"Good Sleep Means Productivity" Why Companies Need to Care About Employees' Sleep [Jjinbit]

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos [Photo by AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is obsessed with "8 hours of sleep." He says that sleeping 8 hours allows him to "think better and have more energy. My mood is better." Bezos's favorite time to make important decisions was 10 a.m., before lunch. After a full 8 hours of sleep, it was a time when he could demonstrate high concentration with a refreshed body and mind in the morning.

According to CNBC, in 2018 at an official event, Bezos considered the hypothetical scenario of "sleeping only 4 hours and working the remaining 4 hours." He said that this would extend his "productive hours" from 12 to 16 hours. He explained, "If you make 100 decisions a day, extending by 4 hours means you can make 33 more decisions." However, he added, "But is it worth it if it lowers the quality of the decisions you already make? Probably not."

Bezos emphasized that since the decisions he makes need to look 2 to 3 years ahead, improving the quality of decisions is more important than increasing the quantity. The foundation of this is 8 hours of sleep.

The reason for mentioning Bezos's case is to talk about sleep, well-being, and productivity. Sleep is directly linked to employee well-being. After the COVID-19 pandemic, as the world experienced major changes in life and work environments, attention to employee well-being increased, and interest in how this well-being affects productivity also grew. Today on Jinbit, we will discuss how various changes in work styles affect employees' sleep.

◆ "Employees' Lack of Sleep Costs the U.S. 63.4 Trillion Won Annually"

First, let's look at how employees' sleep is connected to companies. When employees come to work without enough sleep, it becomes harder to concentrate on tasks and can affect important decision-making. Engagement and satisfaction with the workplace inevitably decline.

According to data released by global polling firm Gallup in March, 7% of the U.S. workforce suffers from sleep deprivation. This was based on a survey conducted from January 11 to 17 with 3,035 adults aged 18 and over, asking about their sleep quality over the past 30 days. Considering there are 155 million workers in the U.S., this corresponds to about 11 million full-time employees. Their average number of sick days in the past month was 2.29 days, more than twice the 0.91 days average of employees who reported "good sleep."

Employees who have difficulty sleeping soundly are also more likely to change jobs within 12 months. Among full-time workers in the Gallup survey, the turnover rate within 12 months was 16% for those who reported "very sound sleep," 19% for those who "slept relatively well," 22% for those who "did not sleep well," and 27% for those who "had difficulty sleeping." Gallup analyzed that if all employees changed jobs to reach a state of "very deep sleep," more than 980,000 job changes annually in the U.S. would decrease, and U.S. employers would save $32.4 billion in costs.

Gallup estimated that considering all these factors, the annual productivity loss in the U.S. due to sleep deprivation exceeds $44 billion. Gallup emphasized, "For leaders embracing a well-being culture at work, increasing the importance of sleep within well-being intervention programs will bring significant returns on investment, considering the proportion of employees suffering from sleep deprivation." They added, "By treating sleep as an important mechanism for improving employee well-being, employers can not only enhance employees' quality of life but also achieve better business outcomes."

◆ Is 'Expanded Work Flexibility' Good or Bad for Sleep?

Since the pandemic, various experiments on changing work styles have been conducted worldwide. Employee well-being and sound sleep are unavoidable considerations. Now, let's look at research results on how changes in work styles have affected employees' sleep.

During the COVID-19 crisis, lockdowns in many countries led to the spread of remote work, greatly impacting workers' lives. Commuters working from home and living and working in the same space inevitably affected their sleep patterns.

The term "corona-somnia" emerged in this context. Early in the COVID-19 crisis, the whole society experienced heightened anxiety, external activities drastically decreased, and the 24-hour lifestyle pattern was disrupted. As a result, the number of workers complaining of sleep disorders increased significantly. In April last year, the American Academy of Sleep Medicine surveyed about 2,000 U.S. adults, and 56% of respondents said they experienced sleep disorders after the pandemic.

However, an interesting study was released earlier this year. According to Kaiser Health News (KHN), operated by the Kaiser Foundation, the largest U.S. medical foundation, the University of L'Aquila in Italy conducted a survey of about 900 Italian workers in 2020 and published the results last February. It found that as work flexibility expanded, the lives of "evening-type" people improved. Their bedtime and wake-up times were delayed compared to when they had to work from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and both the quantity and quality of sleep improved. This led to alleviation of depression and insomnia symptoms. Work performance could also improve as a result.

Kelly Baron, a professor at the University of Utah who studies sleep health, told KHN, "The pandemic became a global experiment to understand how sleep changes when work hours and environments change," and evaluated, "If employees can work at optimal hours, their performance will improve."

◆ "After Introducing a 4-Day Workweek, Daily Sleep Increased by 1 Hour"

Experiments with a 4-day workweek are underway in the UK, the U.S., and other countries. Results show that when a 4-day workweek was introduced, employees' daily sleep time increased by about 1 hour.

According to Bloomberg, a research team led by Professor Juliet Schor of Boston College surveyed 304 employees from 16 companies participating in the 4-day workweek pilot program conducted by the nonprofit organization 4 Day Week Global in the U.S., Australia, Ireland, and other countries. The average sleep time was 7.58 hours per day. This is about 1 hour longer than when working 5 days a week, meaning that out of the 8 hours reduced from working time, 7 hours were used for sleep.

Professor Schor revealed that among 4-day workweek workers, the proportion of those sleeping less than 7 hours at night, classified as "sleep deprivation," dropped sharply from 42.6% to 14.5%. She said the 4-day workweek positively affected life satisfaction, work-life balance, well-being, and productivity, with increased sleep time as a likely foundation.

Regarding this, Christopher Barnes, a professor at the University of Washington's Business School, introduced research findings that sleep deprivation causes unethical behavior, decreased work engagement, uncooperative behavior toward colleagues, and more aggressive and sadistic leadership tendencies. He emphasized, "Sleep and work are in a kind of competition. Reducing sleep time for work can harm health and reduce work performance."

We are now in an era where employee well-being directly connects to corporate productivity. As seen on Jinbit, it is essential to keep in mind that employees' sleep is affected by changes in work styles. The saying "sleep is the best medicine" applies not only to individuals but also to companies, doesn't it?

Editor's Note[Jinbit] is short for ‘Jeong Hyunjin’s Business Trend’ and ‘Real Business Trend.’ It is a segment that shows trends in 'work' changes such as organizational culture and HR systems after the pandemic. Based on analyses from foreign media and major overseas institutions that have not received much attention, we will deliver fresh and differentiated information and perspectives.