Napping at Work?

It is not a secret, office workers in the UK and in many other countries across the globe are working longer hours every week. We have discussed in previous blogs that this is having a negative effect on the amount of work related injuries that are occurring due to longer working hours. Not only this, but working longer hours sat in front of your desk and sitting on your office chair is causing the fatigue levels of staff to increase, and thus having an effect on the overall productivity of the employees. So what about being able to have a nap at work?

Some scientists have recently disclosed that taking short naps during the day actually helps to increase productivity. So the question remains that should company bosses get angry with their employees accidentally nodding off while at work when science has proved that this could have a positive effect on the business? Office furniture manufacturer Haworth, based in Holland, not only agrees with this theory, but they have gone as far as to design and manufacture what is in effect a sleeping pod. The sleeping station, called the CalmSpace, is a "sleeping-capsule" that has been designed to be placed in the office and has a compact design so can fit in even the smallest of offices.

Inside the CalmSpace, the "bed" has been sloped in the recline position and mood lighting is also featured above to help sooth you into a snooze. Not only this, but there are speakers built into the pod which offer soothing music to also enhance your napping experience. Each nap is programmed for 10-20mins to avoid employees falling into a deep sleep. It may be a bit ambitious to think that these will be used in most offices around the country, but I am sure that "hip" companies such as Google and Facebook would very much be interested in the CalmSpace.