By Stephen D. Bruce, PHR
Editor, HR Daily Advisor
Four weeks ago our e-pinion featured tips for napping at work. Our readers responded quickly. Two brief responses sum up the views on napping: 1. “We do not permit napping. You’ve got to be kidding me!” 2. “Bravo! I love your topic—it helps me feel better about my occasional need for a nap. A 15-minute snooze refreshes me and makes me more alert for the rest of the afternoon.”
[Go here to see the original e-pinion]
Here are some of the other responses:
How I Wish
How I wish our company would permit even a 30-minute nap at work!!! I experience an energy dip daily around 2-3 P.M.—I am definitely less than productive then.
We’ve had a recent surge in accidents (most of which were determined to be due to inattention to detail and loss of focus). I’m going to ask our safety team to see if there is a correlation to the “drowsy period.”
I have a very private office and could probably take a short nap … if only I didn’t snore!
Naps in Supply Closet
During both my pregnancies I napped at work in our lounge. I have napped at practically every job I have ever had (usually in my car over lunchtime). Now that I have children (and am subsequently up a lot at night), I frequently take naps in my supply closet.
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Dirty Little Secret
I nap during my lunch hour in my car. I drive away from the office so no one knows my dirty little secret. But that 30 minutes or so makes me a much more alert and productive employee in the afternoon.
As the workforce ages, I can see naptime as a very valuable recruiting tool. Though our union folks would somehow ruin it for the rest of us.
Miss Those Naps
When I used to work we had a small room with a bed and I would be able to take a 30 minute nap in the afternoon—I loved it and I agree it made me more productive. I miss those naps.
Nap Is Really Helpful
As a labor and employment lawyer, I often experience the need for a mid-day nap. I close the door, close the blinds, put the phone on “do not disturb.” I enhance my sleep with noise-canceling earphones plugged into my iPhone that plays background noise (waves, rain, etc.) and certain wave sounds that stimulate particular brain waves conducive to sleep, dreaming, etc.
After 20 minutes I awaken and am refreshed and ready to go forward for several more hours (til 8 pm usually).
Napping Trick
One trick: drink a cup of coffee just as you are about to take your nap. If you’re taking a 20 minute nap, it will hit your bloodstream at the time you’re awakening. Makes it a lot easier.
Siesta
What an interesting article! I feel vindicated knowing that my 2:30 p.m. drowsiness really isn’t my fault. Seven years ago, when I was working overseas, we had two-hour lunch breaks and I know that part of the secret to the mental acuity and high productivity of the more senior executives was their afternoon naps.
Causing a Fight
You are going to cause a fight at my house. My husband says he frequently will “shut his eyes” for 10 -15 minutes. He says it helps him to refocus and is a little pick-me-up for the rest of the afternoon. I tell him that if I was his boss I would fire him … now he has an actual study to back him up. Thanks.
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Napping Not Condoned
We don’t have a policy on napping. I do take 20 minutes naps about once a week. I don’t know about anybody else. Most of our offices are open and napping is not condoned.
Invariably More Productive
During my lunch hour, I go out to my car, move it to a secluded section of the parking lot, recline the driver’s seat, crack the windows, set the alarm clock on my cell phone, and take a nice snooze. My afternoons are invariably more productive when I make the time to do this.
Call Me Cynical
Call me cynical but things are really getting sad, out of hand. How many years have people laughed about the Mexicans taking a siesta each day and yet they will die to get into the US, are willing to work tedious hours, and don’t complain. Those in the US who think this way should move to Mexico; let the Mexicans and others who want to work move into their homes.
Sorry about this but I’ve had it; I think a lot of business owners may feel the same way.
Getting Some Traction
I am currently in the midst of a post-grad for NeuroLeadership and one of the areas I would have liked to have done my research assignment is on the area of napping—particularly as it relates to recharging the pre-frontal cortex. However, the major issues, I suspect, are still social views of napping equaling laziness and also having the appropriate spaces to do this.
Nevertheless, yours in the second article I have read this week on the subject, so it would appear to be getting some traction.
Thanks to all who responded. I think I need a nap [yawn].