Ever noticed a colleague suddenly become of the top performers in the office with excellent focus and concentration and production targets?
The answer to this may be performance-enhancing drugs!
Taking drugs to enhance performance and be best at work is nothing new. Famous leaders throughout history, like JFK to Hitler, took amphetamines to handle their grueling schedules. However, in present times, there are ‘smart drugs’ doing the rounds in workplaces and boosting the energy and performance of the workers. The so-called ‘smart’ or ‘study’ drugs are prescription medications that are used to treat narcolepsy.
These are modafinil or stimulants like Adderall and Ritalin that are essential in the treatment of ADHD. The benefits of these ‘smart’ drugs are increased concentration and productivity, ultimately helping workers to perform better and for longer.
There is also ‘microdosing’, where a person takes minute doses of psychedelic drugs. These drugs are LSD, psilocybin (magic mushrooms), or mescaline. This practice is said to have swept the entrepreneurs of Silicon Valley start-ups, with a vast number taking the boost doses to ‘open their minds’ and boost their creativity. The highest section that is using these ‘smart’ drugs is the university students, who are dosing up to cope with exam revision and essay deadlines.
Use of Smart Drugs at Work on the Rise
The medical director of Castle Craig Hospital rehabilitation center, Jonathan Chick, witnessed several business people seeking treatment for addiction to such ‘smart’ drugs. He stated, ‘What we often hear is that they use these stimulants to function at work on into the night – it’s particularly common where businesses have links in the Far East or North America and the person is expected to function outside of normal UK business hours,”. Self-employed individuals also take these drugs, where the medical director cited the example of a man who runs an internet business and used stimulants to stay awake through the night so he could be available to customers at all hours.
The Effects of the Drug
Though more scientific research is required to verify the effects of microdosing, ‘self-reports are often very positive and says that it enhances creativity, vitality, and focus on work.’ Her research into full doses of LSD found that the drug reduces the control of the network in the brain that inhibits some areas, permitting parts of it to communicate with each other and resulting in ‘full brain consciousness.’
Read the full article at TheHRdigest