Workplace conflict & performance hidden key
Carol Constant
??Leader of the Year 2024 by Digital Women. Google Ambassador WTM. WhomLab founder & CEO: tech startup helping managers build winning teams. TechLabs HR Global Manager & Board Member
Does your boss go drunk to work? High? Have you ever thought: What is wrong with them today?
What if I told you that you may be right? Even if they had not had alcohol for days.
What if it is YOU who also is working under the influence and you are not even aware of it?
Be ready to be blown away by recent research about the causes of poor work performance and workplace conflict.
Before we go any further please think, do you ever go to work after sleeping less than 7 hours?
?
Did you know?
Moderate sleep deprivation produces impairments in cognitive performance and mood equivalent to LEGAL LEVELS of alcohol intoxication.
The effects of going to work mildly drunk or mildly sleep-deprived are eerily similar and may explain much of the work conflict that many of us endure.
Tell me if this list sounds too familiar even if going to work completely sober.
?
Work performance
1. Reduced Cognitive Function:
->Impaired Concentration: Difficulty maintaining focus on tasks.
->Decreased Attention to Detail: More frequent mistakes and oversight.
->Slower Processing Speed: Longer time taken to understand and respond to information.
2. Decreased Productivity:
->Lower Efficiency: Taking longer to complete tasks.
->Reduced Output: Completing fewer tasks within a given time.
?
3. Memory Impairment:
->Short-term Memory Problems: Difficulty retaining and recalling recent information.
->Learning Difficulties: Struggle with absorbing new information or skills.
?
?4. Impaired Decision Making:
->Poor Judgment: Increased likelihood of making wrong or not optimal decisions.
->Risk-taking Behavior: Greater tendency towards risky decisions due to impaired risk assessment.
?
5. Increased Error Rate:
->More Mistakes: Higher incidence of errors in work tasks, especially detailed-oriented tasks.
Mood
1. Irritability:
->Increased Frustration: Greater propensity for frustration, annoyance over minor issues, and reduced tendencies to accept blame.
?
2. Mood Swings:
->Emotional Instability: Frequent and unpredictable changes in mood.
?
3. Increased Stress:
领英推荐
->Higher Anxiety Levels: Feeling more stressed and anxious about work and other areas of life.
?
4. Depressive Symptoms:
->Lack of Motivation: Reduced drive to engage in activities or complete tasks.
->Low Mood: Persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness.
?
5. Reduced Coping Ability:
->Lower Resilience: Struggling to cope with work pressures and personal challenges.
?
Now you may be wondering is it that bad?
Research shows that over 50% of employees experience poor or insufficient sleep costing over 60 Billion in losses, only in the US.
Some companies are taking action.
?
Paid to sleep
Does it seem like a dream?
An increasing number of companies are implementing “Corporate Sleep Programs”
Google: provides nap rooms with futuristic-looking sleep capsules called “energy pods” for employees to take power naps.
Ben & Jerry’s: for the last ten years also provides nap rooms for their staff. Maybe that’s why their ice cream tastes so good!
Aetna: pays their employees a dollar a night if they get more than 7 hours of sleep.
Their data shows remarkable increased productivity and lower workplace conflict. It makes perfect sense.
?
Can you make a difference?
To make a difference for us and our teams first we need data.
I cannot recommend you enough the book “Why we sleep” written by Matthew Walker, PhD the director of the Center for Human Sleep Science at Berkeley.
It is free on Kindle. It will change the way you think about sleep, specially the correlation between lack of sleep, work performance, and workplace conflict.
?
Questions for you
Does your company remark on the importance of quality sleep for quality work?
Is there a place on your office where staff can go for a quick nap if they feel this will help them perform better?
Would you use part of your lunch break in a nap room if you had the chance?
?
Data clearly shows the path forward.
Let’s build more sensible workplaces, more diverse, equal, and inclusive.
* * * *
Did you know?
I am the founder and CEO of WhomLab ?? . Our technology is AI-driven and BIAS-free to help managers optimize their staff.?
We help reduce workforce costs by helping match:
*People to jobs for internal mobility
*People to people for more efficient teams.
If you are curious to know how our software can help you make the most of your teams, send me a message for a chat.
Senior Data Engineer at Incedo Inc. | Using Big Data to solve multiple problems at scale | Spark | Azure | Databricks | ELK | Ex Sapient | Business mindset | Passive investor
7 个月I agree!
I help driven women unlock purpose-aligned lives in just six months?
7 个月SLEEP is EVERYTHING! And it can be such a vicious cycle when work stress steals sleep, so you show up sleepless and have an even harder time at work. I know, I fell into clinical insomnia after exposure to chronic work stress.
TEDx Speaker I Key Note Talks I Executive Coach I Workshops
7 个月Sobering wisdom Carol!
Tedx Speaker, YALI SOUTHERN AFRICA ALUMA, Boychild wellbeing advocate, Social justice and Gender equity Advocate, Founder of LIVE OUT LOUD NAMIBIA,
7 个月Love this
Product Marketing Manager at keyIT | Generative AI & Data-Driven Solutions | Prompt Engineering Geek
7 个月Thank you for this article and share how sleep is important!