Even if you're not a fan of 'Doctor Who', episode 9 of series 9, which is intriguingly titled 'Sleep No More', takes a fascinating - and unsettling - look at work life balance. It's reminiscent of the Channel4 series, 'Black Mirror', and explores how technology can be used to scale productivity, but at a cost.
With the Government expecting Junior Doctors to work longer hours, this episode of Doctor Who is especially poignant.
In many professions, working longer hours is often expected, and colleagues could try to 'out work' each other in order to win brownie points in the bid for promotion. However, long hours can be counter productive in terms of work performance, health and wellbeing. A tired, unhealthy and unhappy workforce is not likely to be super productive. In fact, the costs to the business and the individual can be very high.
According to a study conducted by University College London, scientists 'found that those who work more than 55 hours a week have a 33% increased risk of stroke compared with those who work a 35 to 40 hour week. They also have a 13% increased risk of coronary heart disease.' (The Guardian)
'Sleep No More' explores the possibility of a workforce that can go without sleep for prolonged periods of time, by using the 'Morpheus' machine. The inventor of Morpheus believed that time spent sleeping was a waste of time, so he created a machine that would consolidate your monthly sleep into a 5 minute nap, freeing up all that extra time to work! Great aye! But there are side effects... The sleep still accumulates in your eyes, and you eventually turn into a flesh-eating sandman. Yikes!
Sleep is part of the work-life balance. It's part of life. No matter how much we want to be good at our jobs, or how much pressure we are under, something's gotta give. What are your time, your health and your relationships really worth? Is your job really worth losing sleep over?
Resources
http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(15)60295-1/abstractBecome part of the new generation of wide-awakes. #WorkLifeBalance #lessons from #DoctorWho https://t.co/n9qsMuWp0t pic.twitter.com/V1LcztrjOB
— Danielle Curio (@DanielleCurio) November 24, 2015
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