« Awesome ocean | Home | Thought to ponder »
Research worldwide reveals that professional productivity improves among those who nap after lunch, Catalan official, La Vanguardia notes.
Studies confirm what any office worker knows, that between 2pm and 4pm lethargy sets in. At this time people are expending most of their energy digesting their food. A quick scan around a training room at that time proves the point - audiences worldwide need to be re-energised.
Accordingly, one of Spain's most successful companies, the Catalan-based MRW courier service, has installed reclining chairs in its offices, both in Barcelona and Madrid, into which employees may slump, with the additional offer of a soothing massage.
Francisco Loscos, professor at Barcelona's Esade business school, said: "Companies want their people to be as motivated as possible; so, many invest in everything to promote the happiness and relaxation of their workers, and that includes the siesta."
Cutting-edge Catalonia has rehabilitated an ancient practice for the hi-tech age. It was an entrepreneurial Catalan who, some years back, founded a nationwide string of shops where you can walk in and "buy" a 30-minute siesta and massage.
"We noticed that many people came in after lunch for a massage, but they really wanted a siesta. They just drifted off," said Marina Egea, manager of a Barcelona branch of "Masajes a 1,000" - named in pre-euro days when a massage cost 1,000 pesetas, or about £4. Today, €4 buys you a half-hour siesta.
Posted by Kevin Kelly at
April 5, 2005 08:54 AM