“Do I care? Not one bit.”
Anti-Panopticon
Employees being inebriated on the job has long been a workplace hazard — but according to one boss, it’s a non-issue.
From caffeine and cannabis to Adderall and Xanax, many legal drugs are, according to business owner and columnist Gene Marks in a new Guardian op-ed, being used on the clock like never before.
“I know this because I know many of these people. They’re friends, workmates and even family. I’m one of those people,” Marks admitted. “Do I care? Not one bit. We’re all grownups, right?”
With the rise in remote work culture allegedly to blame for more and more people choosing to toke up or get drunk while working, some bosses are spooked — and have chosen to engage in surveillance tactics or enact draconian new drug-free remote work policies.
As the owner of an entirely virtual B2B tech company, however, Marks could care less what his employees are up to — so long as they’re getting the job done, that is.
“My company is totally virtual. For all I know they’re micro-dosing, toking, snorting, injecting and doing shots all day. I can’t be responsible for their behavior, nor should I be,” he wrote. “They’re grownups and — as long as it’s legal — they have every right to do whatever they need to do to deal with life on earth in these stressful times.”
Workplace Priorities
While not surveilling one’s employees is a great indicator of trust, it could easily be argued that bosses should be concerned if their workers are, say, shooting heroin or snorting cocaine on the clock. But to the Philly-based columnist in question, those things are beside the point as long as they’re getting work done — though, to be fair, he recognizes that not every business owner has the same outlook.
“My people aren’t driving trucks loaded with toxic chemicals, supervising children, flying airplanes or providing medical care,” Marks wrote. “I don’t have an office or production environment where the risk of an employee — like at a client of mine just a few weeks ago — needing a Narcan shot after collapsing in front of a slitting machine can pose a danger to others and themselves.”
Marks went on to say that while he doesn’t have a drug policy enacted at his business, he does have a performance policy because, as he puts it, “if there’s a performance problem, then I’m involved.”
“Be it drugs, mental health, or just a bad attitude I can work with the employee to get them help, he wrote. “But at some point we’re going to have to part ways.”
“My main concern is that my clients are happy,” Marks concluded. “I have a business to run.”
More on work: CEO Says Later This Year, Your AI Will Be Able to Attend Meetings For You.
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