CNN.com – E-mails ‘hurt IQ more than pot’ – Apr 22, 2005 Uh oh. What happens if you combine e-mails and pot?
LONDON, England — Workers distracted by phone calls, e-mails and text messages suffer a greater loss of IQ than a person smoking marijuana, a British study shows.
The constant interruptions reduce productivity and leave people feeling tired and lethargic, according to a survey carried out by TNS Research and commissioned by Hewlett Packard.
HP is notable for being one of the first major high tech companies to drop its drug testing program. They found that a lot of their high tech talent was leaving the company and those that stayed had lower morale. It’s almost as if really intelligent people tend to make more intelligent choices regarding their method of intoxication.
In 80 clinical trials, Dr. Glenn Wilson, a psychiatrist at King’s College London University, monitored the IQ of workers throughout the day.
He found the IQ of those who tried to juggle messages and work fell by 10 points — the equivalent to missing a whole night’s sleep and more than double the 4-point fall seen after smoking marijuana.
True enough, you don’t want to try designing new microchips and perfecting operating system kernel code after toking up a fatty. But for the record, let’s note that the 4-point fall is immediately after smoking marijuana. You can’t work as well (nor should you) while high. But once sober, responsible marijuana use has no long term impact. Even that stereotypical “short-term memory loss” you’ve heard of only applies while stoned. And that short term memory loss? That only applies while stoned.*
“This is a very real and widespread phenomenon,” Wilson said. “We have found that this obsession with looking at messages, if unchecked, will damage a worker’s performance by reducing their mental sharpness.
“Companies should encourage a more balanced and appropriate way of working.”
Wilson said the IQ drop was even more significant in the men who took part in the tests.
“The research suggests that we are in danger of being caught up in a 24-hour ‘always on’ society,” said David Smith of Hewlett Packard.
“This is more worrying when you consider the potential impairment on performance and concentration for workers, and the consequent impact on businesses.”
*Note for the sarcasm impaired: that repitition was on purpose.
