Indian Start-Up To Allow 600 Employees To Sleep At Work Under Their New ¡®Right To Nap' Policy

Imagine getting paid to sleep at work? Can there be anything more ideal than this? What looks like a far-fetched dream for many is a reality for the employees of Bengaluru-headquartered Wakefit.

According to an internal email sent to employees yesterday, Wakefit co-founder Chaitanya Ramalingegowda announced that the staff members will now be allowed nap for up to 30 minutes at work.

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In a screenshot that is being widely shared on social media, Ramalingegowda wrote in the email:

Official Announcement ? #sleep #powernap #afternoonnap pic.twitter.com/9rOiyL3B3S

¡ª Wakefit Solutions (@WakefitCo) May 5, 2022

¡°We have decided to normalize afternoon naps at work and declare 2 to 2.30 pm as the official nap time for all our employees."

Citing studies from NASA and Harvard that suggested afternoon naps are linked to better performance and productivity, he wrote:

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¡°We have been in the business of sleep for over six years now and yet, have failed to do justice to a crucial aspect of rest ¨C the afternoon nap."

In his mail, he added, ¡°Research shows that afternoon naps help with memory, concentration, creativity, and productivity. A NASA study reveals that a 26-minute catnap can enhance performance by 33%, while a Harvard study shows how naps prevent burnout.¡±

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Chaitanya Ramalingegowda also added that employee calendars would be blocked between 2 to 2.30 pm to ensure they can nap peacefully and no other meeting is scheduled.

The movie is being widely appreciated on social media.

Companies needs to treat employees like real people not "resource". Here is a Co-Founder of a Mattress company "Wakefit" #workreform pic.twitter.com/Vd2kYb5weu

¡ª dinesh chandar (@NothingButCode) May 5, 2022

Dats so interesting! N appreciative as well ? #afternoonnap #inoffice #wakefit Kudos @WakefitCo https://t.co/TBrNfmRZ5D

¡ª Taru (@TaruTree) May 5, 2022

Here's how the employees of Wakefit took the news.

Reacting to the news, another employee took to Linkedin and wrote: ¡°Wakefit and Chaitanya Ramalingegowda- thanks much for this. This is a much-needed right we all deserved and feeling amazing that Wakefit understood it and has implemented it."

Reports also suggest that Wakefit has been working on creating quiet rooms in the office and ¡°cozy nap pods¡± so that employees can 'nap peacefully.

For the uninitiated, in 2019, Wakefit had offered a few interns a stipend of Rs 1 lakh to sleep for nine hours a day for 100 days.

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