Sleep tight - work right
Try keeping your eyes open while you sneeze or stop shivering when you get cold and you will confirm that there are some things the mind cannot easily control about the way the body behaves.
Of course there are many examples where a strong will can overcome physical impediments and achieve performances that are truly extraordinary. But once the genetic disposition and the training disciplines are in place, the differential between first and last is often due to the cognitive approach.
Many games between evenly matched teams often turn during a few 'lucky breaks' which influence the attitude of both teams which then gain momentum through a self-fulfilling prophecy.
It is not purely a mind-over-matter issue – the body is significant. Good managers are aware of some of the physical dynamics that then create strong team environments and innovative problem-solving thinking.
Here the parallels between sport and business are aligned. Business, which is essentially a co-operative activity to produce a value which is required by others, thrives on team performance criteria. And teams do better when the individuals are at peak potential.
Sleep is still a relatively un-known behaviour but the consequences of deprivation are quite well studied. Errors made in motor co-ordination activities by surgeon and process worker are well documented. There is an optimum level of sleep at which point dexterity is at its highest. Reducing the levels of sleep mimics the behaviour of a drunk and extended deprivation can cause severe mental dysfunction. It is unsurprising then that sleep is a social activity with regular cycles when left to find its own level. Work, too often, interferes with this routine. Whether it is a chicken or egg scenario, it is clear that manual workers require regular sleep. While this article is not to negotiate the issues and methods of dealing with shift work, there are clear links that can be made to cognitive function that managers seem to overlook. While not as obviously dramatic as a hand being wedged in some moving machinery, the consequence of a bad decision or mental oversight in a marketing plan can be disastrous in its consequences.
At the worst extreme, decision making merely becomes protracted or less efficient. Inter-personal relations can become tense and unproductive due to a loss of sensitivity and patience which can undermine the workforce morale of a chronically tired team.
Likewise, physical activity can stimulate good cognitive function and so the walk or trip to the gym before work or during lunch can dramatically improve the productivity of the worker. Likewise, a brief afternoon nap has been shown to improve problem-solving ability during the subsequent period.
The tendency to equate long work hours with valuable and productive work is wrong.
Likewise there are some activities which simply do not mix and this is where multi-tasking is a deleterious and negative strategy when taken beyond individual abilities and task demands.
Here there are two conflicting requirements. Firstly there is the tendency to boredom where the activity is so repetitious and un-involving that the task becomes poorly delivered and the worker loses motivation and ultimately the desire to work. On the other hand, if the work routine changes too much, the worker becomes over-stressed and loses confidence, with the same outcomes of too little change.
So what is the happy medium?
Firstly, the situation should be defined by the worker and not management. Too often management place their values and personal judgements upon the work attitude of others and simply misunderstand the situation.
But by giving benefit to the worker outside the actual work process – i.e. chatting after the high demand of highly technical thinking, rest times, holiday, time off, etc., greater productivity can be achieved.
The body has means of coping with demands that sacrifice some functions to allow others the resources required. For example diving mammals re-divert oxygenated blood to areas of demand, wading birds reduce circulation to the feet and humans reduce digestive activity when physical activity is demanded.
It comes then as no surprise that we also stop thinking when frightened.
Some activities bypass the brain and occur as reflexes. If given a severe fright, immediately the eyes close, the hands go up, the legs bend to reduce height and allow a quick movement and the heartbeat rises in the well documented fright – flee response. But there are also lower levels of this response of which managers should be aware.
The new worker's first day in a new environment and meeting strangers is not the time to give them details of the expectations which are needed to be achieved. The orthopaedic surgeon knows too well that support material needs to be provided to the patient just told they need a total hip replacement as the shock of that message makes retention of any subsequent detail almost impossible.
Thus there needs to be an emotional stability and clear mindedness available when complex messages and solutions are exchanged or creative thinking required.
The same applies, not unsurprisingly but again too commonly, when physical activity is matched with cognitive expectations.
A study by Véronique Dubost from Saint-Etienne University Hospital in France has shown that if a high level of physical activity is required, no thinking can be expected. Or to put it simply, 'if you need to get somewhere fast, don't think too hard'. It seems then that attention is shared between mental and motor tasks and the study suggested that thinking was given priority. The message for managers then is to not load up physical workers with too much concurrent problem-solving which will reduce their efficiency. Likewise to involve 'mental processors' with physical expectations is probably over-ambitious and bound to disappoint management! (This could be the explanation of the 'IT slob'!)
The message of this article is to respect the biological needs of your body to get the best out of work and life.
So, did you try it? Can you sneeze with your eyes open?