I know, it's only work 'n' roll...

My first job out of business school ws with an offbeat little consulting firm (specializing in econometric and financial modeling), and about as Cambridge as Cambridge could be.

Among our traditions was Friday Party, a beer-wine-junk-food gathering held each Friday late in the afternoon. Although  illegal at the time, it was okay to light up a joint and mellow out. Over time, if you wanted to smoke, you had to removeyourself from the party area, and hole up in the "production room," where our designers (who worked on brochures, presentations, and documentation) had their shop. Over more time, coke replaced weed as the drug of choice. If grass was casally illegal, then coke was really illegal, and its use was at least quasi-frowned upon.

One time - on a Friday afternoon, still during pre-party work-ish hours - I had a business need to meet with one of the designers and found the door locked. When I was let in, a saw a couple of my colleagues leaning over a mirror, using a tool of the production room trade (an Exacto knife) to line up a few rails. Oops!

(Note: I was neither a smoker nor a snorter. I might have a beer or a glass of wine at Friday party, but I was mostly there for the junk food, especially if it included M&M's.)

I also had a stoner colleague who would smoke in his car during lunch, and spend the afternoon in a daze. (The company was just outside of Harvard Square, and if we were heading into the Square for lunch, we passed the parking lot, where this fellow would be sitting in his car, windows all rolled up, toking away. His job was in finance, and one time he left a printout with everyone's salary info on it, in the communal computer room (where we worked on paper-based DECWriter terminals to connect to a mainframe computer). I discovered the listing while working late, and shoved it under his office door for him. (Not, of course, without giving it a good long glance. No one's perfect.)

I know that, over the years, I worked with other folks who were stoned while in the office (or drinking heavily at lunch, or who kept booze in their desks). 

But even though I do drink, and even though in the past I was an occasional smoker, I don't think that being out of it is the recipe for productivity and effectiveness. I'm all for socializing a la Friday party, and doing a bit of post-work chillaxin' over a beer, or even a passed joint. But high at work? Ah, no.)

Others disagree. And among the others who disagree is an outfit called Work'n'roll. (Website: https://worknroll.nyc/)

Work'n'roll is a co-working and event space located in the Chelsea section (where else, other than possibly Brooklyn) of Manhattan. 

Redefining Work and Community! Experience the pulse of New York City's creative scene as we break stigma and embrace Coworking and Events. Our dynamic spaces foster collaboration, creativity, and connections. Join us in shaping the future of work – where innovation thrives and community flourish.

So far, so...neutral. Who doesn't want to redefine work and community? Who doesn't want to work in a dyanmic space that fosters collaboration, creativity, and connections? Who doesn't want to innovate, thrive, flourish?

Well, when it comes to work, not I. But that's only because I'm retired. If I were just starting out, well, sure. 

About that stigma thang, apparently old cluckety-clucketing old biddy work geezers don't approve of being stoned at work. And Work'n'Roll's out to do something about that. 

Smoking and working is a way of life, a ritual that humans all over New York cherish, perhaps without realizing it. Too often in today’s world of hustle, stress, grind and judgement do we forget to be ourselfs. Our coworkers look at us with condemnation when they see us enjo[y]ing a blunt and our family thinks that cannabis makes us lazy.

That’s why we are on a mission to dismantle the negative stigma behind cannabis. We hope to remind people to carve fifteen minutes from their busy lives to simply... pause. Experience calm. Then take a hit.

Maybe if I were young and facing the specter of AI taking my job, I'd want to be carving out fifteen minute per diem to light up a big fat old blunt. But I'm persnickety enough to observe that whoever put the info up on the "Our Mission" page omitted the "y" in "enjoying," and old biddy enough to wonder whether they were stoned when they wrote that copy. (Not that my blog isn't filled with un-stoned typos galore. But this is my playspace, not my workspace.)

Truly, Work 'n' Roll sounds like a most excellent co-working space. It's chill. There's unlimited tea (hopefully normie tea like Irish and English breakfast, and not just stuff like Chai). It's pet friendly (which is great, as long as there are no skittish, high-strung, aggressive male standard poodles like the one who gave me a Level 3 bite in the arm last month while I was chatting in our building's foyer with his owner). 

It's not clear to me whether Work 'n' Roll welcomes those who aren't in the cannabis biz, as their website does state:

At Work'n'Roll, our creative environments provide you with everything you need to achieve business success in a cannabis industry. Be part of a thriving entrepreneurial community and benefit from exciting opportunities to learn, network and relax during the workday and at one of our events.

Other than that, I do have my doubts on whether it makes all that much business sense to be one toke over the line (sweet Jesus) while attempting to work. Good thing I'm an old, crotchety, non-working geezer.