For many employees—and especially working parents—the best time of the day to really get some quality work done comes when they are out of the office and the kids are asleep. This is the new 9 to 11 PM work shift, and although the short-term benefits of leveraging these two hours for work may seem to be in the best interests of employers and employees, new evidence suggests that the long-term problems associated with this practice outweigh its benefits. In particular, research shows that working right up until its lights out for bed" is highly disruptive of sleep, which in turn harms employee engagement and performance the next day. Lack of performance on that next day then prompts even more late-night workload that creates a vicious cycle of sleep deprivation. Indeed, the mere practice of looking at one's smartphone after 9 PM has demonstrable negative effects on sleeping patterns. The blue light emitted by a smartphone is the single most disruptive band of light when it comes to inhibiting the sleep-promoting chemical, melatonin. When one combines this chemical reaction with the chemical reaction caused by workplace stress experienced right before bedtime, as researcher Chris Barnes notes, "smartphones are almost perfectly designed to disrupt sleep." The negative effects of sleep deprivation on employee performance and safety are well-known, and for some occupations, like airline pilots, there are strict rules that enforce sleep discipline. An airline will routinely ground flights for lack of crew rest, and although the safety and performance implications for most jobs are not quite as critical as those associated with commercial aviation, if the job is worth doing right, it's worth doing right after a good night's sleep.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

Is it fair for an employer to ask people who already put in an 8-hour day to work 9 to 11 PM without overtime pay?