Over a third of South African workers (38%) report that they have to sacrifice sleep to fit in personal and work commitments, either by waking up too early or by burning the midnight oil.
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 53% of firms are rewarding management for encouraging the creation of a flexible workforce.
Workers also highlight that a shorter commute (33%) and greater flexibility of location (26%) would give them more time spend with their families as well as to catch some extra shut-eye.
Businesses can also benefit from introducing greater flexibility, which is reported to improve productivity (78%) and help retain staff (82%).
These are some of the key findings of a global survey by Regus, based on interviews with more than 24 000 business-people from over 90 countries.
“Lack of sleep is clearly detrimental to worker health and happiness with long working hours closely linked to heart disease,” says Kirsten Morgendaal, area director Regus.