Commentary: Was Heathrow Airport CEO wrong to sleep after fire broke out?

IT TAKES STRENGTH TO REST

When I watch politicians hot off the campaign trail, staying up through election night, making speeches and appointments, I am slightly aghast.

One researcher wrote of poor outcomes in marathon political summits: “Decision-making under the influence is bad for everyone. It harms the decision makers, and it has a high chance of stalling negotiations and producing policies that are irrationally risk-taking.” 

Every year Meadows holds an annual workshop at a Big Four consultancy on the role that sleep plays in improving leadership, for partners who typically deal with late-night calls and fly across time zones.

One of the topics of discussion is reasons they do not take a break, which can be cultural or psychological, such as perfectionism. It takes “strength”, he says, to override others’ judgment to get some rest.

For a moment during the pandemic, hustle culture celebrating punishing hours looked like it was disappearing as wellness rose up the corporate agenda.

Meadows observes there was even interest in chronotypes, as people adapted to their natural schedule and understood that night owls and larks improved productivity if they worked to their personal pattern. “From an evolutionary standpoint,” says Meadows, “it makes sense as late sleepers can stand on guard at night.”

However, I fear that – like the office – the old belief that sleep is for losers may be making a return. Elon Musk and Donald Trump like to boast of their white-collar grind.

Perhaps we can take our guidance from another tech oligarch, Jeff Bezos, who once outlined his need for eight hours of sleep, with his first meeting at 10am, allowing for “puttering time”.

As he pointed out: “As a senior executive, you get paid to make a small number of high-quality decisions. Is that [pay] really worth it [for the company] if the quality of those decisions might be lower because you’re tired or grouchy?”