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Stop! Shower Time!

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Naked Element to reward team for taking showers.

While there is a lot to be said for meeting a problem head on, research has shown that removing oneself from a difficult task, even for a few minutes, can make all the difference when it comes to finding a solution. Engaging in a less mentally challenging activity frees the mind and allows it to consider different pathways and directions. How many times have you struggled to remember the name of a contact, only for it to come to mind while putting the kettle on? Or been stood in the shower and come up with a new way to tackle that tricky code issue at work? Back in the dim and distant past, our director Paul Grenyer lived in Leeds and worked as a software engineer in Sheffield. It was an 80 mile round trip by car everyday, not something that he relished, but that turned out to be his best time for solving software problems (the copious amounts of Black and Symphonic Metal he listened to while driving may have also helped, but that’s another story.)

This kind of ‘unconscious consideration’ is an often underrated tool but Naked Element plans to utilise it to the full. While everyone in the Naked Element team has a much shorter commute than Paul did while in Leeds, there are still opportunities for unconscious consideration, during everyone’s morning shower for example. To that end from the 1st April Naked Element will be recognising this valuable contribution and paying its team for their shower time. In a survey carried out at Naked Element’s offices, we found that on average each member of the team spends 14.5 minutes in the shower each day. Being compensated for this use of mental downtime means each member of the team will be more productive and this is expected to vastly increase problem solving ability and our value to Naked Element’s clients.

Originally published here, 1st April 2016.

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