Having a couple after-work drinks with colleagues after a long day at the office used to be ritual for many Americans prior to the pandemic. However, now that things have slowed down significantly compared to the not-so-distant past, and people are working from home, the concept of after-work drinks seems like a distant memory. Despite not being able to enjoy cocktails with co-workers over the last year or so, are employees finding themselves with more free time?

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AlcoholRehab.com, a provider of alcohol addiction treatment resources, conducted a survey of 3,000 employees to find out how much time they’ve regained by not attending after-work drinks since the start of the pandemic. It was found that the average Arizona employee has reclaimed 148 hours on average over the last year by not having drinks after work with colleagues – this compares to a national average of 169 hours.

Despite freeing up more time for activities, hobbies or spending time with family, more than 1 in 10 (14%) employees admit they’ve missed sharing cocktails after work with their colleagues.

Forty-two percent of employees said that their health has improved since they stopped going out for after-work drinks. Considering that more than 1 in 10 employees admit they would drink shots during after-work drinks with colleagues prior to the pandemic, a healthier present state is not too surprising – prolonged excessive consumption of alcohol can weaken the immune system making the body more susceptible to disease.

Interestingly, only 28% of employees believe after-work drinks are a good way to bond and strengthen a team of colleagues. On the other hand, 15% of employees have no qualms about getting drunk in front of their boss, and 11% of bosses would do the same around their employees. Given that a further 14% of respondents admitted that, on at least one occasion, they’ve acted inappropriately while drinking with co-workers after work, the lines between professional and personal boundaries can become somewhat blurred. This may contribute to the overwhelming number of employees who disagree that after-work drinks are a good way to bond a work team.