Believing that willpower is limitless makes you more productive on days with a lack of sleep

New research from Trinity Business School proves that a lack of sleep negatively affects daily work performance by reducing one’s willpower and motivational resources.

However, the research finds that this can be overcome by an employee’s state of mind. According to the study, believing that your willpower is unlimited helps you to sustain your effectiveness at work particularly on days with a lack of sleep.

The Study, titled: Role of Regulatory, Affective, and Motivational Resources in the Adverse Spillover of Sleep in the Home Domain to Employee Effectiveness in the Work Domain”, reports two daily diary studies with a combined sample of 214 employees and 1317 workdays.

Dr. Wladislaw Rivkin, Associate Professor in Organizational Behaviour at Trinity Business School, and lead researcher, says:

“Our data points to sleep being linked to employee effectiveness. The study unveils that a lack of sleep affects employees’ work effectiveness by reducing their willpower - the ability to control impulses, emotions, and desires - as well as their emotional resources such as a positive outlook towards daily task completion and motivational resources such as feelings of aliveness and energy during the day.”

The study reveals that one’s mindset about whether willpower is limited or limitless has a strong impact on performance at work particularly on days with a lack of sleep.

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For more information, a copy of the research paper, or to speak with the researchers, contact Kate Mowbray at BlueSky PR on Kate@bluesky-pr.com or call +44 710022871