Lack of sleep is more prominent at the lower echelons of employment–less than 54 percent of entry-level employees being satisfied with their sleep. (Photo: Shutterstock)
It might not seem like a big deal, but employers need to be concerned about whether their employees are able to get enough sleep.
A study of employees' sleep and fatigue from the Sleep Judge, highlights the health problems that can be caused by lack of sleep—everything from heart disease to mental health issues. But if that's not enough to get employers' attention, there's this: lack of sleep can impact employee retention.
As it turns out, professionals who are unhappy with the amount/quality of their sleep are much more likely to jump ship in search of another job, with 39 percent on the prowl for a new place to park their desk blotters. Among those who were satisfied with their sleep, only 21.3 percent—a high enough number as it is—were hunting for a new job.
The trend is particularly marked in the retail and technology sectors, in which 53.5 percent and 52.4 percent, respectively, are job-hunting. The report suggests that retail employers, already suffering from high turnover rates, would be well advised to check out employee fatigue among their crews to see what could be done to improve the situation. Ditto for tech companies, since burnout figures so prominently among the industry's challenges.
While nowhere near as many workers are job-hunting in other sectors—maybe they're too tired to look for a new job?—beware of keeping employees on a schedule of more than five days of work per week. The report warns that “among those who spent six or more workdays feeling tired each week, over half were looking for different work.”
Lack of sleep is also more prominent at the lower echelons of employment, with less than 54 percent of entry-level employees being satisfied with their sleep—compared with 76.9 percent of executives, who despite the reputation for hard-charging top brass are satisfied with theirs. Says the study, “If people in high-ranking positions shoulder more responsibilities than the average employee, they don't seem to compromise sleep to do so.”
Oh, and forget the old rah-rah, take-one-for-the-team motivational speeches as a cure for exhaustion. The study also finds that tired employees just aren't moved to inspiration by company leadership, with fewer than half of workers who are tired 5 or more days a week saying that they're inspired by leadership.
In fact, consider this disturbing statistic: another recent study, the report says, “found that 63 percent of workers distrust their company's chief executive.” Now that's a nightmare you don't want at your place of business.
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Marlene Satter
Marlene Y. Satter has worked in and written about the financial industry for decades.
