Would you fire someone if you caught them taking a nap during worktime?

[Wiyld]

I hate to break it to all the hardasses in the thread, but plenty of people in 'important' positions nap at work all the time. When you work a 24/7 job that requires 100% of your time and effort you have to plan in sleep. That means what when you are up at 4am for the conference call in Italy you are likely going to schedule in some nap time at your desk that afternoon so that you don't suck at your job the rest of the day.

The people who think that spending more time at work and neglecting their physical needs is just something that the most dedicated workers do, are the ones who end up falling asleep all the time and fucking things up.

As an example, I worked for a VP at my last company who would fall asleep in almost every meeting he attended. The guy would show up for work at like 6am, and be there till 6pm every day. He was the guy scheduling meetings at 4pm on Friday just because he wanted to make sure you were working the whole week. He's the guy who would schedule so many meetings throughout the day that he would end up having to schedule them in over lunch too. So as a result he ate out of the vending machines for breakfast and lunch every day and then slept through every meeting. He was in terrible physical shape, getting fatter by the day, he was sick ALL the time and he missed all the info being discussed in the meetings and was never current on what was going on...the guy was awful...but hey he was there at 6am giving everyone else shit for not coming in earlier, not being as dedicated to the company as he was.

My dad is a director with a fortune 100 company, my wife is a senior manager with a fortune 100 company. It isn't unusual to find a quiet spot and take a short nap to refresh yourself on a long day, it improves productivity.

Work life balance isn't just a stupid HR class you have to listen to once a year. You know what your body needs, listen to it. If you need more sleep then get it. If you have employees who are productive but they take a reasonable nap during the day then let them, if it works for them then who cares.

[Cosmic Janitor]

Probably not, I'd send them home for the day because they might just be tired. Might even be medical. If I'd catch them doing it repeatably then probably yeah (unless they check out and don't pretend to take my money, at least if their work-time model allows for that).

[Oktoberfest]

It depends on the job and the circumstance. For instance, while I don't, I certain could take an hour to 90 minute nap during my work while losing no productivity. I'm a software engineer that builds a gigantic product, and when I want to do live tests of any change, it takes at least 90 minutes to compile.

Depends on job, the workplace environment (is it hot/warm which induces sleep), any possible health issues, age the older you get the harder it is to stay up, the amount of hours working, personal circumstances ie are they a new parent, or are they working night shift(which is unnatural on the human body btw and is proven science).

If they are working a job that isolates them for long periods of time its harder to stay alert.
If they are working long hours its harder to stay alert
If they are older ...
If its warm and makes you sleepy...
Certain health problems make people sleep deprived

[Kanael]

I wouldn't mind if they're bed testing consultants or sleeping pill testers

[Deleted]

Already did (never for just a single incident,mind you), even though I take a nap sometimes myself. Gotta love the company hierarchy.

[Daedius]

Gonna need more context with this. What type of job?

A bed tester.

[Deleted]

Already did (never for just a single incident,mind you), even though I take a nap sometimes myself. Gotta love the company hierarchy.

Let's just be hopeful that you are not in charge of anything important, then.

OT; It completely depends on how the person performs. If they perform a much higher average compared to others, then i give no shits about if they take naps.

If they slack, however, i.e, take naps AND reduce performance there of, well, then i would have to talk to them about their bad performance.

But it's never the Nap itself that would define the firing point, it would be how they perform, really.

[Charge me Doctor]

No. I would stack something on his head tho

[Lord Havik]

Unless that person's job was quality testing mattresses, they'd be fired before they could even wake up.

[Deja Thoris]

This is such a stupid question with no context.

What if the guy in question was a star performer and he fell asleep because he was up till 3am producing a knockout presentation that made you look amazing to your boss?

All these dumbasses here at the bottom of the ladder flipping burgers just going "lawl I'd fire his ass so quick lawl!" Like you'll ever be in position to, don't kid yourselves.

[De Lupe]

My rule of thumb is this: if all their shit gets done and they're not milking the clock, let them do whatever they want. There's only so much "detail cleaning" you can do before you run out of details to clean. "If you've got time to lean, you've got time to clean." I hate that phrase so much.


I used to work the overnight room service shift. On an eight hour shift, I'd come in for the last three hours of business in the cafe and have five hours for the rest of my work.

Close the store. -> Parcook bacon for the morning. -> Close RS. With the exception of the occasional RS order, I did nothing for 2+ hours most nights. I got paid to watch YouTube, Netflix, and Hulu. I would regularly have nights with four hours of nothing because I cooked enough bacon for a couple days. And I fell asleep a few times when I was tired. As long as shit is done, what does it matter?

[Wikko]

That is pretty sad.

When see that all I think is how those written warnings will become live ammo that can then later be used against the company in a law suit.

What happens if they company has to downsize?

There are different set of rules for fireing someone for individual reasons and different for downsizing for example. It's pretty much standard in the EU. Much smarter system than the one in US where your boss can just come in and say you're fired and that's it.

[zhero]

Got curious around this question the other day. Personally, I'd like to know what happened in the last nights before taking any actions.

And you?

would depend on if it was a first time thing or they had a bed and a napsack

[Forgottenone]

i would never take a nap at work, but i would hate it if my employer asked me personal questions like that :P

You are a small minority then heh, a good employer would ask that because maybe he could help redo your schedule to help you out if you are going through tough times It shows they also care about you and don't see you as just some tool.

[Annoying]

Absolutely disagree. Napping on the job is not acceptable anywhere. It's about your attitude towards both your employer and your co-workers and your own work ethics.

Unless you have a lounge where you allow people to take a powernap during break times, I've been in a company in Holland that had one of those.

False, napping on the job is acceptable in Japan. Also, I've napped at my desk instead of taking a lunch break, and my boss was OK with it. I guess that might qualify as your "lounge" scenario.

[Alvito]

It would be next to impossible in my current job, but in the past possibly. It depends on the person, the job they have and what was going on. If somebody was curled up in a blanket like they set up a sleep station, they are gone. If somebody just passed out at a keyboard doing work we are having a chat most likely ending with them getting back to work or going home for the day. I can't get too high and mighty about sleeping while at work, I have done it myself. It was when I would work a close then open when you work an 11 hour shift then have another 10 to 11 hour shift in 2 hours you just stay at work and sleep.

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False, napping on the job is acceptable in Japan. Also, I've napped at my desk instead of taking a lunch break, and my boss was OK with it. I guess that might qualify as your "lounge" scenario.

I have known plenty of people to do that. Lunch time is the employees time to do what they need/want to do. Since most jobs do not pay US employee for their lunch break, they can't really say much about how you spend that time.

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As long as the job they were hired to do is done, I wouldn't really care what they do between things.

If they are hourly many would see sleeping on the job as theft.

[kail]

Too many missing variables.

[Deleted]

False, napping on the job is acceptable in Japan. Also, I've napped at my desk instead of taking a lunch break, and my boss was OK with it. I guess that might qualify as your "lounge" scenario.

I should have clarified that I'm not talking about small privately owned non-listed companies that just muck about and go out of business after a few years because they are not running a professional business.

[Annoying]

I should have clarified that I'm not talking about small privately owned non-listed companies that just muck about and go out of business after a few years because they are not running a professional business.

I don't work for a small private company. I'm a software engineer for a large company, and I have been for quite some time now. You haven't worked at every company, you don't know who does what.

[Deleted]

I should have clarified that I'm not talking about small privately owned non-listed companies that just muck about and go out of business after a few years because they are not running a professional business.

You should clarify that it's your firm ingrained own belief without substansiated proof, that you are talking about.