While the rest and recuperation required over the festive period is, in reality, often negated by over-indulgence and family demands, the expectation is that employees return to work in January feeling re-charged and ready to perform their best.
In reality, one in every five workers is sleep deprived, and that those who sleep poorly are 54 percent more likely to experience stress in their job, according to a new study from international employee health and performance organization Global Corporate Challenge (GCC).
The report, “Waking Up To the Sleep Problem Every Employer Is Facing,” also found that 93 percent of poor sleepers were more likely to display workplace fatigue, a common symptom of excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) – the condition proven to increase risks of absenteeism, accidents and injury in the workplace.
“Independent research undertaken on GCC participants in the 2014 challenge demonstrates that sleep improves with increase step count in a linear fashion,” said Dr. David Batman, director of research, FCDP. “There are significant increases in productivity and reduction in fatigue and stress levels at work and home. Extrapolation of these results leads to an obvious conclusion that simple exercise improves sleep, and the combined result will be an increase in personal and business performance.”
The results come from the health and performance leaders’ first series of GCC Insights papers, based on aggregate data drawn from over employees in 185 countries. With more than 1.5 million people having now been through the program, the data sample is one of the largest, most diverse of its kind.
This GCC Insights paper also provides practical recommendations for employers who recognize that their workers’ mental and physical health inextricably is linked to business success – a realization that, for many, signals a need to re-think outdated well-being strategies in exchange for a longer-term commitment to employee health.
“The cost of poor sleep habits amongst employee populations has been grossly under estimated; it is having profound consequences for productivity and health,” said Glenn Riseley, founder and president at the GCC. “Luckily, enlightened employers are now changing their cultures so that sleep is no longer seen as a luxury but as a priority.”