Want to position your company as a progressive place to work? Then consider offering your employees a space to catch a mid-afternoon snooze.
According to Entrepreneur.com, marketing-software company HubSpot encourages its 750 employees to catch some z’s in a “nap room” complete with a hammock and cloud-covered walls.
A 20-minute nap often is all Chief Marketing Officer Mike Volpe needs to regain focus and energy for the rest of the day, the report says. A frequent visitor to HubSpot’s nap room, Volpe is the father of two young children who finds himself fighting fatigue during the workday.
“If I have things that are particularly draining for me, like a presentation or lots of interviews, getting 20 or 30 minutes to pay back some of the sleep I lost the night before can make me so much more effective,” he tells Entrepreneur.com.
Nap rooms are becoming a more common amenity among today’s progressive companies looking to help employees balance the demands of work and family life.
The report cites Terry Cralle, a certified sleep expert and spokeswoman for the Better Sleep Council, the consumer-education arm of the International Sleep Products Association, who says research supports the benefits of napping—for both employees and the companies they work for.
“I’m still surprised that people are put off by napping,” she says. “Some large companies have workout areas or gyms on-site, and yet we’re turning a blind eye to sleep and it’s a biological necessity.”
Here’s what Cralle suggests to companies interested in creating a culture that encourages napping:
■ Create a separate space. A quiet room with couches, a hammock or a sleep pod is essential to encouraging employees to nap. Cralle says while the mid-afternoon nap comes naturally to some, others need to learn how to nap. Having a space that encourages the body to shut down is key.
■ Encourage napping. Making napping a part of company culture sends the message that naps help employees perform at their best. At HubSpot, the nap room is booked like a conference room. There are no rules about how often employees can use it, but Volpe says misuse has not been a problem. “Anyone can book it for as short or as long and as often as they want, as long as they’re meeting their performance goals,” he says.
■ Encourage appropriate timing. A nap before a meeting or a major presentation can positively affect performance. A NASA study showed a nap of just 26 minutes can boost productivity by as much as 34% and increase alertness by 54%.
