Chapter 5 discusses "key individual differences and the road to success" (Kreitner 122) The chapter picks specific points that can positively effect the workplace environment. For example Figure 5-3 displays a diagram that shows a combination of three things which create positive performance. When all used simultaneously "ability, effort and skill" all produce performance (Kreitner 138). The books states a startling fact that out of a survey of over 1.500 adults "only 49% reported getting a 'good nights sleep'" (Kreitner 138).
With that said companies across the globe have taken strong steps towards improving employees sleep conditions. Human resource departments have realized that having employees come to work tired is not conducive to a positive work environment. The chapter discusses the three companies Zappos, Workman Publishing and Yarde who have all added sleep areas within the their office buildings. Yarde, a metal distributor has even gone to the extent of creating an entire lounge where employees have visual and audio stimulants to maximize nap time.
Thea O'Connor is the author of "Corporate naptime: sleeping on the job," an article that discusses the controversy of replacing coffee machines with naps at the office. The article begins with a great statement "IF COFFEE BREAKS ARE OK, WHY NOT SIESTAS?" (O'Connor 72). The article articulates a great argument that if a substitute of sleep can be provided in the workplace why can't sleep itself be provided during breaks? The article continues to touch briefly on how employees across the world have become dependent on caffeine as a replacement of slumber, and over the years it continues the be proven that the more dependent the employee on caffeine the worse the work. The article then ends with a great statement by Dr Gerard Kennedy, a Melbourne-based sleep specialist "Workplace accidents peak when our circadian rhythms cause a drop in alertness,that's between about two and five in the afternoon, and more dramatically, two and five in the early morning."
Thea O'Connor. "Corporate naptime: sleeping on the job. " Intheblack 1 Oct. 2004: ABI/INFORM Global, ProQuest. Web. 7 Feb. 2010.
Kreitner, Robert. Organizational Behavior. 9th ed. Vol. 1. New York: McGraw-Hill Irwin, 2010.
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O'Connor provides a good argument. In Japan, a lot of the companies make it a requirement for their employees to spend time exercising daily at work. As we become more immersed within our working lives, the reality of whether we work to live, or live to work can become blurred. It is therefore, necessary to implement more aspect of our lives into the workplace, especially if they help out our job performance.
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