Impact of Sleep on Employee Performance

I have always been intrigued by sleep. The universal recommendation that we hear is to sleep 7-9 hours but I have enjoyed shorter sleep as well and still be my productive self. To me, it seems sleep is a reservoir that you can fill in on different days, get less of on certain days and still be productive and healthy. The quality of sleep also plays an integral role in terms of how many hours do you need.

World Sleep Day is celebrated every year on March 19 so I thought it is a good time to deep dive into the concept of sleep.

How many of us have felt the difference in our body, mind, and the way we approach things only because we have had less sleep or our sleep got disturbed in between? My guess is almost everyone. Though very few of us relate it directly to the productivity we exhibit at the workplace but according to the researchers, an adult person should sleep for 7 to 9 hours.

Effect on Work Performance

A study conducted by Hult International Business school over more than 1,000 employees came up with some interesting facts. The Junior-level employees were having on average 6 hours and 26 minutes and the senior employees were having 6 hours and 17 minutes of sleep which came to average sleep hours per person of 6 hours and 28 minutes. This was less than what was required.

The study found out that even though seniors were sleeping less than juniors they were still a little better at dealing with the adverse effects of it. Speculated reasons could be, more control and authority, years of experience dealing with sleep deprivation, they might have come up with coping strategies, being politically involved which made them not accept the adverse effects, or they simply were lacking self-awareness of any adverse effects.

The research has demonstrated that there is a direct relationship between chronic sleep loss and health conditions. Sleep depravity can instigate cardiovascular disease, obesity, and type 2 diabetes. It also affects cognitive behavior, Emotional Intelligence, and attentiveness. These can be adversely affected even with the small amount of reduction in sleep, which in turn reduces productivity as it takes a person longer to contemplate the situation and affects their capability of taking decisions in the right direction.

Regular sleep deprivation leads to lethargy, slower reaction time, headaches, feeling burned out easily, heartburn, etc. Many of the respondents could not keep up with the challenges of a job in these situations, feeling irritable, poor motivation, less energy, and less eagerness to socialize and stress were reported by many respondents, this all combined put collaborative work at risk. 

If sleep affects productivity, why is it not one of the primary objectives to tackle for organizations?

Lack of motivation, techniques, time, efforts? Many of the organizations have already been actively tracking and observing their employee’s behavior and keep sleep as one of the psychologically and physically important factors to contribute to productivity. 

There are devices that measure the duration and quality of sleep and they both are important but can they be completely trusted. Who is to decide and how that a person has gotten a good night’s sleep or not?

The Business Impact of Sleep Deprivation

In today’s hyperactive, dynamic and quick shifting paradigm, presence of mind, active coordination, effective collaboration, spontaneity, quick and accurate comprehension are the leadership qualities of the day. It challenges how a corporate culture used to work on sleepless nights, this may not be the case anymore for a few but a lot of them still need to wake up.

On the other hand, some think of it as a trivial personal problem that will resolve itself in time but it costs the business dearly. Lack of sleep contributes to lack of motivation, poor decision making, haphazard approaches, broken links in communication channels, poor training, and innovation backlogs. 

The success of an organization depends on its employees which is directly dependent on employees well being. How do we achieve that Well Being? Can an organization be completely responsible for employee well-being? What is the employees' role?

Successful organizations like Google, McKinsey have been working on tracking the sleep of their employees, which helps the organization’s productivity. But is it ethically and morally correct, and according to whom? Wouldn’t you call it an invasion of their privacy? But being such an impactful aspect of life, can sleep be subjectified and limited to only individual realms? The solutions are ambiguous and clashing where the interests of both parties overlap.

The Only Way Out is Within

The organizations can attempt to measure sleep, give devices that help in better sleep cycles, gift sleep pillows as incentives, or have employees attend Yoga and meditation but the buck ultimately stops with every individual and their unique stories.

In our work at IgnitedNeurons, we truly believe that the solution lies in bringing 'Awareness' to each individual. The world outside will stay chaotic, uncertain and demanding but each individual needs to be aware of what works for them. Organizations need to be agents to bring this awareness to every individual.

The question is, what kind of awareness?

Begin with awareness about yourself. Who are you at the core? What motivates you? When are you most inspired? Every now and then, take a pause to learn more about you. Get inspired by the work you do. This also includes an awareness of your emotions and beliefs. The more you connect with your true self, the better will be your ability to push your boundaries.

The next awareness is that work and life are not two parts of your existence. Your life is yours and work is a segment of that, And organizations, please don't promote work life balance. It is a myth! What you want instead is work and life integration where work integrates into your life, does not over power it. Work should not be all consuming.

Finally, become aware of your environment. When you go to bed, it is not a place where you should be working. It is also not a place for binge watching your favorite series. The last awake hour of your day should be full of conversations, reading, meditation or playing cards with your children. It should be anything but technology. Stay away from the attractive and addictive blue light rays that actually deeply impact your sleep cycle.

One last thought, sleep is not just an activity that you have to do because you have to. It is the way your body rejeventaes, recharges and renews every night. The higher the quality of your sleep, the shorter you will sleep and more productive you will become.

Each person is susceptible to behavioral changes if the issue is not addressed on time, instigating a ripple effect across the organization. The research has also shown that most employees are already very well educated on how much sleep they need, how they can improve it, and what is going wrong. They are either not mindful and determined enough to take the right steps or they do not understand the gravity of its adverse impacts which makes it more of a responsibility for everyone.

Enjoy your sleeping hours because they allow you to be your best self the next day!

Sweet dreams and good night.

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At IgnitedNeurons, we have a unique approach to well being that looks at not the incentives and the perks but at the individual as a whole. We work with organizations to help create strategies and interventions that ignite the spark within in their human capital. Connect with us on [email protected].