Wake up to the link between poor sleep and work performance

Poor sleep and work performance are linked, according to a recent study, backed up by a body of previous findings. Vicki Culpin looks at how sleep deprivation affects employees at all levels.

Traditionally, organisations that seek to enhance effectiveness have focused on developing leaders, managing talent and streamlining operations. However, research published in July 2016 by Hult International Business School suggests improving employees’ poor sleep may not only boost their health and wellbeing, but may give businesses a competitive advantage.

There is now a significant body of empirical knowledge highlighting the ways that poor sleep can affect individuals, including cognitive, social and health effects, yet very few focus on sleep issues within corporate life. It is this lack of research that led to the Hult study, seeking to understand how sleep loss affects the lives of working professionals, and whether or not these outcomes are related to levels of seniority.

A total of 1,060 workers completed a survey that asked a series of questions aimed at establishing their self-reported sleep quantity (how much) and quality (how good), along with how sleep loss affects three aspects of their working lives: performance; physical health; and social and emotional life. Individuals across all levels were represented, from CEOs to those without management responsibility.

Read the rest of the article @ personneltoday.com

By Vicki Culpin

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