Why is it worth treating employees to coffee

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Coffee makes us more honest. This conclusion was reached by scientists from the University of Washington, the University of Arizona and the University of North Carolina. Not getting enough sleep can lead to unethical workplace behavior, and a cup of coffee can save you from it.

These are the results of a study, the essence of which was as follows.

The volunteers were divided into two groups and asked to stay up all night. In the morning, some of the volunteers received caffeinated chewing gum (its content was equivalent to two cups of coffee). Then all the participants in the experiment were asked to play a game where, in order to earn money, they had to lie.

The group that chewed caffeinated gum practically ignored the dishonest deals. The group that did not take caffeine found it easier to compromise their conscience.

Professor David Welsh explains it this way:

When you don't get enough sleep, it’s much easier for you to agree to your boss’s unethical proposal, because resistance takes effort and you’re tired anyway.

Thus, caffeine strengthens our composure and willpower when the body is depleted.

The findings of scientists are also supported by an earlier study of one of them - Professor Michael Christian (Michael Christian). He studied how lack of sleep affects human behavior. It turned out that the more a person lacks sleep, the more he is prone to deviant behavior in the workplace.

Employers must recognize that employees are now working more, which means they sleep less. A code of ethics is not enough to keep a person's behavior within corporate standards when they are too tired.

According to scientists, coffee can neutralize the negative effects of sleep deprivation. At least not for long. At the same time, the researchers offer the following solutions to the problem:

• Provide your employees with coffee.
• Streamline your work schedule: less overtime, more breaks.
• Avoid tasks that require serious self-control in the face of strict deadlines for a long time.
• Provide employees with naps at work and educate them about the importance of sleep.

There is a myth in popular culture that hard work is impossible without sleep deprivation. Our research shows once again that lack of sleep is bad for both the individual and the organization.

So if you want your employees to work harder, pour them a cup of coffee.;)