It’s 9-5 o’clock somewhere: Survey shows nearly half of Americans working at home are drinking on the job

It’s already known that easy access to your kitchen is leading many Americans working at home to pack on the pounds, but a new survey says some are also tying one on while technically on the job. 

The non-scientific survey sponsored by alcohol-free beer alternative HOPWTR shows that 46% of those working from home have knocked off early at least once to have a drink during quarantine.  Another 45% of the 2,000 respondents said they’ve had a drink while on the clock.

The survey also showed that 53% of those respondents say they’ve been drinking more since the pandemic started.  That’s probably not a surprise, considering 64% say they’ve participated in a virtual happy hour with co-workers since the quarantine began. 

As for why all the drinking, 53% say the news cycle has led them to imbibe more than they used to.  In fact, with 2021 coming fast — and hopefully more good news with it — six in ten say they plan to drink less for the remainder of this year, and one in five say they want to drink less next year.  Fifty-three percent also say they vow to exercise more in 2021, 51% say they plan to eat more fruits and vegetables, and 36% say they want to start meal planning.

Other bad habits the respondents admitted to picking up during the pandemic include snacking too much on comfort food (40%), drinking too much caffeine (32%), and staying in their pajamas all day (23%).