Don't worry about that deadline...you look a little tired.

I had a post ready to go this morning with just a few refinements, but after opening my browser upon arriving at work, I came across a gem of a story I just couldn't pass up. My home page is set to Yahoo as the default (don't judge), and one of the lead stories today is about power napping being a new employee perk for a lot of corporations.

That's right...sleeping at work.

Roll me over and paint my backside purple because I have now heard it all.

Now, I don't know what culture/country/planet you hail from, but this Southern boy had to laugh, and I apologize if I offend. Sleeping at work is as foreign a concept to me as...say...pork rinds are to someone in the Middle East. I'm sure they're equally perplexed at how and why we would do such a thing to swine. I'll go out on a limb and guess sleeping at work is also a foreign concept to that region of the world...but that's just a guess.

I can't help but try to imagine what our founding captains of industry would have to say on the subject. Exactly what reaction would an aspiring executive receive if he had marched into Henry Ford's office in 1914 and presented data from a study that concluded a nap at work would make his workers more productive? After all, Mr. Ford had already astonished the world with his 'wage motive' philosophy by paying his workers $5 a day wages, more than double the industry norm. How about adding a few hundred sleep pods for a post-lunch nap just for good measure?

Wonder how the principle investors and executives at Pacific Union Railroad and Central Pacific Railroad would have felt about a little snooze the afternoon of May 10, 1869 before driving in the last 'golden spike' that completed the country's first transcontinental railway reducing coast-to-coast travel from six months or more down to a week? If daily napping had been standard operating procedure for that project, they'd still be working on it!

Just think of DOT project going on where you live today...

Finally, NAFTA is paying off for this country. We give our neighbors to the south good-paying production jobs, and they give us the afternoon siesta. Gracious!

Several years ago, I was visiting a fellow Chamber of Commerce member at his office. When I arrived, he was both aggravated and frustrated because a representative from the Department of Labor had just left the premises.

Tony C: Who in the world pee'd in your corn flakes?

Prez: Stupid...just (bleep) stupid!

Tony C: (chuckling) What's going on to have you this riled?

Prez: The Department of Labor rep was just here because of a complaint. We fired a guy last week for sleeping on the job, and now I have to give reason.

Tony C: This is a Right to Work state. You can let anyone go anytime for any reason.

Prez: Apparently not (bleep) sleeping on the job! It was the second time the guy had been caught asleep at his machine.

Tony C: At his work station?!

Prez: While in (bleep) production!

Tony C: So, what did the rep say?

Prez: We challenged his unemployment benefit claim because he was fire for cause. He wanted to know the cause, so I gave him our internal documentation. He looks over it and then asked me what our company policy was concerning sleeping on the job.

Tony C: (now gut-laughing) So what is your company policy on sleeping at work?

Prez: Laugh it up! I don't see the humor myself. I told him we all (bleep) sleep whenever and wherever we (bleep) want around here! Siesta time is company time!

Tony C: I take it he didn't appreciate the sarcasm?

Prez: He wanted to actually SEE our (bleep) written policy on sleeping at work. Sleeping at (bleep) work! What the (bleep) has this (bleep) country come to?! A written policy for (bleep) sleeping at work!

I emailed my friend a copy of the article today. Just to let him know how innovative and cutting-edge his company really was back then...