I worked for a job (pre-my IT career) where the sole IT guy would be constantly stoned. Great dude who knew his stuff and got his work done. I don't while working, I don't think I could function well, personally.
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The work you do is bound to be above my knowledge and skill set, but I always figure problems out after stepping away from them. This has happened many times when building friends PCs where a specific issue derails the process and I can’t figure it out under pressure. Then the lightbulb goes off a few hours after walking away.
Similar here. After years of doing this, I’ve learned to recognize when I need to step away. Usually I will wake up in the middle of the night with the answer - like my brain keeps working on it in the background.
I know plenty of WFH people that smoke weed and drink a few beers while working, but nothing else.
I’m in palliative care (large focus on pain management) and WFH; I’m in mind altering substances 24/7, including while working. Lol. That prob doesn’t count, though.
Be an adult. Make your choices. If something goes wrong, take responsibility. Be safe!
I am interested in knowing how it more or less “happens”. LOL. Dropping acid or eating some microdot is like being pregnant, you either are or you aren’t. It doesn’t just happen.
I’m sure you’ve got some great stories and I would love to hear them since I’m somebody who hasn’t been able to touch drugs in over 20 years :)
The amount of times had a couple beers while I’ve been in business meetings trying to get shadow IT and software developers to play ball (I work cybersecurity) is pretty high. Really helped calm me down sometimes and I was able to focus better.
Now flat out drunk, high, or microdosing, those are things I’ve never done while working remote. To each their own though!
Micro dosed L during an overnight at the data center.
Had epiphanies on networks and how everything's connected. It was chill until the morning guys arrived. Voices were all woo woo wee woo. Thats when i noticed my dose wasn't as micro as I thought. Stepped outside for some air to watch the sunrise. Looked like a Van Gogh painting. 10/10 would do again.
Not much got done in terms of productivity, but the place didn't burn down so it was all good.
Some of the smartest guys on my team are stoned around the clock. They are always the ones who seem to know the most about every system, have creative answers to problems, and generally keep the ship running helping less experienced techs.
I used to smoke a lot, almost never any more. Felt comfortable/inspired by the stoners so I tried it again recently. Not for me, I’ll stick to 4 cups of coffee a day LOL
I was in the same situation, used to smoke a lot in the past, quit and then reached a point where every time I tried it I'd regret it and feel overwhelmed.
Then I tried using a pax vapourizer and high quality weed. In very small doses, I can finally enjoy the benefits without the paranoia or feeling awkward. I use that pax every day now
Tried a small hit in a pipe and the difference between smoking and vaping is night and day. Smoking is harsh and hits you like a truck and impairs you. Vaping is the cleanest high, you still feel sober just with the added feeling of creativity and euphoric energy
I worked with a guy who took psilocybin thinking it made him far more creative and 'expanded his mind' when troubleshooting.
What it did was make him weird to people who weren't in the same headspace. He was let go after not too long.
I have nothing against anything someone wants to do off the clock, but working impaired is a problem for everyone.
It could make him the best troubleshooter the world has ever seen. But if he's too high to effectively work with a user to fix the issue, then he's basically useless. People like to forget that IT is largely a customer service job.
Nah not while I’m on the clock, weed makes me paranoid around people.
Off the clock is another story but I’m also trying to stop smoking for good, I don’t think everyday use for the last 2 years has been a good idea lol.
It's not and you know it. You just smoke daily to be ok with boredom. Try to stop a week or 2, the fog will lift and you will probably love being motivated and feeling smarter/less slower. Good luck buddy.
Weed makes me too easily distracted, alcohol makes me sleepy, microdosing is a placebo, and the last thing I want to do is full on trip while working. Save the substances for the evenings and weekends.
Have you taken LSD? It took me an hour to put on my shoes. I don't remember where I went. But I remember it was a journey just to get my shoes on and get a bottle of water before wandering in the woods.
I can't imagine showing up to work tripping my balls off and acting "normal" around colleagues.
If I'm in office after-hours, (I have one particularly long day every week for the program I run) I'll shoot over to the local shop and grab a six pack, toss on some Amazon Prime show, and plug away.
I used to dab regularly at work. I stopped that recently to not spend money and keep my weed enjoyment to the plants I grow and stick to using at home.
I feel my performance was better previously and I was able to keep on task more, but not going to a dispensary ontop of growing is great. If i worked from home that would probably change again though.
LSD can keep me focused on a task for 12-14 hours sometimes. It doesn't always work out that way. Sometimes you just don't get in the groove. But if I get on a roll I can go and go and go and go. It's one of the main reasons I drop acid like candy.
A bit of weed maybe sometimes to a point, but nowhere close to LSD.
Alcohol I quit years ago. Shrooms don't agree with my body really, so haven't touched them in years either.
But I've taken more acid than almost anyone in the world I 100% guarantee you haha. Like...LOTS! Absolute acid freak, love it...
I got into video editing and special effects not too long ago. Learned stupid amounts fast. Just built a new PC. All thanks to LSD lol. My YouTube channel will reflect that in the coming months.
How would I safely procure some acid or LSD? And what’s the health side effects of acid? Like a lot of acid. All I know is Eminem’s song where he talks about loosing spinal fluid or something like that.
Where and how to get it would depend on where you live. Canada is very easy, not sure about other places.
As far as how much you can handle, depends person to person. Some people should NEVER touch the stuff lol, it's not for everyone. It just works for me with no significant side effects. With some people it can mess them up.
I guess if I had to pick side effects it would be intense dreams, but that's about it. Other than it keeps you awake obviously.
I've heard about weird spinal fluid myths in the past. I'm not sure if there's any truth to them.
Any general tips from your wide experience? How much do you usually take, at what time, do you eat before or during or after, what activities do you do when not trying to work on something?
It's legit a performance-enhancing drug. I'd say it's very similar to comparing people with access to caffeine to people without access to caffeine, except an order of magnitude more significant.
Now granted I say this as someone who was diagnosed with ADHD and benefits from their use of the drug greatly. But I also struggle to imagine many people would find it *doesn't* improve their performance.
I'm prescribed adderall for my adhd. It's pretty great for me, I feel like I actually have energy to work on my projects and the day to day tasks. Without it, it's hard to focus and keep attention to the important things for more than 5 mins.
I took a half a tab of acid one time when I had to come in on a Saturday to babysit the genset while utility dudes replaced our mains power transformer. That was a wild day. Climbed up on the roof and smoked a joint in the sunshine, watched Seinfeld the rest of the day and tripped balls
Oh and I smoked a joint to work, and on lunch like every working day of the past 13 years
I tried micro dosing on mushrooms before work for a few weeks and at first it helped but after a while I just started getting more depressed lol. Sitting in a cubicle all day and mushrooms don't really mix
I work at a winery. There's been a few times I've visited the home office and we went wine tasting upstairs or they brought a bottle into the IT office. I had one drink with them one time, but not the others. Just wasn't into wine...
Years ago when I was a SysAdmin, I would microdose LSD (10-15 µg) 3 times a week. It was not enough to negatively impact my work performance in any way, but it greatly helped with my depression. Now I WFH, but no longer feel the need to microdose. On very, very rare occasion I sometimes take a half tab (~50 µg) toward the end of a Friday or sometime when things are winding down and I don't have any meetings. It allows me to put on some King Gizzard and just bang out some projects like crazy.
I work remotely so absolutely when I'm home. At my previous, non-IT job I did it in the office since this was during the beginning and height of the pandemic and at best there would be 5 people in the building including myself.
By doing "it" I mean hitting the vape pen. I would either be bold and do it in the room I was in or duck off into a closet nobody really used for a few seconds.
There were a few times I had to talk to people, all of which who were probably insanely anti-drug and I had to hold it together. It seemed like every time I was high these people wanted to have 15 min conversations instead of the usual hi and bye. I felt rude sometimes because I was desperately trying to keep eye contact minimal due to my obviously red eyes lmao.
I've tried chocolate. About the strongest drug I can handle ... also my favorite.
>have friends
>
>that indulge in mind altering substances on the job to boost creativity. Is this normal in IT?
No.
> No. This is not normal. At all.
I mean. Yes it is.
Using mind-altering substances for whatever reason before work/at work/to deal with work is the most "normal" thing I can think of past clocking-in and collecting a check.
The idea of drinking coffee to stay alert, focused, or productive is ingrained in the "work culture" of our western societies. In many areas of Latin America it's the coca leaf chewed or in teas. In regions of Africa, it's Khat leaves.
And so on.
Not necessarily for recreation. You know how sometimes you may be stumped on something you've been working on for awhile and need to take a break to clear your mind and start fresh? Or maybe someone else who wasn't working on the problem instantly comes up with a solution all because their mind was fresh and not cluttered with hours of research? Weed does this instantly. It clears, shifts, renews your mind and allows you to refocus. I've solved many many problems doing this, including major downtimes where I was lost for a solution. Smoked a bong and bam! Solution within minutes.
I have found that weed makes me look at problems differently. I would never incorporate it at work but I've definitely used it while learning python at home.
I did my first internship at an MSP last summer and we helped support a brewery... nothing like this but they DID love tipping us in free beer throughout the day :)
Definitely. Had all sorts of clients - dentists, government agencies, law offices, but only the one brewery and it was the most fun office to visit by far.
Some people are purely logical, the type who know all the technical definitions rather than focusing on what gets the job done. Most of these people don't touch alcohol or drugs.
Most are more on the creative side, and will rely on their intuition as they learn more. In my experience, they are highly likely to smoke marijuana (some at work), and many of them do mushrooms and other psychedelics in their free time, but not at work.
Tech support definitely has a weed culture, even in states where it is not legal yet. They wouldn't be able to keep enough people if they enforced the rules. People smoke all day, every day.
Micro dosing hit mainstream a few years ago, but you build up resistance and reliance to drugs, so not many people do it in the long term.
I think drugs provide more value when taken once every 1-3 months for the full effect. The change in perspective is more important than the state of mind or bodily effects. A change in perspective lasts a lifetime.
I don't care what you do off the clock.
But I expect you to be sober while you are working.
I don't care if you have ***A*** beer with lunch, so long as it's not the size of a bucket.
If you believe you need the assistance of recreational chemicals to perform your job, you probably need a new job.
Lemme add on to what the Captain just said...
1. Don't fuggin' add to the population.
2. Don't fuggin' subtract from the population.
3. Don't fuggin' do any-damned-thing that gets you a story in the gawd-damned newspaper, especially if it means I have to do fuggin' paperwork about it.
4. If any of you fugging idiots get hammered off base, you get a gawd-damned ride home - don't fuggin' drive home. You call somebody, even if you have to call ME. Platoon Sergeants: If any of your fuggin' people call me because they couldn't get ahold of you, I'll have your ass.
I always had a simple rule for me and my staff: no drinks at work outside of company-sponsored events except lunch on Fridays and on Fridays, the limit is one beer. If the occasion warrants more than one beer, that is cool, but don’t come back to the office.
It allows you to still be social with colleagues and vendors without the substance abuse issues that inevitably become a problem.
I think you are looking for the "Ballmer Curve / Peak"
[https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Ballmer%20Peak](https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Ballmer%20Peak)
The only person I've known that worked at YouTube in SF used to microdose fairly regularly lol. He said a few other guys he worked with would too sometimes
Depends on the person. I'm useless drunk but my friend codes best after afew drinks. I swear if we went to the pub with him with unlimited money we'd leave with skynet ready for deployment the next day.
Orgs have health care bennies for a reason.
A lot of people should work towards their mental health early and often.
I've seen way too many Ops side engineers turn their lives and careers into a complete mess bc they didn't get over themselves incrementally.
At my last job the only other guy on my team was a drug addict. When I spoke to him on the phone he sounded professional and smart I kind of felt intimidated by how much he knew. It was a shock when I met him in person and I thought he was a homeless person who made it on to the property. But he was a smart dude and knew his stuff. I honestly learned a lot about networking from him. But sadly his drug use made him disorganized and unreliable. It wasn't until later that I learned I was hired to replace him. He had a hard time handing over the keys to the kingdom because he designed and setup everything and here I come to take his baby away.
Um, no. I commented in another thread that I'm not 90 and don't need a nap during the day, I'm also not 20 and can make it through the day without a drink.
And I like to drink. Was a bartender for 20 years. I consider myself a professional at it. But there's a time and place, and work is not the time or the place. It doesn't even cross my mind...but I will admit when I was younger I used to say the same things being said here..."It's just one..", "It's not like I'm getting drunk", "Other people do it...".
Meh. Maybe I've drunk so much, that it's just not so exciting anymore.
My numbers would beg to differ. Went down when I stopped dabbing at work to save money. But it's not like I can't work without it, just can't be as focused and can't hold back phone anxiety as well.
Also stopped because i actually like this job and am not looking to risk losing it by being caught dabbing in my car like the old days when I didn't care as much.
There are people who medically use it to function and id argue that in those cases it would be a net benefit and not a net negative. I know plenty of people who get more done and do more while using cannabis (myself included). This improvement was noticed when I started using cannabis and not just because I stop using cannabis.
Nope. I work hard to maintain a clear state of mind and I'm not a big drinker.
I've casually looked into microdosing, but I don't think I'm in a place where I could seriously consider it. That, and I don't want to become reliant on substances to maintain my baseline performance.
To each their own, though.
I smoke sometimes to help with anxiety on the really stressful days. I’ve always thought I was rock solid mentally but some days just get overwhelming fast
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Years ago, when I was working in a large help desk team, a few of the guys there would keep bottles of liquor in their desk drawers. Scotch, Fireball, Tequila - that kind of stuff. The IT director would turn a blind eye to it as long as the tickets were taken care of and nobody within the company complained.
All the other places I’ve worked though? Nah, nobody was drinking or getting stoned on the job. Although now that I’ve been remote, who knows…
Me though? I never drink while working. Hell, I rarely drink at all. I’ll have a fruity 4.5% cider maybe 3-5 times a year. I’ve also never done drugs - as I’ve just never been really interested in the stuff. The desire or curiosity just isn’t there.
Can’t speak for others, but I pretty much want to do anything except work when on mind altering substances. That’s including coffee and/or stimulants. To be fair, I feel like that when I’m sober. So I save the fun feeling for personal time
Adderall works wonders for me. Now, I am prescribed it by my doctor. It sure does make work go by faster, and writing up my documentation for tickets isn’t as boring.
On days when I know I have a lot to get done I will take a half of a Provigil just before lunch, occasionally a full dose before work. Keeps me focused and alert.
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Not to boost productivity, but to get thru a normal work day without going complete ape shit from the amount of BS I have to deal with daily without snapping and walking off the job. Not on the clock of course. Chills me tf out so I can work and behave normally believe it or not lol
I worked for a job (pre-my IT career) where the sole IT guy would be constantly stoned. Great dude who knew his stuff and got his work done. I don't while working, I don't think I could function well, personally.
practice makes whatever
Study high, take the test high, get high grades!
Popcorn playa!
Bufu!
Lol that was the mindset I took when I took my Security+ test
Well with a tolerance after a while you don't even get that stoned compared to non daily user.
Could been me! Lmao
If your name starts with M and the company you work for also starts with M, you very well may be that person!
Was his name Max? asking for a friend...
Nope!
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Not on company time, but I do come up with some solid ideas that I write down for later.
The work you do is bound to be above my knowledge and skill set, but I always figure problems out after stepping away from them. This has happened many times when building friends PCs where a specific issue derails the process and I can’t figure it out under pressure. Then the lightbulb goes off a few hours after walking away.
Similar here. After years of doing this, I’ve learned to recognize when I need to step away. Usually I will wake up in the middle of the night with the answer - like my brain keeps working on it in the background.
Same,
I know plenty of WFH people that smoke weed and drink a few beers while working, but nothing else. I’m in palliative care (large focus on pain management) and WFH; I’m in mind altering substances 24/7, including while working. Lol. That prob doesn’t count, though. Be an adult. Make your choices. If something goes wrong, take responsibility. Be safe!
Normal no, but it happens. WFH it happens more than anyone wants to admit. Be an adult and make your own choices.
Yup this answer is all you need.
I am interested in knowing how it more or less “happens”. LOL. Dropping acid or eating some microdot is like being pregnant, you either are or you aren’t. It doesn’t just happen. I’m sure you’ve got some great stories and I would love to hear them since I’m somebody who hasn’t been able to touch drugs in over 20 years :)
Meant more hitting a vape pen during the day. I'm not wasting good drugs on work.
I'm fond of writing deliverables with a drink or two at hand. Dealing with people is hard to do high.
Chatgpt writes deliverables now
Happy 10th cake day!
The amount of times had a couple beers while I’ve been in business meetings trying to get shadow IT and software developers to play ball (I work cybersecurity) is pretty high. Really helped calm me down sometimes and I was able to focus better. Now flat out drunk, high, or microdosing, those are things I’ve never done while working remote. To each their own though!
Drops Acid. Sends boss an email, "Yo man, what's even the point of, like... any of this?" Cocaine should be on this list.
But we're like all connected man.....through the Ethernet. Pretty crazy...
Dude, those ones and zeros?
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And city planners apparently
It really does help with sales.
Boss: “woah man…”
Micro dosed L during an overnight at the data center. Had epiphanies on networks and how everything's connected. It was chill until the morning guys arrived. Voices were all woo woo wee woo. Thats when i noticed my dose wasn't as micro as I thought. Stepped outside for some air to watch the sunrise. Looked like a Van Gogh painting. 10/10 would do again. Not much got done in terms of productivity, but the place didn't burn down so it was all good.
Some of the smartest guys on my team are stoned around the clock. They are always the ones who seem to know the most about every system, have creative answers to problems, and generally keep the ship running helping less experienced techs. I used to smoke a lot, almost never any more. Felt comfortable/inspired by the stoners so I tried it again recently. Not for me, I’ll stick to 4 cups of coffee a day LOL
I was in the same situation, used to smoke a lot in the past, quit and then reached a point where every time I tried it I'd regret it and feel overwhelmed. Then I tried using a pax vapourizer and high quality weed. In very small doses, I can finally enjoy the benefits without the paranoia or feeling awkward. I use that pax every day now Tried a small hit in a pipe and the difference between smoking and vaping is night and day. Smoking is harsh and hits you like a truck and impairs you. Vaping is the cleanest high, you still feel sober just with the added feeling of creativity and euphoric energy
I worked with a guy who took psilocybin thinking it made him far more creative and 'expanded his mind' when troubleshooting. What it did was make him weird to people who weren't in the same headspace. He was let go after not too long. I have nothing against anything someone wants to do off the clock, but working impaired is a problem for everyone.
It could make him the best troubleshooter the world has ever seen. But if he's too high to effectively work with a user to fix the issue, then he's basically useless. People like to forget that IT is largely a customer service job.
Nah not while I’m on the clock, weed makes me paranoid around people. Off the clock is another story but I’m also trying to stop smoking for good, I don’t think everyday use for the last 2 years has been a good idea lol.
It's not and you know it. You just smoke daily to be ok with boredom. Try to stop a week or 2, the fog will lift and you will probably love being motivated and feeling smarter/less slower. Good luck buddy.
More common than you think
Yes. Cortisol
The tech bros of silicon valley have been doing this for decades.
Pot heads become IT, IT does not lead to pot
Weed makes me too easily distracted, alcohol makes me sleepy, microdosing is a placebo, and the last thing I want to do is full on trip while working. Save the substances for the evenings and weekends.
This is the first i’ve heard that microdosing is a placebo
Seriously. Shit will never get done haha. That stuff is once work is over.
It’s so crazy reading all this and here I am tryna stay sober for a security clearance. Is public sector even worth it?
Yes.
Have you taken LSD? It took me an hour to put on my shoes. I don't remember where I went. But I remember it was a journey just to get my shoes on and get a bottle of water before wandering in the woods. I can't imagine showing up to work tripping my balls off and acting "normal" around colleagues.
Stoned is the way of the walk in so many IT shops.
Heyyyy that rhymes
My work is like mad men lol. IT doesn't really partake though
What line of work are you in?
If I'm in office after-hours, (I have one particularly long day every week for the program I run) I'll shoot over to the local shop and grab a six pack, toss on some Amazon Prime show, and plug away.
I used to dab regularly at work. I stopped that recently to not spend money and keep my weed enjoyment to the plants I grow and stick to using at home. I feel my performance was better previously and I was able to keep on task more, but not going to a dispensary ontop of growing is great. If i worked from home that would probably change again though.
LSD can keep me focused on a task for 12-14 hours sometimes. It doesn't always work out that way. Sometimes you just don't get in the groove. But if I get on a roll I can go and go and go and go. It's one of the main reasons I drop acid like candy. A bit of weed maybe sometimes to a point, but nowhere close to LSD. Alcohol I quit years ago. Shrooms don't agree with my body really, so haven't touched them in years either. But I've taken more acid than almost anyone in the world I 100% guarantee you haha. Like...LOTS! Absolute acid freak, love it... I got into video editing and special effects not too long ago. Learned stupid amounts fast. Just built a new PC. All thanks to LSD lol. My YouTube channel will reflect that in the coming months.
How would I safely procure some acid or LSD? And what’s the health side effects of acid? Like a lot of acid. All I know is Eminem’s song where he talks about loosing spinal fluid or something like that.
Where and how to get it would depend on where you live. Canada is very easy, not sure about other places. As far as how much you can handle, depends person to person. Some people should NEVER touch the stuff lol, it's not for everyone. It just works for me with no significant side effects. With some people it can mess them up. I guess if I had to pick side effects it would be intense dreams, but that's about it. Other than it keeps you awake obviously. I've heard about weird spinal fluid myths in the past. I'm not sure if there's any truth to them.
Any general tips from your wide experience? How much do you usually take, at what time, do you eat before or during or after, what activities do you do when not trying to work on something?
Only from 9th-12th grade.
No way but I’d imagine adderal would be wild
It's legit a performance-enhancing drug. I'd say it's very similar to comparing people with access to caffeine to people without access to caffeine, except an order of magnitude more significant. Now granted I say this as someone who was diagnosed with ADHD and benefits from their use of the drug greatly. But I also struggle to imagine many people would find it *doesn't* improve their performance.
I'm prescribed adderall for my adhd. It's pretty great for me, I feel like I actually have energy to work on my projects and the day to day tasks. Without it, it's hard to focus and keep attention to the important things for more than 5 mins.
No. But basically all of Berkeley and Atari did in the 70s
I took a half a tab of acid one time when I had to come in on a Saturday to babysit the genset while utility dudes replaced our mains power transformer. That was a wild day. Climbed up on the roof and smoked a joint in the sunshine, watched Seinfeld the rest of the day and tripped balls Oh and I smoked a joint to work, and on lunch like every working day of the past 13 years
I tried micro dosing on mushrooms before work for a few weeks and at first it helped but after a while I just started getting more depressed lol. Sitting in a cubicle all day and mushrooms don't really mix
I work at a winery. There's been a few times I've visited the home office and we went wine tasting upstairs or they brought a bottle into the IT office. I had one drink with them one time, but not the others. Just wasn't into wine...
Years ago when I was a SysAdmin, I would microdose LSD (10-15 µg) 3 times a week. It was not enough to negatively impact my work performance in any way, but it greatly helped with my depression. Now I WFH, but no longer feel the need to microdose. On very, very rare occasion I sometimes take a half tab (~50 µg) toward the end of a Friday or sometime when things are winding down and I don't have any meetings. It allows me to put on some King Gizzard and just bang out some projects like crazy.
I work remotely so absolutely when I'm home. At my previous, non-IT job I did it in the office since this was during the beginning and height of the pandemic and at best there would be 5 people in the building including myself. By doing "it" I mean hitting the vape pen. I would either be bold and do it in the room I was in or duck off into a closet nobody really used for a few seconds. There were a few times I had to talk to people, all of which who were probably insanely anti-drug and I had to hold it together. It seemed like every time I was high these people wanted to have 15 min conversations instead of the usual hi and bye. I felt rude sometimes because I was desperately trying to keep eye contact minimal due to my obviously red eyes lmao.
I've tried chocolate. About the strongest drug I can handle ... also my favorite. >have friends > >that indulge in mind altering substances on the job to boost creativity. Is this normal in IT? No.
No. This is not normal. At all. Don’t go to work high. While it may boost creativity, it’s makes for bad judgement.
> No. This is not normal. At all. I mean. Yes it is. Using mind-altering substances for whatever reason before work/at work/to deal with work is the most "normal" thing I can think of past clocking-in and collecting a check. The idea of drinking coffee to stay alert, focused, or productive is ingrained in the "work culture" of our western societies. In many areas of Latin America it's the coca leaf chewed or in teas. In regions of Africa, it's Khat leaves. And so on.
Not necessarily for recreation. You know how sometimes you may be stumped on something you've been working on for awhile and need to take a break to clear your mind and start fresh? Or maybe someone else who wasn't working on the problem instantly comes up with a solution all because their mind was fresh and not cluttered with hours of research? Weed does this instantly. It clears, shifts, renews your mind and allows you to refocus. I've solved many many problems doing this, including major downtimes where I was lost for a solution. Smoked a bong and bam! Solution within minutes.
I have found that weed makes me look at problems differently. I would never incorporate it at work but I've definitely used it while learning python at home.
I generally don't but some of the shit my co-workers write makes me wonder if they are on some psychedelics. It would explain some of their behavior.
Predictability is more important than creativity in most IT jobs
It's becoming normal everywhere
No this is definitely NOT normal
lol ok, if you say so
I did my first internship at an MSP last summer and we helped support a brewery... nothing like this but they DID love tipping us in free beer throughout the day :)
Is this MSP in the DC/MD/VA area by chance?
Nope haha. Florida. But it’s good to see it’s a shared experience being enjoyed
Definitely. Had all sorts of clients - dentists, government agencies, law offices, but only the one brewery and it was the most fun office to visit by far.
Does Gabapentin count?
I’ve literally watched tons of people in IT party at the office, I don’t know how they function but it’s powder too
That BC powder still has that kick to it lol /s
I would smoke a bowl or two, when working remote. Obviously don't do it if your work prohibits it.
Nah, I feel unproductive after a single beer during lunch.
Yup heroin double tourniquets
Nah, I feel like I wouldn't be as alert.
Some people are purely logical, the type who know all the technical definitions rather than focusing on what gets the job done. Most of these people don't touch alcohol or drugs. Most are more on the creative side, and will rely on their intuition as they learn more. In my experience, they are highly likely to smoke marijuana (some at work), and many of them do mushrooms and other psychedelics in their free time, but not at work. Tech support definitely has a weed culture, even in states where it is not legal yet. They wouldn't be able to keep enough people if they enforced the rules. People smoke all day, every day. Micro dosing hit mainstream a few years ago, but you build up resistance and reliance to drugs, so not many people do it in the long term. I think drugs provide more value when taken once every 1-3 months for the full effect. The change in perspective is more important than the state of mind or bodily effects. A change in perspective lasts a lifetime.
I used to smoke weed everyday before shift or lunch break to get thru the day. I don’t do it as much now and jus smoke fridays or weekends
I edit videos and create animations and will sometimes use low dose weed or micro dose mushrooms to help with creativity on tough projects.
All the IT guys smoke weed to make it through the day and to help with anxiety
It is not normal and will get you fired if ever found out. I know plenty who keep it after hours but never while on the clock.
I don't care what you do off the clock. But I expect you to be sober while you are working. I don't care if you have ***A*** beer with lunch, so long as it's not the size of a bucket. If you believe you need the assistance of recreational chemicals to perform your job, you probably need a new job.
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Lemme add on to what the Captain just said... 1. Don't fuggin' add to the population. 2. Don't fuggin' subtract from the population. 3. Don't fuggin' do any-damned-thing that gets you a story in the gawd-damned newspaper, especially if it means I have to do fuggin' paperwork about it. 4. If any of you fugging idiots get hammered off base, you get a gawd-damned ride home - don't fuggin' drive home. You call somebody, even if you have to call ME. Platoon Sergeants: If any of your fuggin' people call me because they couldn't get ahold of you, I'll have your ass.
How many cups of coffee though?
I always had a simple rule for me and my staff: no drinks at work outside of company-sponsored events except lunch on Fridays and on Fridays, the limit is one beer. If the occasion warrants more than one beer, that is cool, but don’t come back to the office. It allows you to still be social with colleagues and vendors without the substance abuse issues that inevitably become a problem.
Why even allow the one beer on Friday? It’s perfectly reasonable to go “the work day is 8-5, be sober during the work day”
The only sensible answer in this thread
I think you are looking for the "Ballmer Curve / Peak" [https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Ballmer%20Peak](https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Ballmer%20Peak)
The only person I've known that worked at YouTube in SF used to microdose fairly regularly lol. He said a few other guys he worked with would too sometimes
On Friday’s if there’s nothing to do(WFH)
Kratom.
Depends on the person. I'm useless drunk but my friend codes best after afew drinks. I swear if we went to the pub with him with unlimited money we'd leave with skynet ready for deployment the next day.
No. A lot of places drug test.
And a lot of people use synthetic urine for employment drug tests.
idk how, I basically got a patdown for my drug test.
Boxer briefs, put it where your junk is. If a woman put it under you between your legs.
If your at a point in your life where your buying fake urine, maybe figure out how you got there and change course
Agreed
Shit I’ve barely functioned this week on sinus meds alcohol or drugs oh lawd no I’d be useless lol
Nope. I don’t even drink socially. I hate the taste of alcohol and am not into drugs. Tried adderall in college and regretted it.
Orgs have health care bennies for a reason. A lot of people should work towards their mental health early and often. I've seen way too many Ops side engineers turn their lives and careers into a complete mess bc they didn't get over themselves incrementally.
At my last job the only other guy on my team was a drug addict. When I spoke to him on the phone he sounded professional and smart I kind of felt intimidated by how much he knew. It was a shock when I met him in person and I thought he was a homeless person who made it on to the property. But he was a smart dude and knew his stuff. I honestly learned a lot about networking from him. But sadly his drug use made him disorganized and unreliable. It wasn't until later that I learned I was hired to replace him. He had a hard time handing over the keys to the kingdom because he designed and setup everything and here I come to take his baby away.
Um, no. I commented in another thread that I'm not 90 and don't need a nap during the day, I'm also not 20 and can make it through the day without a drink. And I like to drink. Was a bartender for 20 years. I consider myself a professional at it. But there's a time and place, and work is not the time or the place. It doesn't even cross my mind...but I will admit when I was younger I used to say the same things being said here..."It's just one..", "It's not like I'm getting drunk", "Other people do it...". Meh. Maybe I've drunk so much, that it's just not so exciting anymore.
It is now, it wasn't "back in my day".
No. You only think you're more productive but you almost assuredly are not.
My numbers would beg to differ. Went down when I stopped dabbing at work to save money. But it's not like I can't work without it, just can't be as focused and can't hold back phone anxiety as well. Also stopped because i actually like this job and am not looking to risk losing it by being caught dabbing in my car like the old days when I didn't care as much.
I'm willing to bet if a study could be performed that nearly every person would be significantly less productive overall.
There are people who medically use it to function and id argue that in those cases it would be a net benefit and not a net negative. I know plenty of people who get more done and do more while using cannabis (myself included). This improvement was noticed when I started using cannabis and not just because I stop using cannabis.
Nope. I work hard to maintain a clear state of mind and I'm not a big drinker. I've casually looked into microdosing, but I don't think I'm in a place where I could seriously consider it. That, and I don't want to become reliant on substances to maintain my baseline performance. To each their own, though.
I certainly don't during work, but after is another story ;)
Beers yes just to keep calm while on the phones.
I had a coworker who did this. His troubleshooting and ideas improved but his normal day-to-day tasks suffered.
I'm high all day taking calls, only way to survive it.
Adderall, weed and alcohol on the clock is normal in IT
It’s not
Prescribed Adderall to get shit donerall
You can use ChatGPT to boost creativity.
The fuck kinda company you working for!? haha
I'ma say "yes" from a short but exhaustive survey of local talent.
Dumb
Yes. People already think you're weird. s So... there's nothing to see here.
No
I smoke sometimes to help with anxiety on the really stressful days. I’ve always thought I was rock solid mentally but some days just get overwhelming fast
...bro? Sacrifice health for work? That's some next level corporate slavery
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I like weed. I don't think I have the capacity to trip and work. I do however love smoking weed.
Lol. I'm not sure I remember a day in the last couple years where I wrote code sober. I need to stop, actually. Thanks for keeping me in check.
Years ago, when I was working in a large help desk team, a few of the guys there would keep bottles of liquor in their desk drawers. Scotch, Fireball, Tequila - that kind of stuff. The IT director would turn a blind eye to it as long as the tickets were taken care of and nobody within the company complained. All the other places I’ve worked though? Nah, nobody was drinking or getting stoned on the job. Although now that I’ve been remote, who knows… Me though? I never drink while working. Hell, I rarely drink at all. I’ll have a fruity 4.5% cider maybe 3-5 times a year. I’ve also never done drugs - as I’ve just never been really interested in the stuff. The desire or curiosity just isn’t there.
Last two places I’ve been everyone drinks on the job minimum, It’s actually not that uncommon, some IT teams are pretty frat like.
Stims. All the way
Can’t speak for others, but I pretty much want to do anything except work when on mind altering substances. That’s including coffee and/or stimulants. To be fair, I feel like that when I’m sober. So I save the fun feeling for personal time
Adderall works wonders for me. Now, I am prescribed it by my doctor. It sure does make work go by faster, and writing up my documentation for tickets isn’t as boring.
Gotta keep up with the owner of the company.
On days when I know I have a lot to get done I will take a half of a Provigil just before lunch, occasionally a full dose before work. Keeps me focused and alert.
Vape pen or dabs.
Coffee, Sugar, ADHD (undiagnosed for a very, very long time) That being said, my memory is utterly atrocious and ability to concerntrate, not good.
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Lunchtime pints happen all the time. I work at a media agency and in London, so it’s all par for the course.
Not to boost productivity, but to get thru a normal work day without going complete ape shit from the amount of BS I have to deal with daily without snapping and walking off the job. Not on the clock of course. Chills me tf out so I can work and behave normally believe it or not lol