How Does it work?
The Chronotype CoLab is a framework for a collaborative workshop for small, established teams or organizations with less than 12 employees. The purpose of the workshop is to facilitate an open discussion, understand challenges and opportunities, and optimize team dynamics around individual sleep chronotypes.
The approach, a three-hour, in-person or virtual workshop, is important because it allocates purposeful time for teams to gather and intentionally discuss this topic and its implications.
What will it help us accomplish?
Reduce bias
While a core percentage of the population falls into the middle of the bell-shaped curve of chronotype distribution, the wide range in chronotypes (of up to 12 hours) creates a significant challenge for the outliers. This diversity means that not all individuals can be accommodated with a “one size fits all” approach, and those who are challenged by it can suffer from bias, out-group status, and health and safety risks. Studies have also shown “early bird” supervisors are more likely to discriminate against “night owl” employees.
To reduce chronotype bias, the first goal of the “Chronotype CoLab” is for everyone engaged in the CoLab to take the validated chronotype questionnaire and discuss the outcomes, creating awareness of this differences among team members.
Improve TEAM DYNAMICS
Once leaders and teams are aware of their own and each other’s chronotypes, they are better able to organize and structure work for themselves and their teams in line with circadian preferences and daily energy peaks and lows.
By optimizing schedules, leaders and teams are better able to align activities with circadian preferences, lowering the risk for fatigue on the job, decreasing social jet lag and risk of burnout. At the end of this collaborative discussion, team members will have a better understanding of how, when, and why they prefer doing certain work activities during specific times of day. This knowledge will help the team align their schedules and support each other.
Increase LEadership Effectiveness
Chronotype awareness has the potential to greatly influence leaders’ and team members’ ability to adjust and attune to daily work interactions, which has important implications for overall leadership style and effectiveness.
Beyond optimization of scheduling for circadian rhythms and reducing fatigue, gaining awareness, and understanding around circadian preferences of individual team members can lead to stronger leadership and overall team dynamics.
The CoLab initiates the conversation by starting with individual differences in work styles based on peaks and troughs, and this activity can lead to further conversations to optimize how individuals can work best together.