This is the weekly Work Life newsletter. If you are interested in more careers-related content, sign up to receive it in your inbox.
Burned out and emotionally disconnected, an executive finds themselves boarding a flight to Jamaica. They aren’t going for a beach vacation, they’re headed to a psilocybin retreat.
This scenario is becoming increasingly common, with data from trend forecasting agency Globetrender showing that one major psychedelic retreat operator has seen the number of entrepreneurs and corporate professionals attending double year over year since 2021, alongside a threefold increase in C-suite participants.
In many ways, the trend mirrors how high performers approach other aspects of their lives: identify a problem, optimize quickly and move on. But clinicians working in the space say the motivations driving executives toward psychedelic-assisted therapy are often deeper than productivity or stress management.
What success left behind
“These are high-functioning, A-type personality executives that are so amazing at what they do, but what did that cost them? What has to be put on the backburner or sacrificed along the way? Often it’s a connection with their loved ones, their family,” says Toronto-based Pam Sethi, a clinician and founder of Delphia Wellness, a clinical wellness advisory that has supported a subset of clients going through psychedelic-assisted therapy.
Beneath the stress and long hours, Ms. Sethi says many leaders are grappling with something harder to articulate, which is a loss of meaning and purpose. “The question that I often ask in my practice is, are you spiritual? And often, silence is the response,” she says.
That search for reconnection is helping fuel interest in psychedelic retreats, but Ms. Sethi says many executives arrive with the same mindset they bring into boardrooms and business strategy sessions.
“I’ve just seen executives at times – not all the time – treat this as a quick fix, where it’s like, ‘okay, I’m going to just register for a psilocybin journey in Jamaica’ without having the proper landing or even prep work,” Ms. Sethi says.
For many professionals, psychedelics have become another optimization tool, backed by growing clinical research and conversations around mental health. Yet, experts caution that the controlled environments used in clinical trials are far different from luxury retreat settings that may be unregulated and lack industry-wide standards.
The late Roland Griffiths, founding director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Psychedelic and Consciousness Research, has warned that studies showing positive outcomes relied on extensive screening, trained therapists and carefully controlled conditions. Outside of that environment, he cautioned, “the retreat center question is, buyer beware.”
When the retreat ends
Ms. Sethi says psychedelics are not a shortcut to transformation. Instead, they can create a temporary period of neuroplasticity; a window where the brain becomes more adaptable and open to change.
So when the executive arrives home, the question isn’t whether the experience was profound, it’s what happens next.
“That’s actually where most of the magic takes place. The sense making, the understanding,” she says. Without a therapist waiting or a plan for integration, the window that opened may close.
In many cases, the retreat was never the destination. It was just the beginning.
Fast fact
Formula failures
35 per cent
That’s how often ‘spreadsheet incidents’ – such as manual data entry mistakes or formula errors – negatively affected someone’s job performance, reputation or trust at work, according to data from operations management software company DOSS.
Career guidance
Solutions > Snark
Have you ever suddenly found yourself in the middle of a snarky email exchange or disagreeing with a colleague in a cross-functional meeting? These types of conflicts, especially in a remote context, can easily spiral out of control when left unaddressed.
According to this article in Harvard Business Review, it’s important to restore human context by acting quickly and having a video call with the coworker. Address the conflict directly, focus on specific behaviours rather than personalities and create a shared plan to move forward.
Quoted
Beyond belief
“Beliefs aren’t simply thoughts or feelings. They’re tools – working models we use to navigate reality when the truth isn’t fully knowable,” consultant and serial entrepreneur Nir Eyal writes in Beyond Belief, with journalist Julie Li.
In this article, the Globe’s Harvey Schachter shares key insights from the book, including why our beliefs can act as ‘emotional forecasts’ shaping our mood and performance, and how we can redirect our attention to gain greater control of our lives.
On our radar
Summer surge
New data from HR platform Employment Hero Canada shows that while much of the labour market remains cautious, Canadian small-and-medium business wages have increased year-over-year and continue to outpace inflation with consumer-facing industries proving more resilient ahead of the busy summer season.