Objectives
Students will:
- Understand the importance of remaining alert and attentive at work.
- Understand the negative impact on the organization of sleeping or being drowsy at work.
- Understand that falling asleep or being drowsy at work can be a safety risk.
- Understand that falling asleep or being drowsy at work can cause resentment and undermine morale and teamwork among co-workers.
- Understand that falling asleep at work can be grounds for dismissal.
- Understand that remaining alert and productive at work shows that an employee is responsible and takes the job seriously.
- Understand when it is appropriate to keep working when drowsy or ill and when it is appropriate to stay home or go home.
- Identify medications that cause drowsiness and those that do not.
- Identify safe and unsafe ways of dealing with drowsiness.
- Identify how much sleep they need to function effectively during the day.
- Develop strategies for getting the sleep they need.
- Model successfully avoiding sleeping on the job.
Step 1: Lesson Introduction
Last time, we found out that sexual or intimate behavior is never acceptable at work. Today we'll learn about another type of behavior that is unacceptable: sleeping on the job. Have any of you ever fallen asleep in school? How much did you learn in that class? How much did you contribute to the discussion?
When you sleep in class, you may be giving your body the sleep it needs; but are you being a productive student? Of course not. It's the same at work. Why do you think employers enforce strict policies against sleeping on the job? In today's video, we'll see what can happen to you if you fall asleep on company time.
▶️ Show the video.
⏸️ Stop the video when the "Pause for Discussion" title appears on the screen.
Step 2: Guided Discussion, Part 1
What did the employee do that was not smart?
He slept on the job.
What happened to the employee because he was not smart?
He got fired.
Why was the employee's behavior unacceptable to the boss and to the organization?
As an employee, you're being paid to be productive and to do your job. You can't do your job while you're asleep. Feeling drowsy or falling asleep can be a safety hazard, especially if you're operating machinery or equipment. Also, a drowsy or sleeping employee isn't pulling his/her weight on the work team. This can cause resentment and undermine morale by making other team members have to pick up the slack. When you're sleeping, you're making a powerful statement: You don't want to be at work, You'd rather be home in bed. Employers only want alert, motivated employees who want to be there.
How could the employee have been JobSmart?
Have students discuss how the employee could have been JobSmart in the same situation. Then tell students to watch the next part of the video to see one way the employee could have been JobSmart.
▶️ Start the video again.
⏸️ Stop the video when the "Pause for Discussion" title appears on the screen.
Step 3: Guided Discussion, Part 2
How was the employee JobSmart this time?
The employee was honest by telling his boss that he was a little tired from the flu. But he kept doing his job and put off sleeping until he was on his own time. Emphasize to students that, if the employee were seriously ill or taking medication that caused severe drowsiness, it may have been appropriate for him to discuss this with his supervisor and possibly go home for the day.
What happened because he was JobSmart?
His boss praised him for his good work and told him he was proud of him. Emphasize to students that, by resisting the temptation to sleep on the job, the employee proved to his boss that he was a responsible employee who took his job seriously. This will make his boss confident to trust him with more responsibility in future assignments.
Step 4: Activities
- Invite employers from the community to discuss:
- How sleeping or drowsiness on the job can undercut productivity
- How sleeping or drowsiness on the job can be a safety hazard
- How sleeping or drowsiness on the job can disrupt morale and teamwork among co-workers
- What their policy is regarding employees who are taking medication for an illness that might cause drowsiness. Do they encourage these employees to work or to stay home, and why?
- Why sleeping on the job is unacceptable in their organizations and what grounds for termination
- Specific instances when they have had to terminate employees for sleeping on the job.
- Invite a pharmacist to discuss:
- Cold and flu medications that can cause drowsiness and those which don't.
- Safe and unsafe ways of dealing with drowsiness, such as drinking coffee, taking pills, etc.
- Have students discuss their sleep habits. Explain that different people require different amounts of sleep to function effectively during their waking hours. Ask students how much sleep each one of them needs, and how much each one of them typically gets each night. For students who are constantly sleep-deprived, have the class assist them in developing strategies for getting the sleep they need.
- Have students roleplay being harshly awakened by their boss, modeled after the first part of this video segment. Afterward, have students discuss the embarrassment of the experience. Then repeat the roleplay, this time modeled after the second part of the video segment.
- Here, students will resist sleeping and be praised by their boss.
- Have students also roleplay situations where they are seriously ill or drowsy and decide with their supervisor that they should go home for the day. Here, the boss will praise the employee for her/his honesty and desire not to be a safety risk.
- Afterward, have students discuss how good it felt to be praised by their supervisor.