Lack of Sleep = Lack of Ethics
Recent research has confirmed that lack of sleep makes you do unethical things. Tiredness has been a factor in industrial accidents with heavy machinery but now it appears to be a contributing factor in fraud and corruption.
The research indicates lack of sleep leads to inflexible thinking, greater difficulty in coping with changes in circumstances and an inability to reason correctly leading to tunnel vision.
The inability to reflect on the consequences of our actions is the first capacity we lose when we get tired.
So the company that praises the worker who pulls an all-nighter to get the job done or functions on 4-6 hours sleep a night is setting itself up for a massive fall as there is a strong possibility that employee will cut corners and act in an unethical manner leaving the company open for criticism and possible litigation. In addition, there is always the possibility this person will resort to fraudulent activity to “claim the reward” he or she believes is theirs because of the extra time they are putting in – the lack of sleep increases this possibility.
