Last October Lou posted about a Harvard Medical School professor who decried the lack of sleep among corporate employees. Well, apparently, the French government sat up and took notice. The French Health Ministry is beginning a project to spend $9 million to study and increase awareness of sleeping troubles. That in and of itself isn't so bad. It's the comment made by Health Minister Xavier Bertrand when describing the program that got my attention. "Why not a nap at work? It can't be a taboo subject." Nice. According to Fox News, the French already get a 35-hour workweek and mandatory vacations. What's a few authorized z's on the job here and there? Nevertheless, Mr. Bertrand promised further studies and "said he would promote on-the-job naps if they prove useful."
Policies prohibiting sleeping on the job are common and useful in the U.S. However, it never hurts to review existing employee handbooks to insure that the policies, and potential penalties, are clearly spelled out to employees, lest they claim they were snoozing just to bring a little taste of France to the workplace.