Naps in the Workplace Productivty or Slacking Off

Progressive work atmospheres are getting a lot of attention lately. From Daniel Pink’s video on Founders School where he talks about motivating with autonomy, to the summertime buzz about the importance of extended vacations, it’s on everyone’s mind. Next subject: naps.

An Entrepreneur.com article, Why You Should Let Your Employees Nap at Work, hashes out the growing trend of companies encouraging midday snoozes in the workplace. And it makes sense.

The Mayo Clinic lists the documented benefits of napping: relaxation; reduced fatigue; increased alertness; improved mood; and improved performance, including quicker reaction time, better memory, less confusion, and fewer accidents and mistakes. And the best part? It only takes 10 to 30 minutes to get these benefits.

The article’s author noted a few progressive companies, like HubSpot and Google that have already dedicated nap rooms for employees to re-energize. And their workers are taking advantage. In HubSpot’s plush carpeted, cloud-covered nap space, CMO Mike Volpe often grabs a 20-minute one to regain his focus and re-energize, helping him be more productive for the rest of the workday.

But not everyone is sold on the idea. Some companies are still equating naps with slacking off. To help those companies liberate their over-tired workers, the author offered three simple ideas to consider when kicking around the idea.

What do you think? Is a nap the new mid-afternoon coffee? Weigh in using #TopOfMind.

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  5. Portals and signal sign-on sites.

Why You Should Let Your Employees Nap at Work

Sleeping on the job has often been equated with laziness. However, many of the top companies today are encouraging their employees to recharge and take naps at work. Many employees are also parents and have trouble sleeping through the entire night. Napping has become quite prevalent in the tech world and is almost nearly as popular as the office coffee machine, but is probably more beneficial. Some companies are weary of allowing employees to nap because to them it appears like laziness. If you are encouraging napping in the workplace, here is what you can do.

  1. Build a separate room
  2. Make napping a part of company culture
  3. Encourage employees to time their naps appropriately

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