10 Percent of Workers Admit to Drinking on Company Time on St. Patrick’s Day

Celebrating St. Patrick’s Day has long been synonymous with drinking–and the partying extends to the workplace. Ten percent of workers say they participate in after-work St. Patrick’s Day happy hours, while another 10 percent admit to imbibing an alcoholic beverage on company time on St. Patrick’s Day, according to CareerBuilder.com’s “Drinks on the Job” survey of more than 2,050 workers representing multiple backgrounds and industries. A comparison of industries and job functions found that IT and government workers–at 15 percent and 10 percent, respectively–were most likely to drink during the workday on St. Patrick’s Day. Men reported a higher tendency toward drinking during the workday on St. Patrick’s Day, with 11 percent saying they’ve had an alcoholic beverage on company time, compared with 8 percent of women.

However, the survey found, not surprisingly, that drinking during the workday isn’t confined to holiday celebrations, nor are the IT department and government workers the most likely to drink during regular workdays.

Twenty-two percent of workers say they have gone out for an alcoholic beverage during a regular workday at some point in their careers, while 10 percent of workers report a more habitual pattern, admitting to consuming an alcoholic beverage with lunch during the workday at least once a week. Fourteen percent of men say they have an alcoholic drink with lunch at least once a week, compared with 8 percent of women.

Accounting and finance workers are the most likely to drink during a regular workday. Twenty-nine percent of accounting/finance workers say they have had a drink during the workday, followed by 28 percent of IT workers and 24 percent of manufacturing workers.

The “Drinks on the Job” survey was conducted from November 15 to December 6. The survey involved selecting a random sample of ComScore Networks panel members and more than more than 2,050 workers took part in the study. These panel members were approached via an e-mail invitation that asked them to participate in a short online survey, and the results are accurate to within a range of plus or minus 2.16 percentage points.