Sleep and productivity: what HR can do about tired employees

Short sleep costs employers working days, and much of the loss happens at work rather than as absence. RAND Europe estimated in 2017 that a worker who sleeps less than six hours a night loses about six working days a year through absence or presenteeism, compared with one who sleeps seven to nine. The levers HR controls are the parts of work that cut into sleep, such as late-evening messages, early default meetings and rotas that change too often, plus private support people use on their own.

Sleep and productivity: how lack of sleep affects work

The US National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) says it directly: people who are sleep deficient are less productive at work. They take longer to finish tasks, react more slowly and make more mistakes, and find it harder to make decisions, solve problems, manage their emotions and cope with change. A consensus statement from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and the Sleep Research Society links regularly sleeping less than seven hours with impaired performance, more errors and a greater risk of accidents.

Managers should know two things. The impairment builds fast: after several nights of losing one to two hours, people function as if they hadn't slept for a day or two. And people often can't see it in themselves. The NHLBI notes that they may still think they're functioning well, and that microsleeps, brief moments of sleep while awake, can happen without their knowing. Its example is someone who sleeps through part of a lecture; in a meeting, that's the person who missed the decision.

Sleep scientist Sophie Bostock says the effects easiest to notice are on "next day focus, concentration, reaction time, but also mood". Our guide to sleep deprivation covers the effects beyond work.

What can employers do to improve employee sleep?

Employers can't make anyone sleep, and shouldn't try to watch. What they can change is the work that cuts into the night. Start with your own working week.

A short script for managers

Managers usually notice first, and the conversation should stay on the work. They shouldn't guess at causes or ask about anyone's nights.

• "You've seemed stretched lately. Is anything about how we work making it harder, like late messages, early starts or the workload?"
• "Is there one thing we could change on our side for the next few weeks?"
• "If it's something outside work, you don't need to tell me. If it's your health, your doctor is the right person to talk to."

Why does work cut into sleep?

Part of it is culture. Matthew Walker, a neuroscientist at the University of California, Berkeley, calls it "sleep machismo": wearing sleep deprivation as a badge of honor and assuming that less sleep means more output. "That is just not true," he says. Robbins hears that belief in any corporate environment, but says the research shows that "when we prioritize sleep, our learning improves, our productivity improves." The NHLBI notes that sleep is often the first thing busy people squeeze out of their schedules.

Part of it is the timetable. A 2019 review of research on body-clock types finds that most people's body clocks run too late to wake without an alarm on workdays, so all but the earliest types build up a sleep debt during the week and sleep in on free days. For later types, workday sleep is cut at both ends: they can't fall asleep early enough, and the alarm stops them finishing their sleep. More on body-clock types in our guide to the best time to sleep and wake up.

Clock changes show the same mismatch at scale. Daylight saving time moves social time forward with little influence on the body clock, the same review notes. Walker calls it "a global experiment", and says that after the spring change, when people lose an hour of sleep, studies have found more car accidents and even harsher sentences from US federal judges.

What does poor sleep cost an employer?

RAND's estimate is per short sleeper: it compares a worker who sleeps under six hours with one who sleeps seven to nine. Presenteeism means being at work while performing below par, so some of the cost never reaches an absence report. Turning the estimate into a cost for your organization would need one more number, the share of your people who sleep under six hours, so it can't simply be multiplied by headcount. Read it as a published estimate, not a forecast for your organization.

Some roles carry higher stakes. The NHLBI estimates that driver sleepiness is a factor in about 100,000 car accidents a year, resulting in about 1,500 deaths. If your people drive for work, or commute after early starts and late finishes, sleep belongs in your safety planning.

Where a sleep program fits, and how to pilot it

Norms and schedules set the conditions, and each person's nights are still their own. The 1h Protocol for Better Sleep is an education program of about an hour. It explains why sleep goes wrong, asks each employee about their own nights and ends with a personal protocol, followed by four short check-ins over 30 days. It is education and doesn't replace a doctor.

The program is new, so there is no outcome data on it yet. The case for acting rests on the cost of short sleep and on the work habits above, which you can change for free. If you want to add private support, the careful way is a small pilot. Companies buy program credits, and our team works with yours to choose the programs, prepare the launch and review participation and anonymous results. Employers see anonymous totals only, for groups of five or more, and never an individual's programs, answers or protocol.

A pilot can answer two questions from the dashboard:

• How many of the people offered a credit start a program, and how many finish it?
• How do employees' own check-in ratings change over the 30 days, in the anonymous totals?

Pair those with the free changes from the checklist, and review both after the 30 days. To start with a small group, request a quote and mention that you'd like a pilot.

Frequently asked questions

How does lack of sleep affect work performance?

People short of sleep take longer to finish tasks, react more slowly, make more mistakes and find decisions and managing emotions harder, according to the NHLBI. After several nights of losing one to two hours, they can function as if they hadn't slept for a day or two, often without noticing.

How much productivity is lost to poor sleep?

RAND Europe estimated in 2017 that a worker who sleeps less than six hours a night loses about six working days a year through absence or presenteeism, compared with one who sleeps seven to nine. It's a published estimate, not a forecast for any one organization.

What can employers do to improve employee sleep?

Change the parts of work that cut into sleep, such as late-evening messages, early default start times and shift rotas that change too often. Offer private, education-based support, and never monitor anyone's sleep.

Should companies allow naps at work?

A short nap can help: the NHLBI says napping may boost alertness and performance, and recommends no more than 20 minutes. For people who sleep badly at night, though, the NHS advises against daytime naps.

Is tiredness at work a sleep problem?

Not always. One sleep physiologist separates fatigue, which can come from hard work, pain or a buzzing brain, from sleepiness: being able to shut your eyes and fall asleep within minutes. Often feeling you could doze off in a meeting or after lunch can be a sign of too little sleep, and daytime sleepiness with loud snoring or gasping at night is worth mentioning to a doctor.

Sources

• RAND Europe, Why sleep matters (research report, RAND Health Quarterly, 2017)
• NHLBI, How sleep affects your health (US public health guidance, 2022)
• NHLBI, Healthy sleep habits (US public health guidance, 2022)
• AASM and Sleep Research Society, Recommended amount of sleep for a healthy adult (joint consensus statement, 2015)
• The Diary of a CEO E228, with Matthew Walker (podcast episode)
• The Mel Robbins Podcast: How to stop waking up tired, with Rebecca Robbins (podcast episode, 2024)
• ZOE Science & Nutrition: Fix your sleep, with Sophie Bostock (podcast episode, 2025)
• Roenneberg et al., Chronotype and social jetlag: a (self-) critical review (peer-reviewed review, Biology, 2019)
• The Peter Attia Drive #48, with Matthew Walker (podcast episode, 2019)
• The Diary of a CEO E64, with Stephanie Romiszewski (podcast episode, 2021)
• NHLBI, Sleep apnea: symptoms (US public health guidance, 2025)
• NHS, Insomnia (UK public health guidance, reviewed 2024)