Some of the world's biggest tech companies have turned to an unexpected method to increase productivity in the workforce, as vending machines stocking addictive substances have now been introduced into office spaces.
One of the biggest parts of the ongoing push for artificial intelligence in the workplace and wider life is the productivity benefits that it affords, as companies argue that its automation will dramatically increase workflow and production.
That's seemingly not enough for some companies though, as they've now turned to drugs to enhance the performance of their employees with a wild new strategy that's received criticism from the medical world.
As reported by Fortune, tech giants like Palantir and Hello Patient have broke new ground by installing special vending machines in their offices, but instead of offering snacks and soft drinks – or even caffeine-heavy energy drinks – they provide tobacco to the workforce.
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Offices were once dominated by the smoky haze of tobacco cigarettes, yet laws and cultural evolution have taken that outside, leaving the workplace free from the direct influence of the drug.
However, it appears as if some believe that's had a negative impact on the productivity levels of employees, introducing specific tobacco products back into offices that come without the external baggage of smoke.
Nicotine pouches, like those from companies like Zyn and On!, are rarely bigger than a piece of gum and can be slotted in between the gums and cheek to provide the same stimulating high of nicotine that a cigarette would provide.
This supposedly increases productivity – to the point where Palantir appears to be encouraging their use by making the vending machines free for anyone over the age of 21 – although medical experts aren't quite as convinced.
The biggest danger appears to be the pipeline to addiction that these pouches provide, as while they are explicitly less harmful than cigarette alternatives due to the lack of smoke inhalation, they can still cause cardiovascular strain, especially when consumed in large quantities.
Jennifer Cofer, Executive Director of the EndTobacco Program at the MD Anderson Cancer Center, noted that "oral nicotine pouches are not the best way to go" if the goal is to be free of addiction, and that's especially the case if the activity is directly tied to a job you spend most of you life doing.
Some on social media have even suggested that the association of nicotine high with your job could lead to an unhealthy relationship with work, likening it to a 'pavlovian response' of sorts.
"On the one hand it's evil. On the other, it's so ingeniously old-school evil that I'm more impressed at the audacity than I am mad at how f***ed up it is," writes one commenter on Reddit.
Another explained that "it starts out feeling like [nicotine pouches] helps you be productive because it makes you feel alert. That quickly becomes 'you feel like you can't be productive without it', and then you've got yourself an addiction. It's never worth it, just take some B12 vitamins and get enough sleep."