A large share of people who work remotely admit that they sometimes allow themselves a short nap during working hours. But most often, it is managers who confess to napping on the employer’s time.
! The original article is available on Inc.com. The article has been translated with the help of artificial intelligence, but it has been edited by an editor.
In video conferences with their remote employees, employers might find it useful to pay attention to sleepy faces, messy hair, or drowsy comments. It turns out that almost half of people who work from home admit that they take a nap during the workday.
The drowsy feeling that often hits people after lunch is nothing new, but the pandemic-inspired remote-work format has allowed employees to indulge in these sleepy moments in ways office workers cannot. According to a survey by U.S. mattress manufacturer Amerisleep, conducted among 1,002 remote and hybrid workers, 48 percent of respondents admitted that they sleep during the day.
But before employers rush to form a crack executive team to fight workplace napping, they should know about one more survey finding. About 53 percent of respondents who admitted napping during the day were managers, compared with almost 48 percent of lower-level employees who also confessed to this minor sin.
Why should managers be concerned if people who work remotely include a bit of rest time in their workday? One reason is that the time spent sleeping can add up. The Amerisleep survey found that in a typical remote-work week, 1.3 hours are devoted to napping, which over a year amounts to eleven full eight-hour workdays. And that number of hours may increase in the future, given the differing habits of various generations.
Almost 60 percent of Gen Z remote workers admitted that they nap during working hours. By comparison, 51 percent of millennials take naps during the workday, while only 39 percent of Gen X do so. In addition to age, which affects people’s inclination to take a little daytime nap, the type of jobs respondents held was also a factor in their desire to snooze on the clock.
“Marketing and finance professionals, with 59 percent admitting they nap during working hours, took first place,” the Amerisleep survey report states. “In the hospitality sector, 54 percent confess to this little sin, in education – 53 percent, and in retail/e‑commerce – 51 percent.”
Employers could reasonably be outraged about all that snoring happening on their dime, but many of them are far from angry. When Amerisleep asked company leaders about this issue, 36 percent said that their companies either actively encourage employees to nap during the day if they feel the need, or simply acknowledge it without taking particular action against the habit.
Even companies where such habits are not encouraged have come to terms with employees sleeping on the job, as long as it does not go beyond reasonable limits.
“The majority of managers (73 percent) said they support employees napping during work hours as long as they meet their deadlines,” the report states. “Although this flexible attitude might once have seemed radical, it is becoming an accepted part of remote-working life.”
So if most employers don’t mind remote workers taking a short nap during work hours, why should they address this issue at all?
Here’s why – 58 percent of employees who tend to nap during the workday said they hide this activity from their superiors, often scheduling fake meetings in their calendars or using other tricks to appear busy with “please do not disturb” type tasks.
When this deception is uncovered – as happened to 10 percent of respondents who admitted they were caught sleeping – employers are likely to be angrier about the cheating than about the napping itself. Each such incident undermines trust and can create lingering resentment.
Therefore, companies should assess the potential and actual impact of workplace napping on productivity.
Although at first glance it may seem that short rest breaks could improve productivity, respondents who said they tend to nap during the day revealed that afterward they have lower work efficiency, a reduced ability to focus, decreased motivation, and even less energy than those who do not sleep during working hours. Twenty-five percent of workday nappers reported such side effects.
Still, it appears that companies allowing remote employees to sleep as long as they can keep up with their tasks enjoy some advantages. The survey found that 55 percent of employees said they would feel more loyal to employers who allow napping. Moreover, a significant share of respondents said they would be willing to give up certain benefits, including part of their vacation time or company-paid meals and drinks, if only they had a legal opportunity to take a short nap during work.
What are the downsides for those employers who are not afraid of lost productivity or missed deadlines and officially allow their employees to nap? Most likely, they will have to accept that some employees will be rubbing sleepy eyes in online conferences and sporting pillow-tousled hairstyles.
Originally published at https://inc-baltics.com/puse-attalinato-darbinieku-snauz-uz-darba-deveja-rekina/
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