A company that will pay you to sleep!

What if a job seeker is offered a stipend of rupees one lakh to just sleep? Hard to believe, isn’t it? Is that even a possibility, one may wonder. Apparently, it is!

Wakefit, the company that manufactures sleeping products— mattresses, pillows, bed frames, mattress protectors, comforters, neck pillows and back cushions— has launched a unique sleep internship programme, for which it is looking out for about 15-20 interns. The company is offering people an opportunity to sleep and earn money!

The candidates selected for the ‘Wakefit Sleep Internship’ will be required to simply ‘sleep’. And this ‘work’ will also fetch them a stipend of Rs 1 Lakh!

“As a sleep solutions company, our biggest motivation is to inspire people to sleep better. As we continue to live life in the fast lane, sleep is unfortunately becoming a common casualty, adversely affecting our health, productivity and quality of life. The Sleep internship initiative aims to bring back the focus on sleep health, by celebrating and applauding people who obsess over sleeping well,” says Chaitanya Ramalingegowda, director and co-founder, Wakefit.

The Company will examine the resumes of the candidates, and those selected will be required to submit their video testimonials, which will be further scrutinised. Finally, the most appropriate candidates will be called for an interview.

The recruiters will analyse the candidates’ attitude towards sleep. Talking to HRKatha, Ramalingegowda explains, “There are so many distractions in people’s lives today that make them sacrifice sleep. They could be watching a popular web series at night or trying to complete some important official work. We need candidates who are obsessed with sticking to their sleeping hours and can sleep for at least nine hours a day.”

“We are looking to recruit the best sleepers in the country who are willing to go to any lengths to make sleep a priority in their lives,” he adds.

Each intern will be given a sleep tracker and mattress to ensure perfect and sound sleep. They will need to sleep at least nine hours a day for 100 nights, which will come to a little more than three months.

“We are looking to recruit the best sleepers in the country who are willing to go to any lengths to make sleep a priority in their lives”

Habits, such as absenteeism from sleeping diligently, laziness in going to bed on time, and using laptop during the time of internship will be highly frowned upon. The expert panel, comprising healthcare specialists, wellness consultants and interior designers, will monitor the interns’ progress and provide counselling on the best way to meet the KRA laid out.

The expert panel will also make sure that the interns get adequate meals and an environment conducive to good sleep.

“A person needs a proper diet, an ideal lifestyle and the right ambience for sound sleep. The healthcare experts and interior designers will ensure the same,” shares Ramalingegowda.

Through the sleep tracker, the Company will collect the sleep-related data of the interns. This data will be used to draft out the whole ‘sleep’ journey of the interns and will be posted on social-media platforms to make people aware of the importance of sleep and celebrate good sleep.

Other than that, the Company also releases ‘The Great Indian Sleep Scorecard’. This uses the sleep data of more than 25000 samples to make business decisions, and design further campaigns for the Company. Although only 15-20 samples will be collected through this internship, the Company will see if it aligns with the other data it has.

More than an HR initiative, it is a marketing intervention, which is why, the idea was mooted by the marketing team of Wakefit. According to Ramalingegowda, the campaign is creating a lot of buzz.

“This initiative is another step towards making sleep an integral part of maintaining work–life balance,” concludes Ramalingegowda.