Malaysia - Have you been sleeping on the job?

Have you been sleeping on the job? This is a remark that we do not want directed at us not by our colleagues and certainly not by our superiors.

It carries the implication that we have been derelict in our responsibilities or have committed some serious mistakes due to our lack of attention.

But to Chinese national Lee Jia, sleeping on the job is part of his daily work routine. He gets paid 10,000 yuan (US$1,600) a month to test out hotel rooms for their comfort.

He also has to check out the cleanliness of the room, the brand of toiletries and what's available on TV. But it's the sleeping part that has got the world media all excited.

Lee takes his job seriously and admits that it can be stressful at times.

“You need to be highly focused and observe every detail in order to produce a comprehensive report,” he said.

We are not likely to be in Lee Jia's position but I believe all of us who work relish the idea of being able to take a short nap, say 10 to 20 minutes, sometime in the middle of the day.

The Spanish word siesta is taken from the Latin hora sexta, which means “the sixth hour.” Counting from dawn, it means noon, hence siesta is commonly known as “midday rest.”

Today, we associate the siesta only to Spain and other Mediterranean countries. But historically, many countries, including Asian ones, practised it.

The drive for development somehow made every minute precious and anyone who wanted to take a short nap would be considered lazy.

If you so much as try and catch 40 winks at work, you had better be prepared to face the music.

Five years ago, in 2006, siesta advocates in the UK managed to get the country to declare June 25 as National Siesta Day.

On that day, bosses were told to turn a blind eye to their workers when they took a short nap after lunch. In fact, they were encouraged to do likewise.

According to the advocates, a short 10-20 minute nap in the middle of a working day can increase productivity by over 30 per cent and alertness by 100 per cent as well as improve memory and concentration. They also claim that it can reduce stress and the risk of heart disease by 34 per cent.

And for good measure, they cited a number of famous people who napped. Bill Clinton napped while he was President to help him cope with the pressures of office. So did Margaret Thatcher.

Napoleon apparently napped between battles while sitting on his horse. And Churchill maintained that he had to nap in order to cope with his wartime responsibilities.

Unfortunately, National Siesta Day was a short-lived experiment and was called off in 2009 after medical research showed that there is an increased risk of developing Type 2 diabetes with those people who nap than those who do not.

Let's admit it. We all do feel a bit tired after lunch. More so the high-powered lunches where a sumptuous spread is laid out. Without fail, as we head back to work, we will say something like, “Aiyoh, how to work after this? Ate too much how nice if I could take a nap!”

I wonder if anyone is brave enough to promote a National Siesta Day in our country. I am sure we have our fair share of famous Malaysians who have been caught napping on the job.

Soo Ewe Jin

The Star

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