Canadian HR Reporter

CANADIAN HR REPORTER January 23, 2017 NEWS 9 and a safer working environment." Lack of sleep also leads to in- creased job dissatisfaction, lack of innovation, increased absen- teeism, and cyber-loafing, which is defined as a worker sitting at her desk while conducting personal business instead of productive la- bour, said Boyer. It may also lead to harmful "cyclical behaviour" such as be- ing curt with co-workers, he said, which could cause that colleague to engage in such unproductive behaviours as interpersonal gos- sip and incivility toward others. Another big factor robbing Ca- nadians of sleep is the long drive in to work, which is especially acute for workers living in bigger cities, such as Toronto or Montreal, ac- cording to Samuels. "Geography plays a huge role in all of this," he said. "As we accu- mulate sleep debt, which is ubiq- uitous in North America, people are running around with a 10 to 20 sleep debt per week, easily — just from the commute." This leads to an even more damaging effect on a person's health. "Over time, chronic, cumula- tive sleep debt can cause health decrements and the biggest one would be increased consumption of high calorie-dense foods, and the downstream effect of that is weight gain," said Samuels. is "poor attention to normal health" could lead to health prob- lems such as heart disease, diabe- tes and hypertension, he said. e day-to-day grind requires recovery, which is best accom- plished through sleep. "As we push ourselves more and more, and get less and less recovery, rest and sleep, we put ourselves at risk for developing health issues," said Samuels. Technology challenges Constantly being in touch with the outside world, and especially the office, can also become det- rimental to workers' health, said Hafner. "Because everybody has their smartphone, we are always avail- able for work or for pleasure for checking up on social media." "If you use your electronic devices like your iPad or smart- phone, they give you a lot of expo- sure to blue light (which is emit- ted from electronic devices) and if you do this before you go to sleep, it might lower your levels of mel- atonin, which is a hormone that regulates your inner body clock," said Hafner. "It has been scientifi- cally shown that this might affect your sleep quality." How humans interact with the media can also affect the quality of sleep, said Samuels. "It's not the light, it's the inter- action with the phone." When workers are checking a late email, the brain begins to wake up and this could delay the beginning of a sleep cycle. "To get your rest, get rid of your phone," said Samuels, who advises it is better to "attend to life in a normal fashion, not a technologi- cal fashion." Checking back into the office from home has an effect on the brain, whether or not the message is addressed, said Boyer. "Reading the email already gets your mind going and racing and then you are thinking about that email for the next hour," he said, and even if a person doesn't re- spond immediately, his brain is already thinking about how to respond in the morning. Potential fixes So what can HR managers do to help address this issue? It starts with companies not being afraid to make sleep a priority, according to Boyer. "All employees can benefit from a fatigue-management plan." And employers should at- tempt to erase the stigma work- ers might feel about reporting lack of sleep as a factor in decreased productivity. "If you are reprimanding them, then no one will come forward and admit this is causing an issue and the organization can't miti- gate the risk," said Boyer. Hafner cited the example of Huffington Post founder Arianna Huffington who physically col- lapsed one day in 2007 and hit her head. She then realized a lack of sleep contributed greatly to her fall. "She basically came to the con- clusion that sleep might matter," said Hafner. Organizations should start at the top by seeing sleep as an im- portant factor and not as a waste of time, as some CEOs claim, he said. "(ey should) see sleep of em- ployees as a productivity factor or something that might increase productivity of employees," said Hafner. "The company might build a corporate culture that starts valuing sleep." e biggest thing is creating a culture where sleep is a priority, said Hutcheson. As an example, Fatigue Science regularly inter- acts with workers in different time zones around the world, but focuses on "making sleep a prior- ity, understanding the impact of sleep on your performance and creating a space where that hap- pens," she said. Part of a good leader's job is to recognize the harmful effects that are happening when employees don't get enough sleep. Business- es should be "trying to teach their managers to know and recognize signs and symptoms," said Boyer, and then prompt managers to become proactive in addressing the issue. Employers should also do more to enlighten employees about the benefits of good sleep, said Samuels. "ey can educate the workers on how to look after their health, attending to recovery, which al- lows them to eat more health- ful, be more active," he said. "Get enough sleep: at's the bottom line, that's the foundation of a healthy lifestyle." Enlighten workers on benefits of rest SLEEP < pg. 3 There's only one CHRP And it's not going anywhere. HRPA is the only association in Canada that offers the Certified Human Resources Professional (CHRP) designation nationally. Keep your CHRP and earn the CHRL and CHRE as you gain leadership experience and demonstrate your influence across your organization. These designations tell employers you've got what it takes to meet the rigorous demands of business. And if you are enrolled in or have recently completed an approved HR program, you may be eligible to be a CHRP with the HRPA. As an HRPA member, your future is limitless. Come grow with us. Keep your CHRP. Find out how at: hrpa.ca/keepit 742-17 HRPA-Ad2017-CanadianHRReporter-CHRP-FullPage.indd 1 2017-01-05 3:01 PM

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