A number of firms have put facilities in place to help staff get more shut-eye but one VP says a quick burst of movement could be more effective.
A number of major firms have put facilities in place so staff can take a quick nap in the office but one VP says something on the complete other end of the spectrum could actually be more effective.
“There are nap rooms in the workplace where employees can get 20 or 30 minutes of sleep because that little bit of extra energy can make people more productive,” says Valeh Nazemoff, co-owner of performance management firm Acolyst. “However, you can also re-energise by dancing.”
Nazemoff – who recently penned ‘The Dance of the Business Mind’ – says employees can actively change their energy levels and even their state of mind by simply moving around and a just a few minutes of dancing could do the trick.
“It just takes one or two songs because if you get up and dance you’re not only moving your body, you’re also moving your mind,” Nazemoff tells HRM.
While a workplace dance studio might sound a little out there to some, Nazemoff’s comments are well supported by multiple studies which point to movement as an important productivity driver.
Organisations in MOTION – a study pioneered by sports scientist Jack Groppel – analysed the change in employees after they were asked to integrate some form of physical activity into their routines every 30 minutes.
Of those who completed a post-program survey, 53 percent said they increased their level of physical activity at work and 42 percent reported heightened engagement and concentration.
“A lot of people are doing this type of thing, moving at regular intervals throughout the day, but it’s all around health,” Groppel said at the time of the study. “We were looking specifically at what happens with the brain, what happens with energy, what happens with engagement.”
