Some professions — think tenured professor or Supreme Court justice — are largely insulated from the pressure to maintain a specific look. The same cannot be said in the high-stakes arenas of finance, real estate and design, where the quest for a competitive edge has well-established self-maintenance rituals: coloring gray hairs, meticulously curated wardrobe and submitting oneself to Botox needles.
Now, that pursuit has evolved to include another new, potent class of injectable: glucagon-like peptide-1 drugs like Ozempic, Wegovy and Zepbound.
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While approved for diabetes and obesity, the medications are being adopted off-label by a growing cadre of professionals who see them not just as a path to better health, but as a direct investment in their career trajectory. The driving force is an open secret in many industries — being trim confers a professional and financial advantage.
“I wish I could say I was taking it for my health, or because it made me feel better physically,” Ann, a 45-year-old director at a Manhattan bank, told New York magazine. “The truth is that I'm taking it because I'm afraid not to.” She was one of several professionals who spoke to the website about the growing phenomenon.
This sentiment seems especially prevalent in the more appearance-driven fields. Sarah, a 37-year-old commercial real estate agent, felt she needed to lose 40 pounds of post-pregnancy weight to confidently return to work. "Everyone in my industry is taking it now too," she told New York magazine. "It's created this new playing field, and if I want to stay competitive, I need to keep up."
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The Sky-High Cost of Conformity
With monthly costs often exceeding $1,000 and many employer health plans declining coverage for weight-loss indications, accessing these drugs requires a substantial financial commitment. Although, notably, that could soon change based on an agreement the Trump administration struck between the drug makers Eli Lilly (NYSE:LLY) and Novo Nordisk (NYSE:NVO): Through "TrumpRx,” a government site launching in 2026 for purchasing drugs directly from manufacturers at a discount, bypassing insurance, prices are slated to fall from over $1,000 per month to around $350 per month.
However, stuck in the current system, professionals like Ann said they have to budget over $1,300 monthly for Zepbound and associated telehealth fees.
The high barrier to entry has even fueled a risky, but growing, workaround: the gray market. A “gray” market for GLP-1 active ingredients sourced from China is expanding rapidly. Shipments of unregulated tirzepatide and semaglutide saw a 44% monthly increase in January. These compounds, sold for as little as $50 a vial for “research purposes,” shift the burden of production to the user, who must mix the powder into an injectable solution at home.
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A Faustian Bargain for Career Advancement?
Users told New York magazine they grappled with the ethical and physical trade-offs. Side effects range from gastrointestinal distress to hair loss and mood changes. Sarah, the real estate agent, found her GLP-1 use led to lethargy that required an antidepressant to manage.
Furthermore, many felt they were perpetuating the very system they resent. "This should not be normal, and it goes against my values," Ann said. "But increasingly, living your values seems like a huge privilege, and sometimes you have to do a cost-benefit analysis."
The trend raises a provocative question: in a competitive labor market where appearance can give you an edge, are GLP-1s becoming a form of career performance-enhancing drug? For a growing number of professionals, the answer has become a reluctant “yes.”
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Image: Imagn
