As we all know, sleep deprivation can lead to exhaustion-fueled mistakes in the workplace, whether they be a simple typo in a quarterly report or life-threatening errors while operating machinery. (Or as the FAA discovered recently, embarrassing front-page headlines about workers napping on the job.) But according to two business school professors, it can make people more unethical too.

In a forthcoming paper in the Academy of Management Journal, highlighted recently in the Financial Times, Michael Christian of the University of North Carolina’s Kenan-Flagler Business School and Aleksander Ellis of the University of Arizona’s Eller College of Management studied sleep-deprived nurses and students who’d pulled all-nighters in a sleep lab. They found that a lack ofsleep led not just to poor performance on tasks that require “innovative thinking, risk analysis, and strategic planning”—though studies have shown all those to be true—but also to increased deviant and unethical behavior in both groups. Examples included rudeness, inappropriate responses and attempts to take more money than they’d earned.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/...xT2G_blog.html

[Open Eyes]

Yes I believe that we are often expected to do more than we can and put in more hours and get less rest. We were designed to function and get rest and if we exclude either it affects how we feel and our well being as well as mental health.
But I would like to add that continued stress during our natural waking hours can also effect sleep and the quality of sleep. I think that if we face too many issues during the day that we are unable to complete, resolve, and feel overwhelmed than at night when our brains and even our bodies try to relax and recharge, that process is interupted by the daily stress. Thus by lack of a feeling of acomplishing whatever daily chore we address, we grow more and more restless and that can and does contribute to ongoing anger and frustration which in turn changes not only our behavior towards others but how we can effectively handle whatever we do for work.

One area that concerns many people is that many companies and businesses and even hospitals are operating with less personel to lower the overall costs. In doing so those employees that are left are often required to do more work than they can handle and often are overworked.
Because the unemployment rate is high many individuals opt not to complain as they are grateful to have a job at all. But they do suffer with the work overload and it is most likely that their mental and physical health is in jepordy.

Those that cannot find work or even get work, if they are self employed or own a small business, also have additional stress as they too are working more for less and the overhead is often still very high. So there too the daily stress effects the quality of sleep and even the amount of sleep necessary to function in a healthy mannor, physically and mentally.

I think this is an ongoing problem as it is leading many to become more unethical as they are experiencing too much stress and clearly not enough restorative rest.

Open Eyes

[Open Eyes]

I just wanted to add a statement about your quote today Byz. I have always felt that if we really devoted time to raising our young properly taking the time to find the talent and capability of each child we would greatly benifit. If we could establish our societies differently where people were all able to function in a condition where they were able to meet thier needs in a overall safe, productive respectful manner, we would face less of of the right, wrong, good and evil issues that plague us in societies everywhere.

Though we would still have to contend with the fact to err is human and there will be some types of possible disabilites due to certain genetic disorders. We could become more educated to respect these disorders as well so those who are experiencing them could also learn to live and be accepted within society there would also be more harmony.

But it has to come from the beginning and support of that beginning by society. It should include the family unit and the ability to allow that family unit to function in a way that would respect each young brain to develope within a safe, productive, and supportive atmosphere. I truely believe that if this was done with all respect given to all the support a young developing brain needs to learn how to adjust to society and function on what that brains ability has to offer, society would see a tremendous change.

Human brains thrive on structure and a true sense of security within that structure.
If that were to take place instead of only allowing some to have structure and a sense of security, than there would be less to address in the areas we call right, wrong, good, bad and even the much debated word evil.

I am not talking about having one decide religion, housing, culture, and limits of allowing each brain to perform whatever capacity it is capable of. I am talking about
determining what the true necessities of the process of providing the correct conditions for a human brain to grow and learn without having to deal with being ignored, living in poor conditions and being raised by those who are not educated in how to really understand the true needs for a young brain to grow and develope to the fullest capacity.

And what that means is providing the necessities of SAFETY, RESPECT, ATTENTION,
LOVE, TEACHING RESPECT, TEACHING VALUES, NOT ALLOWING A BRAIN TO BE EXPOSED TO BULLIEING AND EXPOSED TO ADDRESSING ISSUES THAT A YOUNG BRAIN CANNOT UNDERSTAND. We have to find a way to teach empathy by showing empathy and supporting all the true needs for a young mind to grow and learn and function within a society and also have that society be very mindful of the value of each new brain/child's needs to become a part of that society without experiencing abuse, neglect and a constant fear of inadequacy.

When I talk about trickle down, yes it does trickle down to what is acceptable and responsible behavior presented to the various comunites and societies world wide.
We would have to eliminate greed. Do we really need huge mansions? We do have to learn how to become commited to a relationship that includes bearing offspring.
We have to learn how to coexist and have less tolerance for straying away from the responsibilities of having children and continuing to display behaviors that children do not understand. What people do in their private lives is important if it involves children, whoever they are. When people commit to bearing a child, they must be held to that commitment. Right now children are just an entity that has to survive through a cultural mess of a true lack of commitment from those to set an example of how to respect commitment and the responsibilties of displaying what that means to children.

We have only just begun to enact this by finally having laws against child abuse.
But we have a long way to go, and we are gaining as we have a better understanding of how the brain developes and grows and what it needs. We can do it. We can't just keep being lazy, we have to do it as a society, much like our primate cousins. We should be able to do it better, but we neglect our young.

Open Eyes

[Thomas in Ohio]

I really have to agree with TheByzantine's quote.

In my experience, sleep deprivation causes a condition akin to being drunk,
with all of the dangers that implies.
That could be why a lot of the newer motor vehicle laws are incorporating
it into the "driving while impaired" section.

[Perna]

"and attempts to take more money than they’d earned" ~ I can't see how that could possibly be blamed on lack of sleep. I would have difficultly attempting to take more money than I'd earned if you held a gun to my head. I could see maybe not realizing the amount one was due and thinking it was more/less, etc. because one was that tired but not after one all-nighter (look at how doctors are trained in hospitals) and not in an unethical/literal working hard to steal sense. I would count it as another mistake, not "unethical".

[Michah]

Totally true Byz......could it be that chronic and severe lack of sleep can strip inhibitions which could possibly lead to unethical behaviour? As someone mentioned earlier about severe lack of sleep can be akin to drunkenness.....many unethical things have been done in the name if inebriation..

I know for myself having been a chronic insomniac for years......on the really bad days, I can "hallucinate" mildly, say things I would never normally say, eat things I would never normally eat, act in a way I would never normally act......it is as if I have had a leave of my senses, or a personality transplant. And being a highly ethical person by nature, I am shocked by what I do or say after a fortnight of REALLY bad sleep, and not really understanding why....

Sleep is a weird and unattainable thing......slippery as a fish

Michah

[Open Eyes]

I just wanted to state that my first response was a form of sleep deprivation by over stressing people in the work place. But I do recognize that some jobs do entail working long hours which result in sleep deprivation as well.

When I just re read my post I realized that I only discussed one reason. But I do agree with the study and the way they described sleep deprivation and the result as people becoming rude and having inappropriate responses and can be lax and even feel they deserve more than what they are paid.

I appologize if it appeared that I went of topic by expressing my agreement to the general quote you expressed that day. Just struck a cord in me.

Open Eyes

[purple_fins]

that was interesting, thanks Byz for posting this.
(I fear most in my house are at this critical stage.)

you often find the greatest info.

fins