There has been an increase in the amount of alcohol consumed at home since the start of the pandemic, as Health and Safety software company - Protecting.co.uk - found that that 90 per cent of workers admit to drinking alcohol whilst working, causing all sorts of problems such as worker health, the quality of work and deeper ethical issues.
Company spokesman - Mark Hall - said:
“The freedoms of working from home have allowed workers to behave in ways they wouldn’t dream of in the office. Just because you are in your own home alcohol and substance abuse policies still apply.”
Nearly 30 per cent of people said that they would go to the pub for after work drinks, but as huge numbers of the UK workforce have been on furlough or working from home this year, the opportunity to socialise and unwind in the pub with colleagues at the end of the week has all but disappeared.
However, this does not mean people have stopped drinking – 26 per cent of people in the UK said that they had increased their consumption of alcohol during the first lockdown when pubs were closed.
Protecting.co.uk worries that the lack of structure in home working has left many clouding the boundaries between home and work life, with some not realising that they are breaking the rules.
A phone poll of 1300 people who are all working at home due to COVID-19 and carried out by Protecting.co.uk finds that nine out of ten people have admitted to drinking whilst working in their own homes this year.
Mark Hall stated:
“It ranges from just a glass for two with lunch, to getting through a whole bottle of wine a day, but the health implications are clear.”
Of the people polled, 87 per cent stated that they had drunk on more than one occasion whilst working from home; 83 per cent stated that they drank more than twice a week whilst working from home and 93 per cent admitted to consuming more alcohol during the pandemic, than previously.
There was also a 20 per cent increase in those seeking help from addiction services in April 2020.
Mark Hall commented:
“It’s alarming to employers to hear that staff feel like they can get away with all kinds of behaviour while they are out of office. It’s going to be a hard habit to break once this is all over.”
Although most workplaces have a robust alcohol and substance abuse policy to keep staff in check when they are at work, it’s clear that the rules are not being followed at home and unfortunately for employers, it’s difficult to police what staff do at home during working hours.
Mark Hall has some advice to help employers. He suggests that communication is kept open and regular staff checks are made to enquire how they are getting on; they should be informed as what hours they are expected to work and let know that help is available if required. A more extreme option is to send home testing kits and request that they test themselves to make sure they can work.
He stated:
“The best approach is to talk to your employers and help them to understand why it is important to you and your business for these rules to be followed, but to also support those who may be struggling. We all have our guilty pleasures and vices, but this should not impact our ability to work professionally, and if you find yourself unable to cope there are plenty of resources available.”
