Overworked employees lead to less productivity, which is never a good thing for any business. To try to solve Japan’s overwork problem, two Japanese companies have teamed up to create ‘nap boxes.’
The Tokyo-based furniture specialist Itoki Corporation and Koyoju Gohan, a plywood supplier from Hokkaido, signed a license agreement to start producing these weird-looking boxes that they claim will resolve the overwork problem plaguing the country.
The contraption consists of an upright wooden pod that an employee can enter to catch a few zzzs on the job. The pod transforms into a private sleeping quarters but the catch is that you’ll need to do so standing up. The nap boxes will offer comfortable support for the head, knees, and back, allowing users to take naps without having to worry about falling over.
It really does seem like you’ll be turning into Dracula by having to snooze standing up but with so many people spending additional time at work, it may just catch on. Workers have been using bathrooms, desks and on the train during their commute to get a few minutes of shut-eye before going back to the job. At least these pods will assist workers so that they don’t fall over while sleeping. If animals can do it, why can’t humans?
“In Japan, there are a lot of people who will lock themselves up in the bathroom for a while, which I don’t think is healthy. It’s better to sleep in a comfortable location. I think a lot of Japanese people tend to work continuously with no breaks. We are hoping that companies can use this as a more flexible approach to resting,” Saeko Kawashima, communications director at Itoki, said.
It’s unclear as to how much these pods will cost but money should be no problem for the health and safety of the employees putting in extra hours.
Source: https://youtu.be/9Oyj0Jo-npw