According to a new study, 53% percent of organizations have set schedules that actively encourage chronic sleep loss. Contributing to Harvard University’s findings that sleep deprivation costs the U.S. economy $63 billion each year due to lost productivity. Employees that are battling any kind of insomnia are linked to 7.8 missed days of productivity alone.
So what can you do to keep productivity, creativity, energy, and happiness flowing for more success among your employees? Entrepreneur Magazine has some great advice to help your staff get more sleep to take your company to the next level:
1. Cut down on available work hours: If you find that your employees are going far beyond the call of duty with crazy overtime and dragging into the office each morning, it may be time to set some boundaries.
Try shutting off access to the email server at a certain time, a trick that has worked for big companies such as Volkswagen. Their employees gain access to emails 30 minutes before work starts and lose access 30 minutes after their work day is over.
2. Hold walking meetings: One study found that insomniacs who spent 45-60 minutes each morning walking were able to obtain better sleep, as exposure to natural sunlight and exercise help keep the bodies’ circadian rhythm on track.
Take meetings outside, or to an indoor track so that business can be handled, but managers and employees can be both active and productive at the same time.
3. Make work schedules more flexible: Employees that are burned out are less productive and efficient. Offer unlimited paid vacation or allow employees to set their own schedule each week with set goals and deadlines in place, helping them to balance their work and personal life.
4. Assign fewer projects at a time: It’s common for employees to feel as though they can handle a lot more assignments that they actually can. Help them avoid stressing out at night by limiting how many projects they can take on at a time.
5. Give the thumps up on napping at work: There is plenty of evidence that taking a small nap during the day boosts has big benefits. Napping at work is a common trend that many companies are allowing, encouraging lunch time naps for more productivity.
The National Sleep Foundation recommends that adults snooze 7-9 hours each night. Encourage healthy sleep habits among your employees by opening up the conversation at the workplace about sleep, it’s benefits and how to make it a success.
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