As an engineer with a full-time job I am usually juggling contracts on the side and not getting enough sleep. My days of mentally taxing coding all day can make me tired in the middle of the day. Does anyone else have this experience and do you think it's reasonable to request the company you work for to provide a nap time?<p>EDIT: Grammar
You: "Hey, you know that 40-hour work week we have in order to give us enough time for rest and relaxation?"<p>Boss: "Yep. What about it?"<p>You: "So instead of getting enough sleep at night I've been using that time to take on lots of extra paid work for other companies. To make up for it, can you give me time off to sleep at work?"<p>Boss: ಠ_ಠ
Let me reiterate:<p>- You take on contracts on the side and do not get enough sleep because of that.<p>- You think the company you work for should maybe compensate you with some time to sleep during their working time.<p>What happened when you asked the people you do some contracting for if you could sleep an hour and bill them your hourly for that?<p>I would think it reasonable for your full-time gig to respond in the exact same way as your freelance gig would.
I work at a software company in China. Like clockwork, at 1pm, the lights are cut, shades are drawn, then everybody pulls little beds out from their desks and takes a nap. It struck me as quite strange the first time I observed it. The actual work day is something like 10-12 hours including nap/lunch/dinner/goofing off time, with probably about the same amount of actual work as in an American office. I am unable to adapt to this, even when I am exhausted, so I use the time to go to the gym or just keep working.
My workplace has a "Wellness Room". It's just a room with a lockable door and a couch. Probably once every week on average, when I'm feeling beat, I'll lay down and set my phone alarm for 20 minutes. It really helps. That said, I agree that prefacing this with the bit about side work does seem to undercut the question. In general, naps are good, but also not eating a ton of carbs over lunch will help prevent you from crashing in the afternoon!
My work-from-home superpower is that if I'm feeling sleepy (baby woke me up, slept poorly, whatever), I can take a quick (30 min or so) nap in the early afternoon and when I wake up, I feel refreshed, wide-awake, and make far better decisions and have far better productivity than if I tried to slog through.<p>When I used to work in an office, that would end up being a coffee run or some sort of other distraction to try and get the energy up... Or simply staring at the screen for a few hours and answering emails.
You are burning the candle at both ends and need to own your own problems since you created them.<p>That said, I give the folks on my team an hour per day for "stuff". Reading blogs, exploring the new-shiny JS framework or nap if you want. Devs absolutely need free space in their mind to let the subconscious solve problems. Its art and science - art needs room and science needs focus.<p>Trying to do too much leaves you doing less, with poor quality, which just piles up escaped defects and adds pressure.<p>You have to go slow to go fast
This is simply about priorities. You, or your time are not more important than the people cutting cheques to you. Your only job in side gigs or main jobs is to add value.<p>I'll say it again, your job is to add more value than you are paid by a job or freelancer. It's a tricky balance. You are hired full-time to give full time results, and being prepared to do so is your job is your non-full time hours which you can choose to spend.<p>Asking your full-time job to subsidize your time and energy to make money elsewhere doesn't make a lot of sense.<p>There is a capacity limit for every human being and you may need to rethink your business model, bring on help, and pick up management skills to not work harder, but perhaps work less and make more for those hours worked.<p>Things don't get easier, you just get better if you dive a bit more into achieving your goals in a way that aren't at the expense of others.
I disagree with the other comments here about your extra work. Your time outside work is your own and there are a dozen reasons why there are days a nap will be beneficial (kids of almost any age come to mind). However, you probably have enough time to nap just not the place to do so.<p>Most jobs will give you close to an hour for lunch and maybe even another short break during the day. That's plenty of time to nap, so long as there is somewhere quiet, private, and somewhat dark to lean back and shut your eyes for 15 minutes.<p>Sleeping is kinda like going to the bathroom in that you need a few fixtures and some privacy. All that is needed is someway to recline with your feet up (typically better for naps than lying directly down anyway) with some privacy. That's probably reasonable to ask for as long as its during the time you already get for a break.
I'd say that's completely unreasonable and here's why:<p>I pay you to do a job that provides value to my company. You're not providing that value while you're sleeping. You can have nap time, but I'm not paying you to nap. As a coder and software architect myself, I understand that it takes a fresh mind to deliver your best work so I understand the need for sleep and you should have as much as you need - but I'm paying you to do a job, not sleep. You sleep on your own dime, not mine. If you're not coming to work fresh enough to provide what we agreed to when you accepted the job, then why are you still coming to work?
This question is phrased badly because of the "side jobs". But anyways - I frequently sleep on my lunch breaks. Naps are great, clears my head. I'm most productive right when I get into work and right after lunch nap.<p>Also to those using, "Well you're only going to get 4 hours productive time anyways" - I disagree. The key to working long productive hours is taking short breaks. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IlU-zDU6aQ0" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IlU-zDU6aQ0</a>
This is a interesting question to me just for the fact it is asking what can we request from higher management. I was always told when being offer a new job everything was negotiable till you sign the papers. Maybe that is the time you are suppose to request a period in which to take naps? Would you ask to be able to take naps on site at your desk? Would they tell you, you can take naps as long as it is off site like the smokers? What would the company have to provide for you to be able to take a nap? How long would a nap be? I don't think a company should have to provide nap time, but I do think it isn't a crazy request as long as you take it serious. Also remember when you make a request from the company, you are also making a request for everyone else at the company to have the same privileges. You getting approve for nap time would make it possible for anyone else at the company to get approve for nap time.
> Does anyone else have this experience and do you think it's reasonable to request the company you work for to provide a nap time?<p>Yes, definitely. Word it as an extended lunch time though. Also, remark your productivity boost, which is what they really care about.
Agreeing with some of the other comments here; side jobs is not a good story here. If you have a fulltime contract at that company and your side jobs are making you sleepy then you should quite those side jobs. Besides that; a programmer/engineer can do maybe 4 hours of coding a day. I notice that when I have a siesta (I take a 1 hour nap after lunch) I am sharper and more focused and can do more hours. And it really makes me feel a lot better as well. Then again; I don't juggle contracts on the side anymore as that sucked the life out of me with or without naps.
It would be nice if offices had black sound-proof pods which we could lay inside when we want to take a short nap.<p>I think it's also important to take holidays from time to time. Coding can get really exhausting mentally after a while and an occasional 2+ weeks holiday allows you to clear your head.<p>A lot of software developers spend time thinking about the projects that they're working on while outside of work hours - When you're working on two or more projects simultaneously, this effect is magnified and it can be overwhelming.
I don't think he was referring to "on the clock." Also, doesn't have to be another project could be wife and kids your trying to juggle at night.
Why not just reorganise things? Instead of asking for nap time, just ask for an hour during the day to carry out side contract work.<p>Much simpler and clearer.
i sometimes have sleep problems, so i do take some time off to nap in the middle of the day if my work quality is impaired and if there are no pressing issues. i do stop the clock on those though, so my company isn't paying me for the nap time.
lame to need naps because of side projects.<p>not lame to need naps -- for 20yrs, I've taken naps when I'm stuck on a problem, literally "sleeping on it". Works like a charm.