Come with me to January 2026, when a major company announces a new reward system for the senior Executives: part of your bonus depends on how well you sleep each night. That’s right: we are going to measure your sleep and reward you if you do it well.
The science is pretty clear: sleep is one of the most important factors in clear thinking, regulated emotions, good decision making, ethical judgements, strategic thinking, and actually almost everything that makes a good leader good. So, why wouldn’t we insist that good leaders get good sleep? I think we should. I think we will. Soon.
This is just one idea in a series of “future of work” suggestions you’ll be hearing from me this year. I am passionate about helping organisations getting the BEST out of the people rather than just the MOST. Speak to me for more ideas if you don’t want to wait for future videos.
TRANSCRIPT
Mmm, I was sleeping, I promise I was sleeping. My bonus depends on it. It’s 2026, and the science is clear.
Sleeping is essential. Yeah, we’ve always known that but now we know for sure just how important sleep is to clear thinking, better decision making, making sure we don’t make mistakes, making sure we get quality out of our thinking, out of our knowledge workers, out of our professional staff. And so here in the future, we make sure that people sleep. It’s something we measure, it’s something we reward.
My name is Graeme Codrington. This is ThrowForward Thursday, where every week we jump into the future, and we see what’s going on there and what it could mean for us today. And I’m serious, I really do believe that over the next few years, we are going to see companies take well-being and wellness even more seriously than they take it now.
In fact, to be honest, I don’t think they take it as seriously as they say they do back in the current day. But a real part of that is how much sleep you get. We know this. We already know this. We don’t need more science.
But that would mean that if you really do want to measure and reward the things that would help your senior executives, the strategic decision makers in your business, if you really want to get the most out of them and make sure you incentivize them to give you not just their most, but to give you their best, well, then you’d be a clever company.
If you actually measured and tracked their sleep to make sure that they get enough of it, and then tie their bonuses and their remuneration to how much sleep they’re getting. It really is one of the smartest ways that you can make your people the smartest they can be. Welcome to the future. Or maybe welcome to now.
Thank you for joining me in the future. But this issue of how we get the best out of our people, not just the most, is something I’m passionate about helping my clients to do today. So please make sure you connect with me for more insights and how to turn these thoughts into reality. I’ll see you next week.
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Graeme Codrington, is an internationally recognized futurist, specializing in the future of work. He helps organizations understand the forces that will shape our lives in the next ten years, and how we can respond in order to confidently stay ahead of change. Chat to us about booking Graeme to help you Re-Imagine and upgrade your thinking to identify the emerging opportunities in your industry.
For the past two decades, Graeme has worked with some of the world’s most recognized brands, travelling to over 80 countries in total, and speaking to around 100,000 people every year. He is the author of 5 best-selling books, and on faculty at 5 top global business schools.