Non-Traditional Performance  Strategies In the 21 st century, some HR managers and leaders believe that non-traditional strategies have the potential to enhance engagement, increase productivity, and improve performance levels in many organizations. For example, it is essential to consider the significance of employees receiving the right amount of sleep each night—which has a direct result on job performance. At the most basic level, prolonged sleep deprivation has a negative impact on our health” and that sleep deprivation is the “equivalent to being legally intoxicated. Many researchers emphasize the value of employees being well-rested as well as the usefulness of taking afternoon naps. What if managers allowed employees to take a nap after their lunch breaks? Sleep is an important contributor to creative problem solving. Could this strategy potentially help boost creativity and performance levels? Perhaps no single daytime renewal behavior more reliably influences performance-and is less common in the workplace-than taking a nap” (Schwartz, et al., 2010, p. 72). Many researchers understand the correlation between being well-rested and higher performance levels and they also point out the significance of taking time off from work to relax. As a matter of fact, Americans are sleeping less as well as taking less time off from work. “On average, Americans now fail to use 439 million paid vacations days a year. In 2008, one third of Americans said they intended to take no vacation at all” (Schwartz, et al., 2010, p. 75). In contrast, Europeans continue to enjoy far more vacation time than Americans do, which relates to having a higher quality of work and home life. From an organizational behavior perspective, employees are usually overwhelmed with work and feel that they cannot take any quality time off to relax. The dilemma is that most employees will never feel as if they are all caught up and can truly enjoy a vacation. The long-term implications of always being overwhelmed at work and never taking time off can result in disengagement and counterproductive activities. Organizations need healthy employees who are able to innovate, synergize, and work collectively with their peers. It is important also to mention that diet influences performance levels. Many organizations are notorious for spending thousands of dollars each month on purchasing unhealthy snacks for employees to encourage them to come to meetings or work extra hours. The fast pace of today’s work world has caused changes in people’s eating patterns as well. Instead of eating meals jointly with family members, friends, and colleagues, many families and individuals have been conditioned to eat in between work or other activities. As a result, many American employees are overweight, lethargic, and have lower performance levels. “Between 1960 and 2000, the average weight of American men between the ages of twenty-one and twenty-nine jumped from 163 to 191 pounds. During the same.

1. Non-Traditional Performance
Strategies
In the 21
st
century, some HR managers and leaders believe that non-
traditional strategies have the potential to enhance engagement,
increase productivity, and improve performance levels in many
organizations. For example, it is essential to consider the
significance of employees receiving the right amount of sleep
each night—which has a direct result on job performance. At
the most basic level, prolonged sleep deprivation has a negative
impact on our health” and that sleep deprivation is the
“equivalent to being legally intoxicated. Many researchers
emphasize the value of employees being well-rested as well as
the usefulness of taking afternoon naps. What if managers
allowed employees to take a nap after their lunch breaks? Sleep
is an important contributor to creative problem solving. Could
this strategy potentially help boost creativity and performance
levels? Perhaps no single daytime renewal behavior more
reliably influences performance-and is less common in the
workplace-than taking a nap” (Schwartz, et al., 2010, p. 72).
Many researchers understand the correlation between being
well-rested and higher performance levels and they also point
out the significance of taking time off from work to relax. As a
matter of fact, Americans are sleeping less as well as taking less
time off from work. “On average, Americans now fail to use
439 million paid vacations days a year. In 2008, one third of
Americans said they intended to take no vacation at all”
(Schwartz, et al., 2010, p. 75). In contrast, Europeans continue
to enjoy far more vacation time than Americans do, which
relates to having a higher quality of work and home life. From
an organizational behavior perspective, employees are usually
overwhelmed with work and feel that they cannot take any
quality time off to relax. The dilemma is that most employees
will never feel as if they are all caught up and can truly enjoy a

2. vacation. The long-term implications of always being
overwhelmed at work and never taking time off can result in
disengagement and counterproductive activities. Organizations
need healthy employees who are able to innovate, synergize,
and work collectively with their peers.
It is important also to mention that diet influences performance
levels. Many organizations are notorious for spending thousands
of dollars each month on purchasing unhealthy snacks for
employees to encourage them to come to meetings or work extra
hours. The fast pace of today’s work world has caused changes
in people’s eating patterns as well. Instead of eating meals
jointly with family members, friends, and colleagues, many
families and individuals have been conditioned to eat in
between work or other activities. As a result, many American
employees are overweight, lethargic, and have lower
performance levels. “Between 1960 and 2000, the average
weight of American men between the ages of twenty-one and
twenty-nine jumped from 163 to 191 pounds. During the same
period, the average women went from 140 to 164” pounds
(Schwartz, et al., 2010, p. 91). Most organizations have several
vending machines full of unhealthy snacks available for their
employees. “The staple foods in most vending machines and at
most off-sites are candy, cookies, and chips, filled with sugar,
salt, and fat. These foods provide a quick and short-lived buzz
when people’s energy is flagging, but they take a toll on their
health and productivity over time” (Schwartz, et al., 2010, p.
117). Organizations need to pay close attention to the food they
offer in their vending machines and cafeterias. Managing stress
means managing one’s food intake and having a regular exercise
program. Some organizations have devoted significant resources
to food and snacks that are offered at work. This non-traditional
type of strategic human resource management is commendable
and has many benefits for recruiting and retention.
Reference: Schwartz, T., Jones, J., & McCarty, C. (2010).
The Way We’re Working Isn’t Working
. New York, NY: Free Press. (This book is not required).

3. SLP Assignment Expectations
Conduct research and figure out what organizations are doing in
regards to non-traditional performance strategies. Next, discuss
your ideas for using non-traditional strategies in the workforce
to help enhance productivity, efficiency, and efficacy levels.
Your paper should be short (2-3 pages, not including the cover
sheet, references, and assessment sheet) and to the point. You
are expected to deal with these issues in an integrated fashion,
rather than treating them as a series of individual questions to
be answered one by one and left at that.
You will be particularly assessed on:
Your completion of all the steps in the exercise.
Your ability to synthesize information and present a concise and
meaningful paper.
The clarity and quality of your writing.
SLP Assignment Expectations (Structure)
Make sure that you use your own language (rather than copying
sentences from the article).
Your paper will be graded based on the following criteria:
Precision, Clarity, Breadth, Depth, Grammar/Vocabulary,
Referencing, and Application.
Use 12-point type size (Times New Roman), double-spacing,
and one-inch margins. Add a cover page and a references list.
Cite your sources: APA Style - Trident requires all PhD work to
be in APA form. We also encourage all other students to comply
with guidelines for proper citation of references. You may use
the tutorial found on the following link (press “view the
tutorial”):
http://www.apastyle.org/learn/tutorials/basics-
tutorial.aspx?apaSessionKey=4532A4A4911C1E8D5E885C1417
39A382