Enjoying Quarantini’s? So Are 32% of Professionals

Two months ago, the world came to an abrupt stop, and many of us got locked inside. Professionals are having pant-less Zoom calls, midday workouts…and drinking while working from home? Blind, an anonymous professional network with 3.5 MM+ verified professionals, asked its user base:

  • Do you drink alcohol while working from home?
  • On average, how many alcoholic drinks do you consume while working from home?

The survey was conducted between 5/13-5/15. There were over 2,000 responses:

  • 1 in 4 Executive/C-Suite professionals drink alcohol while working from home
    • 29% of which state they are having an additional 4+ drinks per week 
  • 10.4% of professionals are having an additional 4+ drinks per week 
    • 25% of Adobe respondents are having an additional 4+ drinks per week 
    • 20% of Capital One respondents are having an additional 1-2 drinks per week 
    • 15% of Uber respondents are having an additional 2-3 drinks per week 
  • 32.6% of professionals drink alcohol while working from home
    • 50% of Lyft respondents drink alcohol while working from home
    • 47% of JUUL respondents drink alcohol while working from home
    • 40% of Salesforce respondents drink alcohol while working from home

We wanted to tap into our user base of working professionals, given the pace and impact of the pandemic. We ran this study on emotional wellbeing in late March, which inspired us to focus on alcohol consumption next. 

Key Findings as 3/24-3/30(10,107 Responses): 

  • Are you experiencing increased loneliness during work from home and social distancing?
    • 52.9% of professionals answered yes 
      • 52.3% of Apple professionals are feeling increasingly lonely 
        • 50% of Intel professionals 
        • 58.1% of Facebook 
  • Are you experiencing increased feelings of anxiety during work from home and social distancing?
    • 56.4% of professionals answered yes 
      • 44.7% of Apple professionals are feeling increasingly anxious 
        • 49.2% of Capital One 
        • 62.5% of Salesforce 
        • 61.2% of Linkedin 
  • Have your productivity levels been impacted due to changes in your mental health while working from home?
    • 53% of professionals answered yes 
      • 69.7% of Facebook have had their productivity levels impacted 
        • 64.3% of Google
        • 57% of Amazon

Because of these findings, the increased consumption of alcohol was not surprising. Posts on the platform indicate a similar thought process. A user at PayPal asks, “I was curious if lockdown has changed people’s lifestyle in terms of alcohol consumption. Personally, mine has increased as me and my partner have the habit of drinking wine and watching Netflix together. Just wanted to know about others.” Another post from a Google Professional says, “Constantly drinking while wfh- I have been extremely anxious for the past few weeks and am constantly drinking while working to chill myself out. Has anyone had similar experiences? How does anyone else deal with wfh alone? FYI. I do workout everyday after work but it is unfortunately not enough.”

Blind Co-founder, Kyum Kim, states, “Our surveys indicate that the pandemic is impacting employees’ mental health, ultimately causing increased loneliness and anxiety. While most people are responsible drinkers, companies should be aware of their employee’s mental health and changing habits”.