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  3. As we all know, sleep deprivation can lead to exhaustion-fueled mistakes in the workplace, whether they be a simple typo in a qu

As we all know, sleep deprivation can lead to exhaustion-fueled mistakes in the workplace, whether they be a simple typo in a qu

admin2013-08-03  63
问题     As we all know, sleep deprivation can lead to exhaustion-fueled mistakes in the workplace, whether they be a simple typo in a quarterly report or life-threatening errors while operating machinery. But according to two business school professors, it can make people more unethical too.
    In a forthcoming paper in the Academy of Management Journal, highlighted recently in the Financial Times, Michael Christian of the University of North Carolina’s Kenan-Flagler Business School and Aleksander Ellis of the University of Arizona’s Eller College of Management studied sleep-deprived nurses and students who’d pulled all-nighters in a sleep lab. They found that a lack of sleep led not just to poor performance on tasks that require "innovative thinking, risk analysis, and strategic planning"—though studies have shown all those to be true—but also to increased deviant and unethical behavior in both groups. Examples included rudeness, inappropriate responses and attempts to take more money than they’d earned.
    How does this happen? Christian and Ellis write that sleep deprivation results in lower brain functioning, particularly in the prefrontal cortex, which contains the parts of the brain that control " executive" functions, such as inhibiting emotion and behavior. Sleep deprivation reduces the metabolism of glucose, which acts as brain food for these functions.
    And why does this matter for leaders? In a global, always-on work world, responding to emails from the boss at midnight is considered normal and logging four hours of sleep a night to talk to colleagues in Bangalore is a regular occurrence. As a result, going without sleep has become a workplace badge of honor. Staying up all night to crunch on a deadline or taking red eye flights to meet clients on two continents in one day have replaced putting in a few hours on the weekend as evidence that you’re working hard.
    The numbers the two professors cite in their paper are startling. According to the National Sleep Disorders Research Plan, sleep deprivation costs the U. S. economy some $ 150 billion annually in accidents and productivity losses. The percentage of Americans who sleep less than six hours a night has jumped from 13 percent to 20 percent between 1999 and 2009, according to the National Sleep Foundation. The same group estimated that in 2009, one-third of Americans lost sleep thanks to financial distress. Who knows what that number is now.
    Christian and Ellis show that sleep deprivation has worse effects than just the occasional mistake or error— rude behavior and deviance can cost organizations just as much, if not more. To help fight the problems of sleep deprivations, leaders should provide "sleep awareness training"(whatever that is), monitor their workaholic cultures and provide more "restorative opportunities. " And no, air traffic controllers, they’re not suggesting napping on the job. Just taking more frequent breaks.
According to the author, the workaholic behaviors can be
选项 A、common but harmful.
B、normal and admirable.
C、inefficient and immoral.
D、regular but startling.
答案A
解析 推断题。根据题干关键词可先定位至第四段，该段讲述了许多夜以继日工作的例子，并在第二句指出这种现象是global，always-on，可见其普遍性。而在接下来的第五段中用数字阐明了这种做法造成的社会损失，可见其还具有危害性。因此[A]“普遍但有危害”为本题答案。由后文可知，作者认为第四段中所描述的现象是不应提倡的，故[B]“正常和值得赞美的”不合文意；作者对于连续高压工作的效率并没有提及，也不能说这种行为是不道德的，故[C]也应排除；[D]将文中的其他段落中抽取的词汇用作干扰项，特别是startling“惊人的”是用于说明睡眠不足带来的社会损失，此处偷换了主题，因此也不合文意。
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