Research published by Harvard indicates that insomnia is responsible for 11.3 days per year of lost productivity for the average U.S. worker. That translates to $2,280.00 per year, or a total loss of $63.2 billion nationally.
The problem is garnering enough attention that corporate heavyweights like Goldman Sachs, Johnson & Johnson and Google are bringing in experts and finding creative ways to help their employees get more shut-eye, including holding “sleeposiums” or providing digital health sleep coaching.
Huffington Post founder Arianna Huffington has written and spoken extensively of her own struggles with sleep deprivation, and now teaches on-site meditation classes to help chill her staffers out.
The culprit? As with so many maladies these days, knowing fingers point to round-the-clock access to e-mail and social media, as well as the increasingly blurry lines between the office and what used to be called “leisure” time. Still, additional research indicates a possible link between sleep-deprived supervisors and abusive behavior toward subordinates; not to mention serious medical disorders like diabetes and even dementia.
As a result, at least one wellness and health-insurance provider, Ceridian, has started offering sleep coaches as part of its corporate client packages. Indeed, the Society for Human Resources Management now asks whether companies have on-site nap rooms in its annual survey of workplace benefits (only about 2% do).