Guiding lines: Rest for white-collar workers

The colleague of a friend who has worked for seven years in a Moscow trading company, every day during working hours left for 2-3 hours to have a sleep in his car. Eventually the management dismissed him. In many organizations the director is jealous of subordinates even having a cup of coffee outside of a lunch break. Such is the post Soviet mentality. However, in Russia there are progressive top-managers. For example, the owners of the Artyom Lebedev design studio have written in their constitution, that all their employee have the right to a dream. To doze at the office is also permitted for workers of broadcasting company NTV.

It's difficult to say whether this fashion was begun by the Spaniards who thought up the siesta, or is a consequence of the natural development of society in the 21st century. At the start of the new millennium there was a discovery that a regular daytime nap reduces the risk of death from cardiovascular diseases and raises the efficiency of office employees. It has been proven by German and French scientists that after a half-hour sleep the person will carry out a task several times quicker. However, Europe, except for France, is not in a hurry to introduce the use of this discovery. In Russia the majority of chiefs admit that it would be more likely for them to send a tired subordinate home, than allow them to sleep. And some people worry that after 15 minutes of sleep the person will take a long time to wake up.

Another component of effective work except for the regime of the day is the layout and conditions of the office. In the art of equipping workspace the capital's business society looks first of all at Europe and the U.S. However the most necessary is adopted, and "experiments" are cut off. It is fair to admit that in Moscow business centers the classically-boring gentlemen's type prevails: open space, 2-3 conference rooms, a couple of offices for the top-management, sometimes a conference hall, and small kitchens. To sit down and be distracted from the monitor of a computer it is possible to go to the kitchen, or the hall for visitors where there are some armchairs. It is good if the office of the company is in a modern business center with a cafe and a gym.

There are also pleasures - after work. However, attempts to break out are being undertaken. For example, Rba Promo Holding and Mall Marketing plans to move to a new building where in addition to the standard type premises there will be a sports hall and a rest room. At Cushman & Wakefield/Stiles & Riabokobylko's new office the space is planned to be mobile, so that there are special zones where a person can simply have a rest, or be fenced off from colleagues by a screen and work. At Jones Lang LaSalle in addition to kitchens there are coffee rooms on each floor where employees can drink a cup of coffee in unconstrained conditions.

In some of the capital's offices it is also possible to come across a "whipping boy" - a relaxant and aggression remover in the form of a boxing bag, shaped like a man. It is hung up in the office so that people passing by can vent their anger on it. However, Moscow collectives for some reason do not hit a bag. Psychologists in Moscow explain that the majority of people during the working day simply do not have time to collect so much aggression and do not mix personal emotions with work.

Nevertheless world practice shows that all innovations come to an end with single experiments. This concerns both office space, and the work regime. Even in Greece the siesta, where as in Spain it is traditional, has stopped being encouraged by employers. As for Russia, which has a moderate climatic belt people over decades have developed habits. Generally, the distinctive feature of the Russian nation - is to work without breaks, in one long breath. The given rule extends to all countries where it gets dark early and it is not too hot. European and North American tendencies are now to even reduce the working day. But not due to a break, but to the fast process of work. So at 17.00 in European cities many white-collar workers are already free. And overtime is not encouraged. In Rotterdam, for example, the electricity in offices is simply disconnected at 17.55 and the lifts stop working.

Such methods take root easier in countries where "deviations" from universal norms have developed by tradition as an element of culture. It is especially visible in Asian and eastern countries. For example, Kazakhs always have a siesta. The Chinese and Japanese are renowned for their know-how. The Chinese like to have a sleep on their break, even when they work in Russia, as has been observed by Russian employers when doing business with the Chinese. In Japan a daytime sleep is even officially carried out in schools.

In the background of modern trends the capital of Russia takes perhaps a golden middle position. In Moscow there are companies that have chosen an optimum attitude to operating conditions. Some psychologists consider the optimum attitude to be a variant where some not too progressive experiment at an office is conducted and over time a favorable atmosphere is created. It is above all good attitudes between employees. And democracy lies in the fact that everyone organizes their own working hours, in light of their tasks. And, accordingly, everybody's breaks are different. All this is complimented with a beautifully designed premises, good air-conditioners, the use of color and small fishes in aquariums. A classic example of the above is Holland, where the business community works exactly to these rules and considers it very progressive in the art of corporate culture.