Managers in the United Kingdom report working an average of 14 hours more than they’re paid for each week, causing motivation and energy levels to plummet. Productivity levels in the United States are reported to be leveling off, dropping to their lowest rates in two years. What’s causing workers on both sides of the Atlantic to see their work-related energy levels falter? Maybe they just need a little more sleep. And one company is willing to provide it to the weary worker, through a little rented time in its Napping Pod.
The pods, created by New York-based MetroNaps, feature outer “shells” to provide privacy, adjustable sleep surfaces for comfort and easy exit and entry, and, according to the manufacturer, are specifically designed for short-term “power naps.” Sleepy workers, who can either pay per visit to a Napping Pod or buy monthly memberships, can check in, order lunch, take a 20-minute nap, freshen up at the “Wake Station,” and be out the door, fully rested with lunch in tow, says MetroNaps, in 25 minutes or less.
Touting itself as “the future of workforce productivity,” the company’s website notes that the concept of MetroNaps was founded on the “realization that many employees spend significant amounts of their day dozing at their desk.” The idea was reportedly researched and tested at Carnegie Mellon University and is currently available only at the MetroNaps store in New York’s Empire State Building.
That, however, doesn’t mean workers elsewhere have to go through the day longing for a little shut-eye. For sleepy workers outside of New York whose work schedules just don’t seem ergonomically suited to their sleep-wake schedules, MetroNaps has expansion plans via new stores and corporate installations. And if that isn’t enough to make any worker feel a little more well-rested, the company also markets individual napping pods complete with privacy visors, ambient sounds and vibrating mechanisms that gently shake the worker to let him or her know it’s time to get back to work.
Sources: BBC; NSF (National Sleep Foundation); MetroNaps.com