Getting Paid to Sleep on the Job

When Elizabeth Faumuina is caught napping under her desk - nobody bats an eyelid. In fact, she gets applause when she wakes up.

Elizabeth has been part of a training program at her work designed to nurture staff and help them be at their most productive by allowing them to nap for 30 minutes after lunch every day.

The daily 'siesta' has been a huge success. 

"I get really tired after lunch, as do most people. Since having a nap every day I have felt so refreshed and awake and I can easily work productively through to 5 o'clock without lagging," Elizabeth says.

Elizabeth has been listening to a specific sleep program while she naps, which allows the listener to come in and out of sleep at the perfect times for energising the body and refreshing the mind.

The 30 minute power-nap is deeper and more effective, with sleepers getting the equivalent of 2 hours normal sleep.

As a Legislative Compliance Officer for a national credit repairer, Elizabeth spends long amounts of her day in front of the computer reviewing documents and drafting complaints. A job which she says requires lots of persistence and focus.

"I would say on average I have doubled my output just due to being so alert which is crucial in my job. If your mind is foggy you're going to go over and over the same information, whereas now I can scan through, do what I need to do with it and move on," she says.

Of course her boss, MyCRA's CEO Graham Doessel is ecstatic with the improvement, now encouraging all staff to bring a pillow in to work for their afternoon siesta.

"I couldn't be happier. The program has improved the quality of work no end. Now every day all my employees are encouraged to nap. It may sound crazy but it really does work," he says. 

According to a Choice study, Australians are getting less sleep while expecting to achieve more.

But Choice says one night of insufficient sleep can result in a 20%-32% increase in mistakes and 14% increase in time needed to perform a task.

If people have a job which is repetitive or requires solving lots of problems, losing sleep is not ideal. Concentration and thinking ability deteriorate the longer people remain awake, the result being decreased accuracy and efficiency in the workplace.

"I think on top of the increased productivity, my staff appreciate that we are trying to take care of their health," Mr Doessel says.