Personal factors lead to risky alcohol consumption at work more than stress at work

Personal factors lead to risky alcohol consumption at work more than stress at work

Long hours and shift work play a role, but new Australian research shows age, gender, education and smoking habits are far more powerful predictors of risky drinking among workers.

Study: Work hard… drink a lot? Occupational, sociodemographic and health determinants of hazardous alcohol consumption among Australian workers. Photo credit: Kzenon/Shutterstock.com

In a recent study published inDrug and alcohol screening, a group of researchers examined the influence of occupational factors versus sociodemographic and health determinants in shaping risky alcohol consumption among working adults.

Why alcohol in the workplace requires greater public health attention

One in three working-age adults consume so much alcohol that the risk of illness or injury increases. These problems affect them not only on a personal level but also professionally. Alcohol-related injuries, lost work time and chronic illnesses cost economies billions each year.

Risky drinking is often seen as a personal choice and not understood in the context of coping with daily pressures. Long work hours or irregular schedules, as well as income-related pressures, can contribute to an environment that normalizes excessive alcohol consumption. Developing effective interventions that can help people requires not only following clinical guidelines but also highlighting the factors that contribute most to risk.

Further research is needed to clarify how occupational factors interact with personal risk factors over time.

Two decades of national data reveal drinking habits

The present study analyzed 23 waves (2001–2023) of employment, health and lifestyle data from a nationally recognized longitudinal study in Australia. The analysis included 26,255 employed individuals ages 18 and older, who contributed more than 216,000 observations over time. Only participants who reported alcohol consumption were included to avoid bias from combining abstainers and low-risk drinkers.

According to national drinking guidelines, high-risk alcohol consumption has been divided into three main categories. First, high-risk alcohol consumption throughout the week (more than 10 standard drinks per week), then high-risk alcohol consumption on a single occasion (more than four standard drinks on one occasion), and finally any high-risk alcohol consumption (meeting either threshold). Occupational factors included work schedule, hours per week, job type, job demands and complexity, job security, job satisfaction, and preferences for more or fewer hours of work.

Several socio-demographic factors such as age, gender, education, income, relationship status, background, smoking habits and long-term health conditions were analyzed. To examine how these factors change over time in the same people, the researchers used generalized linear mixed-effects models to account for repeated observations over time.

Personal characteristics dominate patterns of risky alcohol consumption

High-risk alcohol consumption was common, with more than a third of observations meeting at least one criterion for high-risk alcohol consumption. These patterns varied by age, gender, and health behaviors, which were far more strongly associated with risky alcohol consumption than with occupational factors.

Younger workers (18-29 years old) were more likely to engage in occasional single-risk drinking, reflecting broader societal drinking norms where intensity is more important than frequency. In contrast, older workers were more likely to consume more alcohol throughout the week, suggesting more regular drinking patterns.

Large differences were observed between men and women. Women had a lower risk of all forms of hazardous alcohol consumption compared to men. This suggests that working men are exposed to greater exposure to risky alcohol consumption. In comparison, smoking was identified as the most modifiable risk factor. Workers who smoked were almost three times more likely to drink high-risk alcohol. This makes it clear that health-endangering behavior often occurs at the same time.

Occupational factors showed interesting associations with risky drinking habits. Employees who work more than 40 hours per week were at higher risk of drinking high-risk alcohol throughout the week, an association that remained after controlling for sociodemographic and health factors. On average, shift workers did not drink much throughout the week, as they tended to drink on isolated occasions.

As discussed by the authors, this pattern could be due to binge drinking with fewer opportunities to drink or to persistent misconceptions that alcohol helps with sleep. However, these mechanisms were not directly measured in the study.

Preferences regarding working hours also influenced drinking habits. Workers who wanted to work more hours showed a higher risk of drinking risky alcohol on one occasion, while those who wanted to work fewer hours showed consistently lower risk across all alcohol categories. This pattern suggests that dissatisfaction with work intensity may influence coping behavior, whether due to too much or too little work.

The type of occupation influenced the risk of drinking. Compared to working people, workers, machine operators and craftsmen showed a consistently higher risk of hazardous alcohol consumption. These roles often involve physical strain, irregular work schedules, and established workplace drinking norms that normalize alcohol consumption, previous research suggests. In contrast, psychosocial factors such as job satisfaction, demands, and job security showed little association with risky alcohol consumption when other variables were taken into account.

Reducing alcohol harm requires more than just managing stress

High-risk alcohol consumption habits among employees appear to be influenced by personal factors such as age, gender, education, lifestyle and smoking habits rather than just occupational stress. Working conditions such as long hours, physically demanding jobs and irregular routines still play a role, but sociodemographic and health factors are more likely to explain differences in alcohol risk.

Importantly, the results reflect statistical relationships rather than causal relationships. These findings highlight the need for workplace health strategies that go beyond general stress management and address common behaviors such as smoking and drinking together.

The authors note that tailored interventions targeting high-risk groups and multiple health behaviors simultaneously may be more effective than one-size-fits-all approaches.

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