Less than one-fifth (17%) of employee respondents state that their employer proactively educates staff on the impact of sleep on general wellbeing, according to research by Willis Towers Watson.
Its survey of 1,123 full and part-time UK employees aged between 18 and 64 years old also found that 66% of respondents believe tiredness negatively affects productivity at work.
The research also found:
- 36% of respondents struggle to get a good night’s sleep because of their job.
- 55% of respondents that struggle to sleep believe that difficulty winding down after a stressful day at the office is the reason for this, and 45% feel that job worries stop them from sleeping.
- 41% of respondents that find it difficult to sleep at night cite early starts as a reason for this, and 35% blame late-night working.
- 65% of respondents believe that tiredness has become a more significant problem in the workplace over the past five years.
Mike Blake (pictured), director at Willis Towers Watson Health and Benefits, said: “Employers who become more attuned to the needs of their [employees] outside the office are more likely to retain a happy and healthy employee base. [Organisations] should aim to identify and tackle potential issues before they become a problem.
“Open dialogue is key to establishing a positive workplace culture that addresses and mitigates stress and fatigue. This will allow managers to identify dips in productivity and tackle the root causes before more serious issues arise, such as absenteeism and presenteeism.
“By placing an emphasis on the importance of sufficient sleep, [employees] will also feel more comfortable approaching managers about fatigue and solutions can be found, such as meditative practices, review of workloads or flexible working hours.”