The Uses of Coffee in Highly Demanding Work Contexts: Managing Rhythms, Sleep, and Performance
This paper presents a sociological approach to coffee consumption as a performance management strategy in work contexts, particularly in professions with intense work rhythms and highly responsive demands. Focusing on the daily work of three professional groups (nurses, police officers, and journali...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-08-01
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| Series: | Social Sciences |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/11/8/365 |
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| author | Elsa Pegado Carla Rodrigues Hélder Raposo Ana I. Fernandes |
| author_facet | Elsa Pegado Carla Rodrigues Hélder Raposo Ana I. Fernandes |
| author_sort | Elsa Pegado |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This paper presents a sociological approach to coffee consumption as a performance management strategy in work contexts, particularly in professions with intense work rhythms and highly responsive demands. Focusing on the daily work of three professional groups (nurses, police officers, and journalists), we analyze the social expression of coffee and how it is mobilized to deal with sleep problems, fatigue, concentration, or stress. For this purpose, three intertwined dimensions are explored: (1) the nature of these professionals’ work and the pressures for certain forms and levels of performance; (2) sleep problems as both a result of those work characteristics and a constraint on performance; and (3) the role of coffee in managing professional imperatives. The use of coffee appears as a legitimate practice in everyday working routines, due to its socializing markers, whereas additional benefits are attributed to the pharmacological properties of caffeine, given the perceived improvement in performance. The empirical data derive from a study carried out in Portugal on the use of medicines and food supplements for performance management, following a mixed methods approach. In particular, data from a questionnaire survey in a sample of 539 workers and information collected through seven focus groups with a total of 33 participants were used. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T09:48:35Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-186247c3ec4841c99fd761fca3116e01 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-0760 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T09:48:35Z |
| publishDate | 2022-08-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Social Sciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-186247c3ec4841c99fd761fca3116e012023-12-02T00:18:37ZengMDPI AGSocial Sciences2076-07602022-08-0111836510.3390/socsci11080365The Uses of Coffee in Highly Demanding Work Contexts: Managing Rhythms, Sleep, and PerformanceElsa Pegado0Carla Rodrigues1Hélder Raposo2Ana I. Fernandes3Iscte—Instituto Universitário de Lisboa, CIES-Iscte, Av. das Forças Armadas, 1649-026 Lisbon, PortugalIscte—Instituto Universitário de Lisboa, CIES-Iscte, Av. das Forças Armadas, 1649-026 Lisbon, PortugalIscte—Instituto Universitário de Lisboa, CIES-Iscte, Av. das Forças Armadas, 1649-026 Lisbon, PortugalCiiEM—Interdisciplinary Research Center Egas Moniz, Instituto Universitário Egas Moniz, Quinta da Granja, Monte de Caparica, 2829-511 Caparica, PortugalThis paper presents a sociological approach to coffee consumption as a performance management strategy in work contexts, particularly in professions with intense work rhythms and highly responsive demands. Focusing on the daily work of three professional groups (nurses, police officers, and journalists), we analyze the social expression of coffee and how it is mobilized to deal with sleep problems, fatigue, concentration, or stress. For this purpose, three intertwined dimensions are explored: (1) the nature of these professionals’ work and the pressures for certain forms and levels of performance; (2) sleep problems as both a result of those work characteristics and a constraint on performance; and (3) the role of coffee in managing professional imperatives. The use of coffee appears as a legitimate practice in everyday working routines, due to its socializing markers, whereas additional benefits are attributed to the pharmacological properties of caffeine, given the perceived improvement in performance. The empirical data derive from a study carried out in Portugal on the use of medicines and food supplements for performance management, following a mixed methods approach. In particular, data from a questionnaire survey in a sample of 539 workers and information collected through seven focus groups with a total of 33 participants were used.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/11/8/365coffeecaffeinesleepperformance managementwork contexts |
| spellingShingle | Elsa Pegado Carla Rodrigues Hélder Raposo Ana I. Fernandes The Uses of Coffee in Highly Demanding Work Contexts: Managing Rhythms, Sleep, and Performance Social Sciences coffee caffeine sleep performance management work contexts |
| title | The Uses of Coffee in Highly Demanding Work Contexts: Managing Rhythms, Sleep, and Performance |
| title_full | The Uses of Coffee in Highly Demanding Work Contexts: Managing Rhythms, Sleep, and Performance |
| title_fullStr | The Uses of Coffee in Highly Demanding Work Contexts: Managing Rhythms, Sleep, and Performance |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Uses of Coffee in Highly Demanding Work Contexts: Managing Rhythms, Sleep, and Performance |
| title_short | The Uses of Coffee in Highly Demanding Work Contexts: Managing Rhythms, Sleep, and Performance |
| title_sort | uses of coffee in highly demanding work contexts managing rhythms sleep and performance |
| topic | coffee caffeine sleep performance management work contexts |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/11/8/365 |
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