Wall Street Journal Nap Coverage 1
History lesson
The Wall Street Journal has covered naps admirably over the years. I discuss two of their fantastic articles below, the first of which does a nice job describing the zeitgeist of the Great 2020 Nap Revival (defined below) to help contextualize the creation of this Substack.
You’re Going Back to the Office. What Happens to Your Nap Habit?
2021.03.29 by Ray A. Smith
This article discusses the first wave of RTO during the COVID pandemic and the sense of loss many felt regarding “[the most important] secret perk[] of working from home.” Smith cites an April 2020 survey finding that 33% of 2000 people surveyed said they took naps while working from home, also acknowledging the enduring stigma of office naps (to be discussed in a future post).
This is what I call the “Great 2020 Nap Revival.” For a time, I had an REI cot in my home office for my dog to lie on, as I told my wife. Reminds me of an old Simpsons episode…
Yes, You Can Sleep on the Job. Just Please Use the Nap Room.
2019.09.19 by Suryatapa Bhattacharya
This article discusses the (clearly visionary) HR manager at Japan’s Mitsubishi Estate Co., where they installed six napping rooms in their HQ. I’ve been to Japan on business but unfortunately did not take a nap in an office…though the article isn’t clear when the company began this practice…and also I did not visit the company’s HQ.
Not the last we’ll hear from the WSJ!