Why Weed is Important When Working From Home

We are now almost done with our second year of dealing with the COVID19 pandemic. Where has that left our citizens of the United States? For some, stress and fatigue are becoming the new normal. It’s no secret that the effects of COVID19 have created higher levels of anxiety and depression in our country for a variety of reasons.

Between the economic insecurity, health crisis, loss, working from home, and being isolated from the rest of the world, it’s no wonder why people are struggling just to get through the day on a regular basis. Professionals who are working from home are feeling the effects of depression or anxiety even harder in some cases. Obviously, everyone is different – some people actually prefer working from home and are glad to avoid the daily commute that used to be so familiar. However, before the pandemic, most people did not feel the need to self-medicate with cannabis during work hours.

Interestingly, this fact may be changing due to the nature of the pandemic and many people working from home. In fact, as many as 41% of the workforce in the United States is working from home, which can lead to strong feelings of isolation and depression. With that being said, using cannabis while working may become a bit more normal in the future. How many times have you been at work and thought, “dang, I wish I could just smoke some marijuana right now”? It is crazy to think that this may become a reality for some of us in the near future. In fact, I am high right now while I’m writing this article (for legal reasons this is a joke). 

How does working at home affect us? There are actually recent studies being done to determine the effects that some of us face while working from home. Like I said earlier, some people are better equipped to work remotely than others, so it really depends on the person. However, studies show that 30% of people who worked from home said that they felt disconnected from their supervisors and managers, while 25% said they felt less connected to their coworkers and peers. 56% of people who responded said that the pandemic had strained their relationships with their coworkers and peers as well.

The problem with working from home is that anxiety levels are often increasing in adults in the United States. In fact, the results of a mental health survey done recently stated that more than 42% of people reported symptoms of anxiety or depression. When compared to the previous year, that is an increase of over 11%. As many of you know, cannabis can be an effective medical treatment for those of us who struggle with anxiety or stress levels that are beyond what we can handle. For some people, using cannabis while working from home seems like the only way to get through the day. 

Some companies in much more progessive states have considered using marijuana use as a new job perk. In states where recreational marijuana is legalized, this may become an option to professionals working from home in the near future. So what would this look like? Well, it is important to note that businesses are not giving away cannabis to their employees or encouraging them to smoke marijauna. Instead, it is seen more as a way to accept the fact that so many people are using marijaua anyways, companies might as well offer some guidelines to abide by for using cannabis while working. Employers also would not encourage types of marijauana consumption that has significantly worse health risks for its employees, like smoking or vaping marijuana.