Medical Marijuana Can Boost Your Job Performance
New Study Sheds Light Into The Benefits Of Weed For Work
While many employers still look down on staff who use cannabis, more progressive companies know that the secret of happier, healthier employees is allowing them to use pot. This is especially important if your employees struggle with medical conditions, which marijuana can help with.
But for decades, pot use was stigmatized and linked to laziness, lethargy, and overall just being a couch potato. People also had the misconception that it was only hippies, creative types, and musicians who could benefit from cannabis use during work. Being high, after all, supposedly helped get one’s creative juices flowing.
That couldn’t be further from the truth. In the real world, cannabis use can help those of us with desk jobs in more ways than one.
Here’s what the new studies say.
Greek researchers from the Department of Nursing at the University of West Attica analyzed medical marijuana patients to see if it had any effect on their quality of life. One hundred participants were studied, and 58 of them had a neurological condition. They were asked to complete a survey which included measures for socio-demographics, medical data, and quality of life, based on clinical standards.
What they found was surprising: 96% of participants reported improvements in symptoms while 68% said that they experienced vitality and better energy levels. Meanwhile, 88% even said that it helped them work better. Other notable improvements they saw were in the sleep and appetite department. All of this is because of their medical marijuana treatment.
“Our participants exhibited very few restrictions in activities due to emotional difficulties, a moderate general health status as well as moderate vitality and energy,” explained the authors. “Participants, who reported a longer period of receiving medical cannabis, reported statistically significant more energy and vitality, but also better mental and general health status,” they added.
Zero Tolerance Policies Should Be A Thing Of The Past
Despite growing acceptance nationwide surrounding cannabis consumption, many employers are missing out on potentially incredible talent if they keep up a zero-tolerance stance – even off-work hours.
It must be said that while the tides are changing, an increasing number of companies are starting to relax policies, but there are still countless out there that will conduct random drug tests and even discriminate against potential hires if they fail a drug test. Even if cannabis has been made legal in their state. At the end of the day, companies have full discretion if they wish to test for drugs even if marijuana is legal.
There’s still a lot of gray area on the matter…. It also depends on the state. For example, in New York, where medical and adult-use cannabis has been legalized, it’s illegal for employers to drug test both current and potential employees. Other states prohibit employers from denying one a job just because they tested positive for weed.
It would make more sense only if an employee’s job performance has drastically been affected by cannabis use, that it becomes an issue. In most cases, weed doesn’t even have any impact on work performance.
For example, a 2020 study by investigators from San Diego State University and Auburn University revealed that cannabis use after work had no effect on productivity or performance the day after. For this study, researchers analyzed how marijuana consumption at various times during the day may have an effect, if any, on the ability of people to finish work and tasks required for their profession.
The researchers assessed 281 employees together with their supervisors, taking into account the times that they consumed cannabis and whether or not their supervisors noticed any differences in their work performance. Specifically, they focused on three areas that measured job performance including task performance, readiness to help coworkers, and any counterproductive habits at work. Additionally, Berneth and the team of researchers polled each employee to find out how often they consumed cannabis within 2 hours of their work day in the last year. They found that managers were more likely to report negative changes among the metrics when cannabis was consumed by employees before and during work hours.
But no negative effects were noticed among the workers when they consumed after work.
“To our knowledge, this is the first study to research cannabis usage in relation to workplace behaviors in nearly 20 years,” explains Dr. Jeremy Berneth, a professor at the San Diego State University.
“The findings are obviously consequential for scholars and organizations who believe that all cannabis use negatively impacts workplace behaviors,” explained Berneth. “Our research suggests there is no evidence that after-work usage compromises work performance as assessed by one’s direct supervisor,” he added.
Given that marijuana affects everyone differently, some people are simply better off doing cognitive tasks and can finish them efficiently, while for others it can slow them down.
“The relaxation induced by cannabis may help employees restore energy spent during the day and they may subsequently return wiuth more stamina to devote to their job once they are back on the clock,” Berneth said.
When You Shouldn’t Be Using Weed At Work
Of course, those who work with machinery or cars shouldn’t be using pot in the workplace. It’s common sense.
Any kind of job that requires high levels of focus and comes with great responsibility, such as work that comes with the risk of harming yourself or other people if you operate while stoned, should be done completely sober. Responsible adults should discern the best times for getting high.
Likewise, it’s always best to follow the drug policy at your workplace – though if you are a medical user, it may be helpful to consult with a lawyer.
WEED AT WORK, READ ON...
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