High achievers | Drinking and doing drugs at work - does it matter if employees perform?

Another Round, a Danish dark comedy that came out in 2020, depicts the story of four middle-aged friends who want to test the theory that having a specific amount of alcohol in your bloodstream makes you more creative, particularly at work. The film takes several turns, and the friends eventually find themselves struggling when the experiment goes too far.

This Scandinavian movie, which was a success amongst critics, brought to light interesting themes around the relationships between being intoxicated at work and an employee’s ability to work effectively – in some cases being able to perform better than if sober, and in other cases performing much worse.

The importance this topic is emphasized even more by a recent survey that found 22.5% of workers admit to using drugs or alcohol whilst at work, with one-in-five US workers using cannabis whilst on the clock.

The ability of employees to take substances – legal or not – whilst working is made easier through remote work practices, where workforces are left to their own devices at home.