US insurance firm pays staff to sleep

It's pretty well documented that not getting enough sleep is bad for your body, your mind, and your wallet.

And it has been revealed recently that "hardworking" Singaporeans get the least sleep.

So we think that employers in Singapore should try to emulate what American insurance company Aetna is doing - paying staff to get enough sleep.

According to a report by the BBC, the firm encourages its workers to sign up to a scheme that rewards them for getting at least seven hours of sleep each night.

Staff can earn US$25 (S$33.70) for every 20 nights that they sleep seven hours or more, up to US$300 every year.

About 12,000 of the firm's 25,000 employees participated in the scheme last year, the BBC reported. That was up from about 10,000 who participated in 2014.

Staff can either record their sleep with a wrist monitor that connects to Aetna's computers (privacy concerns!) or manually record how long they have slept each night.

Isn't the company worried that some workers may be pocketing the cash without getting the requisite amount of sleep?

"We're not worried, it's on the honour system, we trust our staff," said Miss Kay Mooney, the company's vice-president of employee benefits.

Staff also get extra cash if they exercise, according to the report.

What do you think? Will the scheme work in Singapore? Or will it be abused here by "hardworking" workers?

sinsh@sph.com.sg