Are you tired?

If the answer is yes, you’re likely not alone. The Washington Post recently reported that the average American gets about 1½ hours less sleep than the average American 50 years ago.

Apparently, this lack of sleep has economic consequences:

Research out of Harvard has shown that, for the average worker, insomnia results in the loss of 11.3 days of productivity each year, or the equivalent of $2,280. As a nation, that represents a total loss of $63.2 billion.

Researchers have also found clear links between poor sleep and reduced quality of life on the job. A study last year showed that people who monitored their smart phones for business reasons after 9 p.m. were more tired and less engaged the next day at work. Others studies have unearthed a link between insomniac bosses and abusive behavior. And many have examined the correlations between lack of sleep and medical conditions like dementia and diabetes.”

In conclusion, sleep deprivation doesn’t increase productivity. We can only hope that more bosses give up the notion that an employee’s value is in inverse proportion to the hours of sleep he or she gets. 

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