The founder of the World Economic Forum, Klaus Schwab, wrote about the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) in 2016, saying: “We stand on the brink of a technological revolution that will fundamentally alter the way we live, work, and relate to one another. In its scale, scope, and complexity, the transformation will be unlike anything humankind has experienced before.”
In the past few years, with increasing adoption of the 4IR term, we have witnessed a great focus on the “technological revolution”—yet seem to be missing the human side of “living, working, and relating to each other.” Creating a more human-focused workplace will be paramount to maximizing the value of the technological revolution as well as driving greater learning, performance, and a positive culture.
Considering our human rhythms, in line with circadian rhythm science, offers a starting point. Having our circadian rhythms out of balance can have a variety of physiological and psychological effects. Research has shown long-term night-shift workers to have a series of health issues, including obesity, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and metabolic syndrome. The most common experience of this for many of us, certainly for the well-travelled businessperson, is jet lag—essentially displacing our principal light-and-dark cycle. Physical tiredness and lack of mental clarity may compromise performance and well-being, and can even lead to severe depression.
Many of the symptoms of jet lag are being replicated in our daily lives. Spending an excessive amount of time indoors without sufficient natural light during the day, followed by shining artificial light from an excessive amount of digital devices into our heads at night, results in a constant “social jet lag.” The pineal gland, positioned between our eyes, secretes melatonin, the hormone necessary for healthy sleep toward bedtime (normally starting around 9 p.m.) with the fading of the day. Shining light into the pineal gland at night can suppress the production of that melatonin.
Resetting our natural rhythm doesn’t take long. Researchers from the University of Colorado found that a weekend of camping outdoors with no exposure to artificial light was enough for a reset, allowing the subjects to follow better sleep cycles on their return home.
Many may be aware of the main energy fluctuations during a day as a result of our circadian rhythm; the siesta or nap zone in mid-afternoon is now taken seriously at some leading companies that have installed nap pods and designated nap rooms. The need to nap is not actually due to a large lunch (although it certainly can be compounded by one), but due to the fact that 3 p.m. and 3 a.m. are the lowest energy points of our day.
Being aware of our higher energy states is just as important. How do you spend the pockets of time between 10 a.m. and midday, and 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. when we are at our most alert? Most business cultures and individual habits result in email and heavy administrative work taking up the first peak period and a home commute taking up the second. Try recording your own “energy audit” over the course of a week. When do you feel most alert and when do you have your best ideas? Are you making the most of that time?
A standard chronotype questionnaire would allow you to fine-tune team design. A lark working a late schedule or an owl working an early schedule is a chronotype mismatch that can be problematic. Leaders should understand that employees are not being lazy or disinterested in the work, simply that their biology doesn’t support their working patterns. In a digital 24/7 world, our human rhythms will matter more than ever.
