Akademik

n.

An office or room where employees can nap during working hours.

"That old adage 'if you snooze, you lose' no longer applies in the business world. Napping on the job is slowly becoming acceptable — when done in the proper place at the proper time.

Office workers don't have to prop themselves up in a cubicle anymore, pretending they are on the telephone when in fact they are catching some Z's. Assembly line workers can take their 15-minute break in the nap nook, if one is provided."

— Luann Laubscher, "Power Naps Could Help Improve Worker Productivity," Asheville Citizen-Times, August 23, 1999

Is workplace napping becoming accepted in the hard-charging North American business world? I'll believe when I see it, but if the number of new words related to napping on the job are any indication, there's at least a pro-nap faction out there. Besides nap nook there's nap room, solitude nook, wellness room, and the very cozy-sounding spent tent (a phrase brought to my attention by subscriber Anthony English):

"In Kansas City, Mo., for example, the architecture and design firm of Gould Evans Goodman Associates set up a room equipped with 'spent tents' — purple and turquoise camping tents outfitted with eye shades, alarm clocks, pillows and blankets."

— Amy Reynolds Alexander, "When Sleeping At Work Is Good," Investor's Business Daily, June 28, 2000

Of course, those of us lucky enough to work at home have a built-in nap nook: the couch!