Companies make room for the office power nap in interest of productivity
Snoozing on the job isn’t just permitted at Bob Vaez’s software company, it’s encouraged.
The Toronto boss of EventMobi describes himself as “the only CEO that promotes people to sleep at work,” insisting the policy boosts productivity and company morale.
To that end, EventMobi’s open-concept waterfront office features a private nap room where workers can grab a few Zs if they feel sluggish, or just get some alone time in a dark space if they have a headache or don’t feel well.
“It’s just from my own experience,” Vaez says of his reasons for setting up the quiet space.
“As (with) any other tech professional worker, you work really odd hours and your brain just sometimes shuts off. Especially after lunch you just can’t work and I’ve been to other offices (where) people sleep at their desk and it’s really frowned upon. If you can’t work, what’s the point?”
The benefits of adequate sleep are well-established, but Vaez’s willingness to address tired staffers in such a direct way is relatively rare. Still, he’s not the only one.
Google Canada spokesman Aaron Brindle says nap rooms can be found in the tech giant’s offices around the world, including the Toronto office where a space for nursing mothers can be reserved for taking a break — or a nap.
Another space at their engineering headquarters in Kitchener, Ont., features two high-tech recliners with large spherical privacy visors for extra-tired employees looking to grab some shut-eye.
Meanwhile, management consulting firm Accenture says its Toronto office features a wellness room where staffers can snooze.
Productivity expert Lisa Belanger is glad to see such initiatives, noting that other countries seem to understand the need for work/life balance better than Canada.
She points to Finnish sauna culture and the Swedish coffee break known as Fika.
“Europe is doing better on this for sure with valuing vacation, respite, weekends,” says Belanger, a post-doc researcher at the University of Calgary whose work includes looking at effective break strategies.
Labour breaks were introduced to boost efficiency, she notes. These days, they are eliminated in the belief they slow us down.
“Coffee breaks were designed in the industrial era so that it increased productivity, reduced safety concerns and injuries and errors,” says Belanger, also CEO of the consulting firm ConsciousWorks, which looks at how brain health, nutrition and sleep affect performance.
“It’s gotten to the point where we kind of skipped over them. We put our coffee in a to-go mug and just get it in us as quickly as possible and forget that our brain requires breaks.”