New-age companies rolling out 'nap-time' for employees to reduce work stress

The idea, company owners say, is to ensure employees do not feel burned out and have the time to relax and recuperate while working on a daily basis

Media reports in December had said that Twitter boss Elon Musk, who took over the microblogging platform last year had also installed beds in several rooms in the headquarters for tired employees. Seems like the once-richest man in the world was paving the way for office employees to reduce their work stress. Overworking can and often does take a toll on the mental and physical well-being of employees and overwhelm them. As part of the changing scenarios around workplaces, several new-age companies have decided to implement nap time in the office, lest employees feel burnt out at work.

Start-ups like Wakefit, NoBroker, Licious and Solv are planning to bring in 'quiet time' for employees which will ensure they don't feel a lot of stress from overworking. The quiet time will include workplace nap times, breakout zones and no-meeting hours or days to help the employees cool off while at work, a report in The Economic Times said.

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Wakefit, which sells mattresses, furniture and home interior items has decided to bring out a 'Right to Nap' plan under which every employee will have their calendars blocked between 2 to 2.30 pm.

"The policy is aligned with our company vision of maximising comfort. There is a nap room at the office for those who want a quick break, and employees also use the time for a walk, some meditation, and re-centring themselves in the middle of a busy workday, " Chaitanya Ramalingegowda, cofounder of the Bengaluru-based startup was quoted as saying.

Wakefit's technology and data science teams have also brought in no-meeting days which the administration wants to roll out soon across the company.

Apart from Wakefit, the idea of implementing the 'no meeting' plan is on the radar of several other companies that plan to give their employees a much-needed break on their regular work days.

Solv, a B2B e-commerce marketplace says they already have a 'no-meeting' hour for their employees, irrespective of whether they work from office or home. RazorPay too has rolled out no-meeting days for their employees.

The idea, company owners say, is to ensure employeees do not feel burned out and have the time to relax and recuperate while working on a daily basis. The break also ensures that the employees, when they restart working are back with renewed energy levels, thereby not hampering their productivity at work.

Several other companies such as Licious, an online meat and seafood company and NoBroker also have brought in breaks in workplace wiith the same idea behind it.