Drinking coffee or meditating are the best ways to improve short-term mental
performance, according to Kevin Warwick, professor of cybernetics at Reading
University.
Speaking at the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development’s annual
training conference, HRD, Warwick said his study of more than 200 students
found that coffee boosts short-term performance. He says it could be used to
enhance performance in workplace situations such as job interviews
"What seems clear is that many of the so-called ‘bads’, such as coffee
and alcohol, have a positive effect on short-term performance, whereas many of
the ‘goods’, such as listening to classical music and drinking orange juice, do
not come out of the study so well."
Warwick also claimed that the future of training lies in implant technology.
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Famous for having electronic chips implanted in his arm, Warwick believes
people will download software, using their implants, to learn new skills. This
has implications for the HR profession in particular, he said.
"Employers will no longer select job candidates on the basis of what
they know, but on how good people are at assessing the software that will give
them new skills," he explained.
