Sleep Debt At Work: What Is the True Cost?

By CPD News

Sleep loss in Australian workplaces, from mines to offices, is costing employers between $1billion and $3billion per year, yet few companies recognise the problem or have looked at its source.

The cost, estimated by the Centre for Sleep research at the University of South Australia, and measured in terms of loss in productivity, absenteeism and injury, can be directly linked to long hours and overtime, says Professor Drew Dawson from the Centre.

In the US, the National Sleep Foundation has estimated mistakes and accidents due to sleep deprivation cost businesses US$18billion per year.

Other research shows that in Europe, the US and Australia sleep has slipped own the priority list in workers lives. While eight hours sleep has long been said to be essential for effective human performance, less than half the working population in these countries achieved their eight hours.

What needs to be realised is that longer hours worked does not necessarily translate into greater productivity.

(Thomson CPD Workplace Intelligence, June 2004)