The productivity pill

According to a recent report from PwC, 70% of a significant survey population stated that they would consider using medication to enhance their brain and body if this improved their employment prospects.  

What were once storylines in films are edging their way into our reality.  If that seems a bit extreme, many of us rely on caffeine to get through the day and last year the NHS prescribed a record amount of antidepressants. 

Why are some people prepared to go to such extremes? We are living in a time where everything is supercharged and super-fast and the business world is hyper-competitive.  

The urgency to create and innovate is ramping up, work and home life is blurring as technology enables us to be connected 24/7. In addition, there is the looming threat of automation, leaving some employees feeling they have to compete directly with a computer in order to retain their position. 

Personally, this dystopian vision fills me with dread.  I do not want to work in a company where my colleagues are on performance enhancing drugs and I do not want to feel like I am a machine, disposable if I do not perform harder and faster.

Thankfully, there is a brighter and more ethical route. Work in a high-performance workplace that puts employee happiness, health and wellbeing at the centre. 

Despite the buzz around home working, the office is still the primary place where employees come together, particularly given a modern working culture that places emphasis on collaboration and co-creation.  It is well established that our surrounding environment has a significant influence on how we behave, feel and our general wellbeing.

In recognition of this, many developers and corporate occupiers are creating spaces that make us feel good. Key components include giving employees a choice of inspiring spaces for different work activities, incorporating amenities to reenergise such as nap rooms, healthy dining facilities, space to exercise and have fun.

Every design feature is deliberate and considered from colours to textures, the placements of staircases and even the space surrounding the office. Buildings are smart, incorporating technology that is able to monitor airflow, lighting and density and adapt accordingly.

Finally and crucially, employees are increasingly being actively engaged in the creation of their optimal working environment, what better way to find out if the space is working than asking the end user. 

An experiment that surveyed and studied hundreds of software developers across different companies found that those who performed in the top quartile of productivity had much higher ratings of their work environment than those who performed in the bottom quartile. 

Still considering the drugs? Well one last point. An American company has been trialling cognitive- enhancing drugs and states that productivity has increased 4% as a result.

Yet, studies have shown that happy employees have on average, 31% more productivity. The numbers speak for themselves.