Whether you own a business, manage a business, or act as a supervisor, you likely want to know how you can support talent and have workers who are productive. According to a recent Entrepreneur article, one of the keys to employee productivity is napping. Yes, you read that right. Sleeping on the job can be beneficial to both the employee and the company. Here are three ways that naps can help your company:
Boost Alertness
According to research done by the Department of Veterans Affairs Hospital in Northport, New York, a short nap can improve cognitive functioning and alertness by 30 percent. This alertness is especially important for those working in positions where lack of alertness could be dangerous to them or others. This may include people operating forklifts or other heavy machinery.
Better Able to Deal with Stress
Employees who are well-rested feel happier. As they feel happier, they are able to better deal with stressful situations without feeling overwhelmed. Even better, if your employees deal directly with customers, the well-rested employee’s happiness can be contagious, making happy customers. Happy customers are more likely to benefit your business.
Increased Productivity
When your employees are tired, they cannot perform at their peak performance. Sleep deprived employees cost the U.S. a potential $63.2 billion in lost productivity annually. Taking a short nap allows employees to work at higher productivity levels for longer periods of time.
Of course, the best way to see if short naps really boost productivity is to try it out for yourself. Create a place where your employees can take a short nap. If you do so, you will be following in the footsteps of some elite companies. Google, Uber, and Capital One Labs are among some of the companies that encourage naps at work. The good news is that to be efficient, the nap does not need to be very long. Even a 10-minute nap can help.