Think you have it hard? The average Japanese worker gets just six hours and 22 minutes of sleep on a worknight, the lowest of any country. According to a study by the US National Sleep Foundation, only 54% of Japanese employees felt that they enjoyed a good night’s sleep every or almost every single night.
The country’s response to this troubling lack of sleep? Naps. The health ministry has recommended that workers get a 30-minute nap in the early afternoons, and companies are making sure their employees do. Some offer couches for snoozing, and allow employees to take a 20- or 30-minute nap on company time. Alternatively, an exhausted worker can head to a café and pay for the privilege of climbing into a specially designated bed.
Some work experts say that taking a power nap helps improve job performance. Tiredness can cause work to suffer and mistakes to be made, but can you imagine your boss signing off on a post-lunch siesta? You never know…