Coronavirus sees these states lead working from home drinking
Hawaiians are far more likely to pick up a drink while working
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Due to the coronavirus pandemic, daily routines were abandoned and a slew of favorite self-indulgences were sacrificed.
Drinking wasn't one of them.
In fact, Americans consumed a considerable amount of alcohol during the pandemic, and many are doing so between the hours of 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., according to a recent study from Alcohol.org. And during the past two weeks, nearly 30 percent of respondants in another study reported they are drinking more, according to Nielsen.
The need to drink increases with catastrophic events due to the anxiety associated with them, according to Dr. Jud Brewer, director of research and innovation at the Mindfulness Center at Brown University and founder of MindSciences
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Anxiety triggers some people to turn to anything that lessens anxiety. And with the novel coronavirus being the main topic of conversation, that anxiety is likely to heighten.
“Anxiety triggers someone to drink, which gives their brain the ‘reward’ of not only feeling intoxicated but also feeling less anxious,” Brewer said. “The problem is that this doesn't fix the underlying issue that caused the anxiety in the first place."
But booze doesn't work to cure the coronavirus blues. The underlying issue is often exacerbated by drinking and avoidance.
"The brief relief fades and another habit loop is triggered as soon as the anxiety comes back," Brewer said.
So who is drinking the most on the job, according to the Alcohol.org survey?
Hawaiians are far more likely to pick up a drink while working from home. According to the survey, 67 percent of Hawaiians reported that they consumed alcohol on the job which surveyed 3,000 American workers across the country.
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Virginians and Rhode Islanders are not far behind. More than half of residents admitting they drink to some degree while working remotely.
And 47 percent of respondents from Iowa, Kansas and Idaho each said they consumed alcohol during the workday. Slightly more sober are respondents from Nebraska (44 percent), Montana (42 percent), Oklahoma (41 percent) and Nevada (40 percent).
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Meanwhile, 38 percent of New York and California workers said they’d tip back a few cold ones during the day.
And the least likely to drink on the job goes to respondents from Arkansans. Only a mere 8 percent drank on the job, according to the survey of 3,000 people throughout the United States.