Why force owls to start work early? The work schedules of R&D employees and sleep

Are you a lark, an owl, or a hummingbird? Getting to work on time might be a breeze for early birds but a challenge for owls, who would prefer to stay in bed, since they went to sleep late. The conventional “nine-to-five” work schedule does not accommodate the natural sleeping habits of all employees. Using data from a survey conducted among Estonian creative R&D employees, we aimed to uncover what the links are between work arrangements, sleep habits and work related sleep disturbances that employees are feeling. We find the sleep schedule of evening-oriented employees or “owls” to be considerably more affected by work-driven constraints than that of other types of employees. Moreover, we find the “owls” to have a much higher level of daytime sleepiness. As there is to some extent a genetic background to the idea of the morning types and evening types of people, it is important that employees as well as regulators acknowledge these important individual differences. Moreover, as impaired sleep could lead to decreased productivity among employees and the underutilisation of their creative abilities, employers and regulators should consider implementing more flexible working arrangements. This could have a major positive impact both on employee work results as well as their overall quality of life.