I often thought that my dream job would be one that let you take naps during the day. Although I would never consider my deployment here in Kuwait a "dream job", I have finally found a place where you can do just that.
Because the alert MEDEVAC crews here may be called at anytime during the day or night, those crews are not only encouraged, but expected to take naps throughout the day. The official Army term for this is "fighter management". Getting called away at night is not an uncommon occurence, either; I have been a few times myself. If someone on the alert crew decides not to take a nap during normal working hours and gets called away to fly for four hours in the middle of the night, that crewmember will be dog tired during the flight, and this can endanger the crew.
I have developed a routine during my alerts where I take a nap around 1-2pm until about 5pm. Then I get up, eat dinner, and stay awake until 10-11pm and sleep the rest of the night. This way, if I get called away on a MEDEVAC at any time during the day or night I will have built up enough rest to keep me awake and alert.
During my time here, I have become a huge fan of Army "fighter management". Imagine how much more productivity American companies would get out of their employees in the afternoon if they followed the lead of countries like Spain and allowed their workers to take a short nap around 1pm. I know this goes against centuries of ingrained American Protestant work ethic, but if your company is anything like mine, after about 3pm everyone is tired and zoned out and no work is getting done anyway. If they're doing anything, it is watching the clock until it is time to go home.
I doubt they'd buy off on this idea when I go back to my home squadron, but what a wonderful world that would be.
1 comment:
Amen to that!
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