Most of us finding a colleague asleep at work would probably make a quip about laziness. Yet some companies take a very different stance on workplace napping.

At its Geneva offices, Procter & Gamble, the consumer products group, has three EnergyPods, which resemble loungers with a space-age half-dome wrapped over the headrest, made by a company called Metronaps.

“The pods are designed to provide users with a quick recharge that can help maximise the rejuvenating effects of a brief nap,” Metronaps says. “This, in turn, helps users do more with their day from both a professional and personal point of view.” The pods have proved very popular, especially with sleep-deprived employees such as those with young children and frequent business travellers.

Cisco Systems' new North Carolina offices boast a pair of pods too. “We're interested in employee wellbeing,” explains Kirsten Weeks, community relations manager. The technology company has a variety of ways for people to recharge their batteries, she explains. “One of these is napping. Employees power-nap [for about 15 to 20 minutes] and come out refreshed...you can set the pod to vibrate to wake you up.”

Other businesses that have installed EnergyPods include PwC and Google.

Companies are encouraging 40 winks, explains Metronaps co-founder Christopher Lindholst, because it “improves alertness, mood and makes you more productive and reduces stress”. Health, he says, has three pillars – exercise, nutrition and sleep – and, while companies have traditionally taken an interest in the first two, they are only just waking up to the last.

“Sleep pods provide a feeling of security,” Mr Lindholst says. “People feel that the outside won't bother them. You have a visor that blocks out light and music plays in the unit.” He adds that 15-20 minutes is ideal as it refreshes you but does not send you into the deep rapid-eye-movement sleep that leaves you feeling groggy afterwards.

Metronaps are not the only pods in town. Lee McCormack is the UK designer of a new pod called the Oculas OV2 that completely encloses the user. “A lot of businesses, especially in the US, have shown interest in it as a relaxation area around the concept of wellbeing,” he explains. “It's not just sleep, it can be light therapy, relaxation, or time for reflection or meditation. In today's open-plan world, we sometimes need to put ourselves in a place where we can shut the world out.”

The business power-nap is not confined to offices. It is a popular fixture of airport lounges too, several of which already have pods. Others, such as Malaysia Airlines' golden lounge in Kuala Lumpur, even go as far as having several small sleeping rooms off the main lounge: “Tired business and first-class travellers can have a short refreshing sleep, either before, after or between flights,” explains Guy Moreau, the company's UK and Ireland marketing manager. “They're a popular facility.”

William Anthony, a professor in rehabilitation sciences at Boston University and author of The Art of Napping at Work, welcomes the arrival of sleep pods at work.

如果發現有同事在上班時睡覺，我們中的大多數人可能都會嘲笑他們的懶惰。然而有些公司對在工作場合打盹采取了迥然不同的態度。

消費品集團寶潔(P&G)的日內瓦辦公室有3臺EnergyPod。這種設備類似躺椅，頭枕部位包裹著像宇航服頭盔似的半球體，由一家名為Metronaps的公司制造。

“這些‘豆莢'的設計是為了讓使用者迅速恢復體能，有助于實現短暫午休恢復精力的最佳效果，”Metronaps表示。“這反過來又能幫助使用者實現更高的效率，不論是從職業的角度還是從個人的角度。”事實證明，這些豆莢十分受員工歡迎，尤其是那些因為家里有小孩或經常出差而睡眠不足的員工。

思科系統(Cisco Systems)在北卡羅來納州的新辦公室也有兩臺豆莢。“我們很關心員工的福祉，”社區關系經理柯斯汀•維克斯(Kirsten Weeks)解釋道。她表示，這家科技公司有多種方式讓員工恢復體能。“其中之一就是小憩。員工們小睡（15至20分鐘），出來后精神煥發……你可以對豆莢進行設置，通過振動將你喚醒。”

其它安裝了EnergyPod的公司包括普華永道(PwC)和谷歌(Google)。

Metronaps的聯席創始人克里斯多夫•林德霍斯特(Christopher Lindholst)表示，許多公司都在鼓勵員工小憩，因為這“能提高機敏度，改善情緒，提高率，減低壓力”。他表示，健康有三大支柱——鍛煉、營養和睡眠——過去公司通常只關注前兩項，如今它們剛剛開始意識到最后一項的重要性。

“睡眠豆莢提供了一種安全感，”林德霍斯特表示。“人們覺得外部環境不會打擾他們。有一塊面板會遮住光線，里面播放著音樂。”他補充稱，15至20分鐘的小憩最為理想，因為它能夠使你恢復精力，但又不會讓你進入深度的快速眼動(REM)睡眠狀態，讓你醒來后感到頭暈。

Metrionaps的豆莢不是英國惟一的豆莢。英國設計師李•麥考馬克(Lee McCormack)設計了一種名為Oculas OV2的新型豆莢，它將使用者完全包裹起來。“許多公司，特別是在美國，都對它表示出了興趣，將其視為符合福祉概念的放松區域，”他解釋道。“這不僅可以用于睡眠，還能用作輕度的心理治療、放松或是進行反省或冥想。在當今世界，辦公室往往采用開放式設計，我們有時需要呆在一個可以將世界關在門外的地方。”

商務小憩用具并不僅限于辦公室。它也是機場休息廳備受歡迎的設備，其中一些已經安裝了豆莢。其它休息廳，例如馬來西亞航空(Malaysia Airlines)設在吉隆坡的金色休息大廳，甚至在主休息廳外還設有幾間小睡眠室。“疲倦的商務艙和頭等艙旅客可以在飛機起飛前后或轉機期間在此小憩一下，”馬來西亞航空英國和愛爾蘭營銷經理蓋伊•莫羅(Guy Moreau)表示，“它們很受歡迎。”

波士頓大學(Boston University)康復學教授威廉•安東尼(William Anthony)對這種工作時間使用的睡椅表示歡迎。安東尼是《上班時間小憩的藝術》(The Art of Napping at Work)一書的作者。

然而，他警告稱，一些公司采用這種辦法并不表明工作狂文化的滅亡。實際上，他表示，西班牙和拉美國家午睡的傳統可能已經過時：“這種傳統可能喪失，因為他們接受了更具英美風格的一天24小時一周7天的工作模式。”無論如何，午睡正在爭取自己的地盤：在英國，6月25日是第三個全國午睡提醒日。

安東尼表示，盡管睡椅和專門的睡眠室有利于午睡，但實際上，它們并非必需：它更多的是文化問題。

“如果某人想小憩一下，他們可以公開進行，也可以秘密進行，”他表示。“小憩者很有創造力。你可以看見他們把套頭衫放在辦公桌上，然后趴在上面睡覺；也可以看見他們出去，到停車場里的汽車上小憩；他們甚至還會去衛生間里小睡。”他表示，現在需要的，是一項午睡政策。“多數雇主不允許員工睡覺——現在仍存在這種偏見。睡覺被視為懶惰和效率低下，事實通常恰恰相反。”

他認為，解決辦法在于雇主要挑戰這一文化，堅持認為午睡與工間休息同等重要。他表示，多數小憩者不需要高科技的睡眠解決方案：“他們只需要得到許可。你只要對他們說‘如果你想在休息時間小睡一下，你就睡吧，這不會影響你的名譽或工作'。”