Stress, Fatigue and Reduced Productivity: The True Cost of Sleepless Workers Revealed

Christmas parties aren’t the only reason your employees are showing up for work bleary-eyed, as the latest sleep report reveals.

Melbourne, Australia — A new GCC Insights study, complied by international employee health and performance organisation Global Corporate Challenge (GCC), reveals that 1 in every 5 workers is sleep deprived, and that those who sleep poorly are 54% more likely to experience stress in their job.

The report also found that 93% of poor sleepers were more likely to display workplace fatigue, a common symptom of Excessive Daytime Sleepiness (EDS) — the condition proven to increase risks of absenteeism, accidents and injury in the workplace.

The results come from the health and performance leaders’ first series of GCC Insights papers, based on aggregate data drawn from over employees in 185 countries. With more than 1.5 million people having now been through the program and proven its success for some of the world’s most recognised brands, the data sample is one of the largest, most diverse of its kind.

Director of Research, FCDP — Dr. David Batman — said, “Independent research undertaken on GCC participants in the 2014 challenge demonstrates that sleep improves with increase step count in a linear fashion.”

“There are significant increases in productivity and reduction in fatigue and stress levels at work and home. Extrapolation of these results leads to an obvious conclusion that simple exercise improves sleep, and the combined result will be an increase in personal and business performance.”

While the rest and recuperation required over the festive period is, in reality, often negated by over-indulgence and family demands, the expectation is that employees return to work in January feeling re-charged and ready to perform their best.

This GCC Insights paper also provides practical recommendations for employers who recognise that their people’s mental and physical health is inextricably linked to business success — a realization that, for many, signals a need to re-think outdated, “tick-box” well-being strategies in exchange for a longer term commitment to employee health.

Glenn Riseley — Founder and President at the GCC — said, “The cost of poor sleep habits amongst employee populations has been grossly under estimated; it is having profound consequences for productivity and health. Luckily, enlightened employers are now changing their cultures so that sleep is no longer seen as a luxury but as a priority.” (PR Newswire)