Sleep Deprivation and the Bottom Line

USA Today and Harvard Business Review report on the impacts sleep has on the job. In companies I’ve worked with in the past, we knew and heard about colleagues who work over 12-hour days on a regular basis. Based on my experience, I don’t understand why companies encourage and reward employees working long hours.

With each passing hour after the tenth hour, I became less effective. What took me two hours to do during overtime would take me only 20 minutes to do when I’m fresh and well-rested. Two nights ago, I got about five to six hours sleep — too little. I need seven to nine hours of sleep to do my best work for the entire day. Instead, I was sluggish all day and procrastinated. Things I remembered easily slipped my mind five minutes after thinking about them.

An IT manager who worked till 1:30 am on a Wednesday night was dragging on Thursday and Friday. Employees fear shortening their hours knowing there’s always someone out there who can handle it and maybe even for less money. Is it time to change the culture? What can be done?