Has alcohol consumption gone up in lockdown?

Google trend data has found that the search term ‘am I drinking too much’ has received a 9.400% rise in UK searches between September and October 2020. This could be attributed to the increasing time spent at home, where boredom may creep in as individuals struggle to find things to keep them busy amid the pandemic.

Similarly, research shared by Alcohol Change has also highlighted the impact the crisis is having on individuals’ alcohol intake. Back in July the organisation asked over 2,000 people whether they agreed or disagreed with the statement ‘overall, I have drunk more alcohol than usual during lockdown’ – more than a quarter of respondents agreed. Similarly, it discovered that one in six people say they have felt concerned about their drinking during lockdown, with 37% adding they have taken steps to manage their alcohol consumption.

With Alcohol Awareness Week set to take place from November 16, 2020, Dan Hudgens, HR Director for the online men’s gadget blog site, GearHungry, shared with HR Grapevine that alcohol consumption ramped up during the pandemic as a result of boredom, as well as dramatic drops in prices of the product. “Many people at the beginning of restrictions set themselves targets of learning new crafts or languages, but as is tradition with humans, boredom sets in, and we slowly return to our old ways,” he explained. “Now that we’re buying our alcohol from supermarkets, the prices have dramatically dropped, and because of this we can afford to drink much more.”

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He also added that due to the freedom of being in our own homes, drinking is accessible any time of the day, compared to when this would occur in a bar or restaurant that enforces opening and closing times. With this in mind, this increase may start to roll over into working life, impacting employees who are working from home. And with a second lockdown now taking place in England, identifying the warning signs of an employee who may be drinking too much is now more important than ever.