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Jobs: Taking an afternoon nap could ‘dramatically’ improve the economy
Draging Western economies out of the Doldrums could be aided by simply allowing workers to take an afternoon nap.
That’s the view of husband and wife professors Dr Andrew Kakabadse and Dr Nada Kakabadse who accuse managers who say “lunch is for wimps” of being ‘outdated and uninspiring’.
Dr Andrew Kakabadse, Professor of international management development at Cranfield University in Bedfordshire said: “A key consequence of the economic crisis is that breaks are getting shorter as job insecurity increases.
“We recommend companies consider and evaluate appropriate break times for their workers. Staff should be encouraged to take approved rests, and be provided with a private place where they can take a nap without any pressure of their reputation being damaged for doing so.”
Dr Nada Kakabadse, Professor in management and business research at the University of Northampton Business School said: “Having assessed employee performance and health studies recently conducted across the UK, US and Western Europe, we believe offering workers the opportunity for a brief nap provides significant benefits in employee concentration, health and productivity.
“People are increasingly being asked to do more with less at work. Outdated and uninspiring management practice is having an oppressing effect on workforces, who are increasingly operating in environments where the attitude is ‘lunch is for wimps’.
“Today’s management techniques are based on 19th century manufacturing models. These originally featured a proper break during the work day - one example being afternoon siestas, which were commonplace in Germany up until the industrial revolution.”
Dr Andrew Kakabadse added that results of the research indicated that people napping at least three times a week for an average of 30 minutes have a 37 per cent lower coronary mortality than those not taking siestas.
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Sunday 26 May 2013
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