The Cost of Sleep Deprivation in the Workplace

The Problem of Sleepiness

Ronit Rogosziniski, a financial planner, loses sleep because of her 5 a.m. wake-up call, so she sneaks to her car for a quick lunchtime snooze each day. She is not alone, as evidenced by the comments on Wall Street Oasis, a website frequented by investment bankers who blog about their travails. Should the legions of secret nappers be blessed or cursed by their organizations for this behavior? Research suggests they should be encouraged. Sleep is a problem, or rather, lack of quality zzz’s is a costly organizational problem we can no longer overlook. Sleepiness, a technical term in this case that denotes a true physiological pressure for sleep, lowers performance, and increases accidents, injuries, and unethical behavior. One survey found that 29 percent of respondents slept on the job, 12 percent were late to work, 4 percent left work early, and 2 percent did not go to work due to sleepiness. While sleepiness affects 33 percent of the U.S. population, the clinical extreme, excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS), is fully debilitating to an additional 11 percent. In a vicious cycle where the effects of sleepiness affect the organization, which leads to longer work hours and thus more sleepiness, the reason for the sleepiness epidemic seems to be the modern workplace. Full-time employees have been getting less sleep over the past 30 years as a direct result of longer work days, putting them more at risk for sleep disorders. Sleepiness directly decreases attention span, memory, information processing, affect, and emotion regulation capabilities. Research on sleep deprivation has found that tired workers experience higher levels of back pain, heart disease, depression, work withdrawal, and job dissatisfaction. All these outcomes have significant implications for organizational effectiveness and costs. Sleepiness may account for $14 billion of medical expenses, up to $69 billion for auto accidents, and up to $24 billion in workplace accidents in the United States annually. Although being around bright light and loud sounds, standing, eating, and practicing good posture can reduce sleepiness temporarily, there is only one lasting cure: more hours of good-quality sleep. Some companies are encouraging napping at work as a solution to the problem, and one survey of 600 companies revealed that 6 percent had dedicated nap rooms. In addition, in a poll of 1,508 workers conducted by the National Sleep Foundation, 34 percent said they were allowed to nap at work. These policies may be a good start, but they are only Band-Aid approaches since more and better sleep is what’s needed. Researchers suggest that organizations should consider flexible working hours and greater autonomy to allow employees to maximize their productive waking hours. Given the high costs of sleepiness, it’s time for them to take the problem much more seriously.

The Modern Workplace and Sleep

Final exam _ Section CA, Summer 2020 Page 5 of 11Questions: 1A) Apply the expectancy theory to understand how might sleep deprivation influence employees’ motivation at work. Be sure to clearly state your claim (e.g., sleep deprivation increases, decreases or has no effect on motivation) and support your claims with sound arguments. (6 points) 1B) Use equity theory to analyze how might the incorporation of “nap rooms” for sleep-deprived employees can change their motivation. Be sure to clearly state your claim and support your claims with sound arguments. (3 points) 1C) If you were a manager who noticed your employees were sleep-deprived, what steps might you take to help them? What theories of motivation could you use to help them? (5 points) Case 2 Over the past century, the average age of the workforce has increased as medical science has continued to enhance longevity and vitality. Many individuals will work past the previously established ages of retirement, and the fastest-growing segment of the workforce is individuals over the age of 55. Unfortunately, older workers face a variety of discriminatory attitudes in the workplace. Researchers scanned more than 100 publications on age discrimination to determine what types of age stereotypes were most prevalent across studies. They found that stereotypes inferred that older workers are lower performers. Research, on the other hand, indicates they are not, and organizations are realizing the benefits of this needed employee group. Dale Sweere, HR director for engineering firm Stanley Consultants, is one of the growing number of management professionals actively recruiting the older workforce. Sweere says older workers “typically hit the ground running much quicker and they fit into the organization well.” They bring to the job a higher skill level earned through years of experience, remember an industry’s history, and know the ageing customer base. Tell that to the older worker who is unemployed. Older workers have long been sought by government contractors, financial firms, and consultants, according to Cornelia Gamlem, president of consulting firm GEMS Group Ltd., and she actively recruits them. However, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that the average job search for an unemployed worker over age 55 is 56 weeks, versus 38 weeks for the rest of the unemployed population. Enter the encore career, a.k.a. unretirement. Increasingly, older workers who aren’t finding fulfilling positions are seeking to opt out of traditional roles. After long careers in the workforce, an increasing number are embracing flexible, work-from-home options such as customer service positions. For instance, Olga Howard, 71, signed on as an independent contractor for 25– 30 hours per week with Arise Virtual Solutions, handling questions for a financial software company after her long-term career ended. Others are starting up new businesses. Chris Farrell, the author of Unretirement, said, “Older people are starting Final exam _ Section CA, Summer 2020 Page 6 of 11businesses more than any other age group.” Others funnel into nonprofit organizations, where the pay may not equal the individual’s previous earning power, but the mission is strong. “They need the money and the meaning,” said Encore.org CEO Marc Freedman. Still others are gaining additional education, such as Japan’s “silver entrepreneurs,” who have benefited from the country’s tax credits for training older workers. Individuals who embark on a second-act career often report they are very fulfilled. However, the loss of workers from their longstanding careers may be undesirable. “In this knowledge economy, the retention of older workers gives employers a competitive edge by allowing them to continue to tap a generation of knowledge and skill,” said Mark Schmit, executive director of the Society for Human Resource management (SHRM) Foundation. “New thinking by HR professionals and employers will be required to recruit and retain them. Otherwise, organizations’ greatest asset will walk out the door.” Questions: 2A) Identify and explain five challenges that can result from increasing age diversity in the organizations? (5 points) 2B) Identify and explain five benefits that can result from increasing age diversity in the organizations? (5 points) 2C) How you as a manager can cope with the challenges and use the benefits of age diversity in the organization? Rationalize your recommendations with concrete and practical examples. (5 points) Case 3 The sound of Matt and Peter’s arguing is familiar to everyone in the office by now. In an effort to make the best use of space and ensure a free flow of discussion and ideas, the founder of Markay Design had decided to convert the one-floor office of the company to an open plan with no walls between workers. The goal of such a layout is to eliminate boundaries and enhance creativity. But for Matt and Peter, the new arrangement creates a growing sense of tension. The argument boils down to the question of workspace order and organization. Peter prefers to keep his desk completely clean and clear, and he keeps a stack of cleaning wipes in a drawer to eliminate any dust or dirt. Matt, on the other hand, likes to keep all his work visible on his desk, so sketches, plans, magazines, and photos are scattered everywhere, alongside boxes of crackers and coffee cups. Peter finds it hard to concentrate when he sees Matt’s piles of materials everywhere, while Matt feels he can be more creative and free flowing when he’s not forced to clean and organize constantly. Many of Matt and Peter’s coworkers wish they’d just let the issue drop. The men enjoy a good working relationship in the past, with Peter’s attention to detail and thorough planning serving to rein in Final exam _ Section CA, Summer 2020 Page 7 of 11some of Matt’s wild inspirations. But of late, their collaborations have been derailed in disputes. Both Matt and Peter worry that if they can’t find a solution, their usually positive work relationship will be too contentious to bear. And that would be a real mess. Questions 3A) Describe some of the factors that led to this situation to become an open conflict. Justify your answers with the facts from the case. (2 points) 3B) Discuss the type of conflict that Matt and Peter have and explain the potential costs and benefits of Matt and Peter having an open discussion of the Issues. (6 points) 3C) Describe possible ways that Matt and Peter can resolve this conflict and their best option for dealing with the conflict. Support your answers with reasonable arguments. (4 points) 3D) Explain the situations in which the company can benefit from the productive conflict and avoid its destructive effects. (2 points) Case 4 Fatima is a midlevel manager at a multinational food company. She seems to be at the top of her career. She’s consistently making her required benchmarks and goals, she has built successful relationships with colleagues, and senior management has identified her as “high potential.” But she isn’t happy with her work. She’d be much more interested in understanding how her organization can use social media in marketing efforts and working on the creative projects that inspire her. Ideally, she’d like to quit and find something that better suits her passions, but in the current economic environment, this may not be an option. Here is the list of tasks that she must do for her work: ï‚·Order food and beverages, equipment, and supplies from the assigned list ï‚·Spend time monitoring her team’s performance and answering team questions according to the company’s guidelines ï‚·Ensure that employees comply with health and food safety standards ï‚·Hire, train, oversee, and sometimes fire employees ï‚·Manage budgets and payroll records ï‚·Respects all health and safety requirements ï‚·Maintains a clean and safe work station ï‚·Receives the daily schedule from her supervisor. Fatima has a proactive personality – she is eager to develop her own options and find her own resources. So, she has decided to proactively reconfigure her current job. Final exam _ Section CA, Summer 2020 Page 8 of 114) Fatima has come to you for help. After analyzing her situation, you decide to use and apply Job Characteristics Model (JCM). Apply the theory to help Fatima understand what she can expect as well as the changes you propose across all core job dimensions. Be sure to defend your recommendations. (15 points) Case 5 Crimson property services is a property management company founded by Dennis Wang in British Columbia, Canada in the early 1990s. Crimson’s mission was to provide outstanding service to customers. Dennis had a vision for the company: he believed they were in the business of making sure people had good homes and that workers had the right kind of offices, and he often talked about his vision to employees. The company was successful from the start. While the founder, Dennis, was running the company, things were relaxed and he was flexible with employee schedules. He felt that if someone had children or other important obligations, it was appropriate to take time away from work to attend to those obligations. As a result, employees sometimes left work in the middle of the day to fulfill other responsibilities, and this always been willing to tolerate short delays in exchange for pleasant treatment and personal service. The staff agreed that taking time off during work hours should never come at the expense of getting the job done and they had prided themselves on having very good relationships with their clients. Dennis paid attention to his employees and their individual needs. He would walk around throughout the office daily to talk to people and to praise the staff’s hard work. He was optimistic about the future of the company and he challenged the staff to think about how they could improve the lives of those whose properties they managed. The company continued to grow rapidly, and by the early 2000s, it had over 60 employees. However, with the business expansion, there was also a shift in top management: Dennis gave control of the company over to his daughter, Sara. Sara was not idealistic like her father and did not see property management as a way to improve people’s lives. She had a practical approach to business. She set clear goals to keep her top management team moving in the right direction and, in exchange, she expected them to give their full effort. She made sure that each team member was clear about what was expected of them and provided lots of guidance about how they could meet those expectations. She monitored their performance carefully. When they were not getting the desired resulted, she took corrective action, and when they performed well, she rewarded them. She expected all the employees to be at the office working from 8:30 A.M. to 5:00 P.M, and she wanted clients to get answers instantly. The management team The management team was composed of 4 people, heading the company’s 4 departments: John Black, director of property management, Shima Sardari, accounting manager, Marlene Vasquez, manager of the administrative staff and Deepak Singh, director of IT. Final exam _ Section CA, Summer 2020 Page 9 of 11The meeting The company was successful when Sara took control, but now it was struggling to meet the increasing standards of its growing competition. In a company meeting, Sara addressed some of the issues she believed were limiting the opportunities of the company: ï‚·“using paper for all account transactions (property transfers) is outdated and inefficient. We have four full time clerks simply to file paperwork and open, sort, and then post cheques. This makes no sense in the age of online banking.” ï‚·“This has become a place where cooperation and teamwork are non-existent. You are my top management team, but the tension among you is palpable. You are always confronting one another, and it never seems to have anything to do with the property management. It’s impossible to come up with innovative solutions to our problems in this kind of environment.” Then she said: “Something has got to change, or we will go out of business. Our client base is shrinking when it should be growing. This is a problem and we can solve it by stopping all paper transactions and requiring our clients to process transactions online. Deepak – I want you to contact our bank tomorrow and figure out how to get it done. I want us to be able to do all account transfers electronically by the end of next month.” Marlene jumped in: “What are you talking about? My clerks are amazing. They are reliable and have all the client files perfectly organized. Are you trying to eliminate their jobs? Besides, how can we continue to provide the same level of personal service, and that’s part of our mission, if all transactions are done online?” Sara responded: “Marlene, you may be right about the fact some of our long-standing clients will leave for other firms if we change our ways, but we’re already losing clients. We need to save money and we can do that by moving to online banking. This seems adequate under the circumstances. I’ve made the decision.” Marlene stormed out. Then, Shima said: “Here we go again. That’s how Marlene always handles things. She’s so immature, she runs away when there is any hint of changes that need to be made in her department. We all want the company to succeed, but she doesn’t seem to want to her part to make the changes that need to be made.” John intervened: “You’re not much better Shima. You used to have everything under control, but now every time an account doesn’t balance, you scream at the junior accountants. It’s toxic and it doesn’t seem like you’re putting in your share of efforts required to make things better either.” Sara wondered if setting up electronic banking would be enough to turn the business around. She didn’t want to fire loyal employees who had been doing a good job, but she was also realizing that her top management team was not as high functioning as it had been once. Final exam _ Section CA, Summer 2020 Page 10 of 11Questions: 5A) Identify and define two team structures or processes that are likely to influence the performance of the top management team in this case. Make sure you identify one structure or process that is likely to be having a positive impact and one that is likely to be having a negative impact. Provide evidence from the case to support your answer. (6 points) 5B) What leadership styles are being evidenced by Dennis and Sara in the case? First, identify and define each leadership style and provide evidence from the case to support your answer. Second, describe the leadership style that you recommend for Sara if she wants to turn the company around? Be sure to explain the rationale for your recommendation based on leadership theories that were learned in the class. (8 points) 5C) Identify three decision biases that are evident in the case. Provide evidence from the case to support your choices. Give one suggestion that could allow Sara to improve her decision-making process. (5 points) 5D) Identify the type of conflict that is occurring among the top management team at Crimson. Which mode of management conflict would you recommend? Be sure to explain why you think it is the best approach in the case. (4 points) Case 6 A clothing store in the mall was having a problem with employees ignoring customers who needed help finding items in their size. The employees, mostly students at a local university, were often seen using their smart phones, texting friends, or watching YouTube videos, while costumers rummaged through shelves and racks searching for what they needed. Most of them took the job because it was convenient and paid fairly well, but they were not interested in being a salesperson as a career. They all seemed to act the same and the previous manager had acted pretty much the same too. At least that was what the regional manager told the new store manager when she was transferred. The regional manager told her that something had to be done and that ignoring costumers was not an effective way to make sales. In his view, employees needed to follow the rules, work hard, and go along with the way things were done. He suggested that the store manager buy a big black bin and just tell the employees to put their smart phones in the bin when they arrived for work. At the end of their shift, the manager could give the phones back. He said that the only way to get young people off their phones was to physically remove the phones from their possession. He also said that the manager needed to exert more authority over the employees because she was the manager and they needed to respect her. The manager was not convinced this strategy would work. She knew that her employees did not really believe that there should be inequalities between managers and employees, and she doubted that they would give in to her request to put their phones in the bin. Plus, her millennial employees did not believe in following rules, working hard, or Final exam _ Section CA, Summer 2020 Page 11 of 11conforming. They did not mind taking the risk of being fired and preferred doing things their own way. 6A) Identify and define two different values from Hofstede’s study of values (chapter 4) that are being displayed by the regional manager or the employees. In your answer be sure to say if the regional manager or the employees appears to be high or low on the dimensions and use evidence from the case to support your answer. (6 points) 6B) Use your knowledge of social cognitive theory to provide 1 recommendation about how to get employees at the store to pay more attention to the costumers rather than their phones. In your answer, be sure to clearly explain why you think your solution will address the problem in this case. (3 points) 7) Read the following article about attribution theory carefully: http://www.as.wvu.edu/~sbb/comm221/chapters/attrib.htm. Does this information explain how we as humans can explain anything? Obviously, there are accurate attributions and errors in attributions that we make every day. Write two paragraphs about what you learned from this article. (There are some external links and new terminology in the article, you do NOT need to do research or explain them in your answer