On the mushrooming reports of “quiet quitting”: Employees’ lifetime psilocybin use predicts their overtime hours worked

People who have used psilocybin at least once in their lives work fewer overtime hours than those who have never used it. Analyzing data from 217,963 full-time U.S. employees surveyed between 2002 and 2014, the study found a significant negative association between lifetime psilocybin use and overtime hours worked in the past week, after accounting for demographics and other substance use. This translates to an estimated 44,348,400 fewer overtime hours per year across the full-time working population. The finding may help explain why prior research linked lifetime psilocybin use to reduced sick leave.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Despite the recent and sharp rise in psychedelic research, few studies have investigated how classic psychedelic use relates to employees' work-related outcomes. This is surprising given that the increased use, decriminalization, and legalization of classic psychedelics in the United States (U.S.) has the potential to impact both employees and their organizations. Addressing this gap, the current study explores how employees' lifetime psilocybin use relates to the amount of overtime they work, thereby offering insight into what current trends in psilocybin use could mean for businesses. Using pooled, cross-sectional data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (2002-2014) on 217,963 adults employed in the U.S. full-time, this study tests whether lifetime psilocybin use is associated with employees' number of overtime hours worked in the past week. After adjusting for sociodemographics and other substance use, a significant negative association is found between employees' lifetime psilocybin use and the amount of overtime they reported working. Specifically, the findings suggest that lifetime psilocybin use in the U.S. full-time working population is associated with an estimated 44,348,400 fewer overtime hours worked per year and may help explain recent findings linking employees' lifetime psilocybin use to a reduction in sick leave taken.