Who’s Drinking While Working From Home In North Carolina

NORTH CAROLINA — If you’re working from home while North Carolina is locked down amid the new coronavirus pandemic, coping with such a huge change is no easy feat.

Whether it’s telling your kids for the 17th time that you’re working — and no, you will not make them a peanut butter and jelly sandwich right now — or making sure to ditch the yoga pants before your first conference call, it’s a delicate balancing act that requires practice to perfect.

But although we won’t judge if you’re sneaking a glass of wine between Zoom meetings, we can’t promise your boss won’t feel differently.

According to a new survey by alcohol.org, an online provider of treatment resources linked to alcohol abuse and rehabilitation, 30 percent of North Carolina residents report drinking alcohol during work hours.

Among all states, the survey revealed that residents of Hawaii are the most likely to drink at home during working hours (67 percent), while Arkansas residents are the least likely (8 percent.)

According to the survey, about 32 percent of Americans report drinking during working hours. It’s also not helping that most of us are self-isolating and stressed over conditions related to the coronavirus outbreak, according to the survey. In fact, a fifth of Americans said they stockpiled alcohol in preparation for self-isolating, while 35 percent of Americans said they are more likely to drink alcohol while self-isolating. Men are also more likely to drink than women, the survey said.

As for a drink of choice, a majority of men grabbed a beer, while women mixed a cocktail.

All joking aside — there’s a difference between having a cocktail or glass of wine to relax, and recognizing if you have an actual dependency on alcohol.

‘If you find yourself or anyone in your household reaching for the bottle as a coping mechanism too often, it can be cause for concern, especially considering the current circumstances in which we have found ourselves as a nation," Dr. Lawrence Weinstein, chief medical officer of American Addiction Centers, said in alcohol.org’s final report. “These are stressful times, as many employees struggle with having to adapt to a home working environment, in which distractions are abundant and alcohol may seem like a good solution.”

If you or someone you care about needs help in taking the first step toward alcohol addiction recovery, call Alcohol.org’s American Addiction Centers helpline at 888-685-5770. The organization has representatives on hand 24 hours per day, 365 days a year.

Other resources include the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration hotline at 800-662-HELP, or the Alcohol Addiction Center at 855-218-5225.

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