High finance
I guess you have heard these stories where scientists have examined money or the wastewater in office buildings and found traces of cocaine everywhere. That is all fine, but scientific instruments are so precise that they can find even the smallest traces of cocaine and other drugs even if hardly anyone ever uses bills to snort the white powder.
But if you work in finance, you might also have heard the stories about bankers getting high on cocaine and to pull off long hours. But how reliable are these stories really? Especially in the year 2020 when most of us know better.
Apparently, many bankers still are high as a kite at work. In an anonymous survey, 157 employees of financial services companies in Australia were asked if they believe their colleagues or they themselves enhance their workplace performance by using drugs. The astonishing answer was that two out of three employees in the capital markets and trading divisions said yes and more than half of the people in commercial banking did so, too. Compared to that asset managers and retail bankers look like they are all Mormons…
Share of bankers who report drug use at work
Source: Bowman et al. (2020).
When it comes to the kind of drugs consumed by bankers, cocaine apparently still is king of the crop, but since the 1980s, bankers seem to have diversified their drug use like they have diversified their portfolios. Amongst the “alternative investments” of bankers are now also amphetamines like Adderall, and Modafinil (brand name Provigil), both of which help people stay awake and alert for longer, just like cocaine does. Meanwhile, benzodiazepines that suppress anxiety are also quite common as well as Ritalin to enhance concentration and focus. Thanks to the wonders of modern pharmaceuticals, there is a drug for everyone and every purpose, it seems.
Reported use of different drugs at the workplace
Source: Bowman et al. (2020)