker well-being more than the United States.
Some industries understand how critical well-rested
employees are. Take the airline industry, for example, where worker fatigue can
be a life-or-death issue and is therefore regulated by the Federal Aviation
Administration. But barring federal mandates on Americans sleep quantities, it
would behoove many industries and employers to encourage workers to get more
sleep.
Lack of high-quality sleep has been linked to greater
anxiety and depression, and to lower levels of employee productivity. But the
opposite is also true -- and varies by individual -- so getting more sleep can
enhance productivity at work and when you are more productive, you might sleep
better.
There's also a causal connection between sleep and
employee and managerial behaviours. In studies, workers in sleep-deprived
experimental groups behaved less ethically, and leaders in experimental groups
with lower sleep quality were found to be less inspiring at work.
So how can you get better sleep to positively impact your
job performance?
Here are some tips:
- Break the cycle. Stress at work can keep you up at
night, lowering your productivity during the day and piling on more stress at
work. Talk to your supervisor about your workload and stress levels at work and
do what you can to focus on better sleep at home.
- Focus on quality vs. quantity. Sleep quantity is easier
to manage than sleep quality, but both are important. There's been quite a bit
of research on sleep quantity and quality. Overall, the research suggests that
quality is more important than quantity. Good quality sleep translates to less
anxiety and less depression.
- Establish better sleep routines. You need a create a
sleep ritual. Give yourself a "bedtime" and stick to it every day.
Avoid caffeine late in the day and pay attention to what you eat and drink.
Power down - research shows that TV and use of electronic devices interfere
with sleep. Don't check your work email right before you nod off - that can
keep you awake even longer.
- Grab shut-eye when you can. Another research stream shows
that workers' sleep patterns improve when companies empower them to decide how
and when to get their work done. It's part of the reason why some companies
allow telework, flexible shifts and the occasional in-office nap. Your company
may not go as far as resource-rich firms such as Google, Nike and Ben &
Jerry that have really embraced that strategy, even equipping offices with
futuristic-looking sleep pods. But that doesn't mean you can't talk to your
manager about a more flexible schedule - so long as such schedule can be given
and allows you to stay productive.
- Try exercise. According to research, regular exercise
can counter the negative effects of sleep deprivation. Take advantage if your
company offers workplace fitness equipment, subsidized gym memberships, or
other fitness programs.
- Incentives for zzzzs? Health insurer Aetna pays a $300
yearly bonus to employees who volunteer to be company-monitored via a
health-tracking device and meet the 7-hours-of-sleep threshold. Talk to your
employer's human resources department about instituting a program for
encouraging employees to get more sleep. Many organizations have these types of
programs for other types of health goals such as exercise and healthy eating.
Still, sleep remains a largely missing component to human-resource wellness programs,
according to a recent interview from CareerBuilder's chief HR officer Rosemary
Haefner. A survey by the job-search website found that more workers get too
little sleep than enough sleep, with 6 percent averaging less than five hours
per night.
- Turn to technology. Though unplugging can be an
important part of a healthy sleep routine, technology can help you track your
sleep patterns and establish better routines. Widely used fitness tracker
devices, apps and even your smart phone can help measure the amount of sleep
you get and remind you when to hit the hay for the night. A recent study in the
Journal of Applied Psychology tested the commercially available Sleepio app and
determined it to be effective for promoting more healthy sleep regimen.
- There's no single solution. Effective regimens vary
individually. Generally, there are different ways to balance this
productivity/well-being trade-off. A key to this is to have a corporate culture
of this that promotes some level of control for workers to facilitate a
healthier balance between well-being and productivity. But starting tonight,
you can make your own efforts to get better sleep -- for your health and your
career.
Chen is a professor
of organisational behaviour at the University of Maryland's Robert H. Smith
School of Business, and editor of Journal of Applied Psychology. He teaches
courses on a variety of organizational behaviour, human resource management and
methodological topics. His research focuses on work motivation, adaptation,
teams and leadership.