A quarter of Brits have phoned in sick after drinking on a weeknight

According to research, one in four Britons have phoned in sick because they have drunk too much alcohol while out socialising on a weeknight.

The team at Vouchercloud undertook the study as part of ongoing research into the behaviours of those who socialise on a weeknight. 2,417 Britons aged 18 and over, all of whom stated they were in full-time work, were quizzed about their working, drinking and socialising habits.

The poll revealed that over half of mid-week drinkers, 71%, admit that they tend to drink because they find it helps to relieve the stress of the week.

Initially, all respondents were asked, “Where are you most likely to go in order to socialise on a weeknight?”, to which a restaurant (28%), a pub (24%) and a sports game (23%) came out as the top responses. When asked who they were most likely to socialise with, a group of friends (34%), my relatives (33%) and my partner (29%) were the favourites.

All respondents were then asked if they will drink alcohol at social occasions when they have work the next day, to which 59% of respondents admitted that they will. When asked how much they typically drink on a work night, ‘a little too much’ (42%) and ‘just one or two’ (34%) were the most common responses.

Wanting to delve deeper, all of those who admitted to drinking alcohol while socialising in the week were asked why they chose to consume alcohol on a weeknight, or the night before a working day. When provided with a list of possible responses and told to select all that applied, the top five results were as follows:

1. It helped to relieve some of the stress of the week – 71%
2. It wasn’t the plan, but it usually happens – 60%
3. Everyone else was drinking, it would’ve been rude not to – 39%
4. Most/all social events include alcohol – 32%
5. We ended up hitting the town – 17%

According to the poll, 49% of respondents who drank on a work night admitted that they had gone on to regret it the next day at work, after waking up with a hangover, with almost a quarter of all respondents (24%) admitting that they had, at least once, phoned in sick to work after drinking the night before.

Chris Johnson, head of operations at vouchercloud.com, commented, “It’s all good and well to go out and play on a work night, even to have an alcoholic beverage or two; it’s important to have a good work-life balance, rather than live for the weekend and wish your time away. Having said that, drinking so much that you have to cancel work the next day is not acceptable when you’re an adult with a paying job.”

“Many Brits feel that when they go out and socialise, alcohol has to be involved, but it doesn’t. Not only will you save money, but you’ve also got a higher chance of remembering the entire evening, having some good memories to treasure, and still make it into work the next day.”