The prevalence of cannabis use in the United States is somewhat staggering, despite its potential long-term physical and cognitive health effects. Its use among employed adults is higher than you might think—a recent survey of over 46,000 full-time, working adults revealed that almost 16% of them admitted to using cannabis in the past month.(1)
With so much of the U.S. workforce using cannabis, our research team asked the following question: What are the career outcomes for adults who use cannabis? To answer this question we analyzed eight years of data with a focus on two possibilities:
1. Frequent cannabis users would be more likely to find employment in low complexity jobs that pay less and are less prestigious.
2. People employed in low complexity jobs would be more likely to use cannabis, which would subsequently increase their placement into low paying, less prestigious jobs.
These two possibilities raise a sort of “chicken or the egg” situation. Which comes first? Do people go into low complexity, low paying jobs because they use cannabis (which may have a negative effect on their ability and motivation to seek higher paying jobs)? Or do people use cannabis as a response to being employed in a low complexity, low paying job (possibility as a way to escape from an undesirable work setting)?
Our research showed that both were true! Essentially, we found that the relationship between cannabis use and job placement was somewhat mutual: Higher cannabis use led to employment in lower paying, less prestigious jobs, AND being employed in lower paying, less prestigious jobs led to increased cannabis use.
Our study adds to a growing body of research that seems to all point to the same conclusion: Cannabis use is not harmless. It may increase the risk of heart attack and stroke. It may be associated with declines in cognitive functioning. Based on our research, it also looks to be associated with worse career outcomes.
Given that employees represent the human capital that contributes to strategic success of the firm, our paper has implications for human resource management in terms of how to address the issue of employees or job applicants using marijuana. The Engler College of Business is proud to offer a master of science degree in strategic human resource management that focuses on how to strategically deploy human resources for firm success. To find out more information about our program, please click here.
Dr. Jonathan Shaffer
Associate Dean of Strategic Initiatives &
Pickens Professor of Management
(1) Yang, K. H., Mueller, L., El-Shahawy, O., & Palamar, J. J. (2024). Cannabis Use, Use Disorder, and Workplace Absenteeism in the US, 2021–2022. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 67(6), 803-810.
