One in five fall asleep at work
Campaigners demand the ‘right to nap’ should be enshrined in French constitution
Nearly one in five French workers have admitted to nodding off in secret at their desks, according to figures.
The results have prompted campaigners to call for the “right to nap” to be written into the constitution.
The study by The National Institute of Sleep revealed that 19% of employees in France hide behind their computers, sneak off to their cars or even into the toilets to catch forty winks.
According to Bruno Comby, the author of In Praise of the Nap, “rest after meals helps to increase productivity and concentration at work”, while a sleep expert said it was “a biological need that we should not fight.”
The issue has already been discussed in Germany, where one union leader suggested that the right to nap should be recognised under "the right to rest " of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Spain, Japan and China - where having a "nap during work hours is an institution" - are held up as examples of good working conditions.
Big companies, such as The Huffington Post, Google and Apple offer their employees facilities to take a siesta, while Parisian club Le Zen offers workers in the French capital the chance to relax during office hours.
Photo:Noodle Bones
