Out of the Bedroom and Into the Office

But Will Napping in the Workplace Really Catch On?

Sleep is an act that has traditionally been relegated to the private sphere -- definitely not something employers were supposed to get involved in. But as work hours get longer and employees spend more and more time in the office, the boundaries between private life and the workplace are increasingly blurred. With stronger links being established between productivity and rest, employees’ sleep routines are beginning to catch the interest of their employers.

"Colonizing the nap at work is part of a larger trend that is reconfiguring the once bounded relationships between home and work and public and private space and time," explain sociologists Vern Baxter and Steve Kroll-Smith. They explain that while napping at work was typically considered deviant behavior -- a resistance against the management and a flouting of the rules -- employers are increasingly encouraging employees to nap in the workplace and some could potentially even mandate it.

The consensus among experts in the area of sleep is that both anecdotal and empirical evidence indicate a strong relationship between being well-rested on the one hand, and optimally productive, creative, happy, analytical and physically fit on the other. Since the current structure of our society does not allow the average American enough sleep at night, Dr Helene Emsellem, author of "Snooze… or Lose" points out that people need to be creative -- and napping is a good way to do this.

According to Bill Anthony, author of "The Art of Napping at Work," napping is slowly trending towards becoming more mainstream: "people often had to nap surreptitiously -- in their cars or behind their desks. Now this is changing with a changing rationale: sleep is being seen not as a perk but as a productivity enhancer."

Sara Mednick, Assistant Professor at UCSD and author of "Take a Nap Change Your Life," supports this view: she believes that the cultural taboo that surrounds the idea of napping will gradually dissolve, just as the taboo that surrounded the notion of telecommuting in the 80s eventually disintegrated. Similar to the philosophy behind setting up gyms and cafeterias within office buildings so that employees can fulfill as many of their needs in house as possible, Mednick predicts that employers will increasingly recognize that onsite napping facilities can be beneficial to productivity levels.

There are those who disagree however. "Napping is not a viable solution... Napping in the workplace is more of a quick fix to a larger problem," insists Nancy Shark, Executive Director of the Better Sleep Council. "Anyone looking to improve their daily work performance… can benefit by improving the quality of their sleep at night. Just like scheduling a meeting or dinner with friends, everyone should prioritize sleep as a part of their daily schedule."

Here to Stick?

Whatever the health benefits of napping, it is undeniable that companies catering to a rising interest in sleep are fast cropping up. But is this interest just another trend?

Businesses like Chowdhury's hinge on the fact that it is not. "Fatigue is not a fad. For the past 30 years, Americans have been working longer hours and sleeping less. We are increasingly a sleep deprived nation," emphasizes Chowdhury. He maintains that due to the efforts of the pharmaceutical industry, people are developing an enhanced awareness regarding sleep deprivation -- one that is here to stick around.