Are you getting the full 8 hours?

Despite popular belief that productivity is in the amount of hours we work, Huffington Post founder Arriana Huffington argues that while we’re bragging about how little sleep we got the night before, we have actually decreased our productivity by not getting the full 8 hours.

In The Harvard Business Review, Huffington discusses the direct impact sleep deprivation has on facial cues, employee safety, health and well-being, and most interestingly, can stimulate unethical behaviour in the workplace, an effect we see all too often in workplace mediation cases. This behaviour in turn can lead to a number of workplace conflict issues and a decrease in productivity.

While Huffington suggests the eventual implementation of ‘nap rooms,’ rooms especially assigned for a midday snooze, in the meantime large and small businesses can work on the health and wellbeing of employees by encouraging yoga, meditation, and stressing the importance of sleep.

We could all take a leaf out of our US counterpart’s books and make a stand for a healthier generation of workers and productivity, and according to Huffington “change the workplace culture so that what's stigmatized is not napping but walking around drained and exhausted.”

If you have encountered what you believe to be unethical behaviour in the workplace or believe your workplace is unfairly promoting an unhealthy lifestyle, contact Brisbane Mediations for a fast and inexpensive solution. 

By Katie Prowd

(07) 3839 7400

resolve@brisbanemediations.com.au

   

http://www.womensagenda.com.au/talking-about/world-of-women/awaken-your-career-success-arianna-huffington-on-the-need-for-sleep/201306192351

http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2013/06/getting_naps_ahead_of_the_comp.html?nomobile=1

Testing the Sustainability of Your Marriage

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/12/31/the-sustainable-marriage-quiz/?ref=taraparkerpope A study by Aron and Lewandowski in New Jersey has identified a process called "self-expansion" as a key to marital success. The research found that the more self expansion people can achieve with their partners, the more satisfying their relationships. To measure this factor in marriage Dr Lewandowski has developed a quiz which measures how much people's intimate relationships expand their knowledge of themselves and make them feel positive about themselves. Go to the article by Tara Parker-Pope in the New York Times to see the test for yourself.