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28 March 2024

Sleepless? Staff want more sleep; less travel

Published
By Shuchita Kapur

Are you sleep-deprived? Over a third of UAE employees claim they are.

A global report by Regus shows that 35 per cent of UAE executives say they have to sacrifice sleep to fit in personal and work commitments, either by waking up too early or by burning the midnight oil.

“Lack of sleep is clearly detrimental to worker health and happiness with long working hours closely linked to heart disease,” says Garry Gürtler, Vice-President for Middle East and Africa, Regus.

Although flexible working is highlighted as a way to reduce commuting, create more hours in the day for sleep or family life and to improve productivity and staff retention, only 58 per cent of firms are rewarding management for encouraging the creation of a flexible workforce.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if you don’t have to be stuck in daily traffic for a good part of the mornings and evenings?

Almost two in five (38 per cent) of those polled wish for a shorter commute to their workplace, while more than a quarter (26 per cent) of respondents desire greater flexibility of location (26 per cent), which they believe would give them more time spend with their families as well as to catch some extra shut-eye.

“This survey shows that allowing employees to work closer to home in professional and fully efficient environments can have an important impact on family life and provide workers with a few more minutes’ kip each morning,” Gürtler continues.

“But the benefits are not just for workers, and firms can also improve productivity and retention by introducing flexible working. Yet, in spite of the win-win benefits that flexible working can bring on both employee and company side, there is evidently still plenty of grounds for improvement as half of UAE firms do not recognise or reward managers for encouraging the creation of a flexible workforce.”

Introducing greater flexibility at the workplace in terms of location and work-hours, maintain the employees, will not only benefit them, but also their organisations, with almost three-quarters of employees (73 per cent) positive that any such move would improve productivity while an overwhelming 85 per cent say this will help savvy organisations retain staff.

Regus, which claims to be the world’s largest provider of flexible workspaces, conducted a global poll of more than 24,000 businesspeople from over 90 countries, including the UAE. The results of the survey highlight what employees want worldwide.

“Respondents highlight that a shorter commute and more flexibility over work location would help them spend more time with their families, finally spelling an end to sleepless nights filled with catching up on work or personal tasks that couldn’t be squeezed into the day,” adds Gürtler.

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