Drinking Alcohol When Working from Home

1 in 3 Americans more likely to drink alcohol during working hours while in lockdown.

Residents of Hawaii are most likely to drink at home during working hours, while Arkansans are least likely.

More than 1/3 of respondents say they believe they will drink more alcohol than usual while in self-isolation.

Beer is the most commonly consumed alcoholic beverage while working from home.

News Release from Alcohol.org, May, 2022

With many Americans now working from home during self-isolation, our everyday habits have drastically changed in order to accommodate our new daily routines. For some, this may mean waking up a few minutes later as there is no school run or morning commute to worry about, but others are using this newfound freedom as a reason to have an alcoholic drink during their workday.

Alcohol.org, a leading provider of treatment resources and everything linked to alcohol abuse and rehabilitation, conducted a study of 3,000 employees working from home across the U.S. to find out how many are using their new office set up as an excuse to drink. It was found that 1 in 3 Americans (32%) are more likely to drink during work hours while operating from home as compared to working in their typical workspace.

Broken down by state, the survey discovered that residents of Hawaii (67%) are the most likely to drink at home during working hours, while Arkansans are the least likely with around 1 in 10 respondents (8%) agreeing with this statement.

When faced with adversity, such as the current COVID-19 pandemic, many may look to alcohol to alleviate their stress as it numbs emotions. Particularly if confined to your home with less work to do than usual, it can be tempting to grab a glass – or bottle – of your favorite wine. In fact, 35% of Americans say they are likely to drink more alcohol while self-isolating.

It seems many of us are prepared for the worst when it comes to alcohol as one fifth (22%) of Americans say they have stockpiled alcohol for self-isolation over other food and drink items.

Many drinkers have that one drink they turn to in stressful times and it seems beer is the most likely drink to be consumed by Americans in self-isolation, with 38% saying this is the case. This was followed by cocktails (26%), wine (21%) and straight spirits (15%).

Broken down by gender, it was found that, perhaps unsurprisingly, the most popular drink for men to consume during self-isolation is beer (44%). Following this was wine (22%) and straight spirits (22%), and cocktails (11%). By comparison, women were most likely to consume cocktails during isolation (38%), followed by beer (33%), wine (24%) and straight spirits (5%).

‘If you find yourself or anyone in your household reaching for the bottle as a coping mechanism too often, it can be cause for concern, especially considering the current circumstances in which we have found ourselves as a nation,’ says Dr. Lawrence Weinstein, Chief Medical Officer of American Addiction Centers. ‘These are stressful times as many employees struggle with having to adapt to a home working environment, in which distractions are abundant and alcohol may seem like a good solution. There are a number of accessible online resources available if you suspect substance addiction, such as support helplines, chatrooms and forums. It may be worthwhile to bookmark these!’

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