SAN FRANCISCO–What have CU employees who have been working from home been up to over the last year? If they’re anything like what several recent national surveys have found, they’ve been drinking more, smoking pot, putting on weight, watching more porn and even working for other companies.
A recently released study from the Nielsen Corp., the nearly 100-year-old marketing research and ratings firm, noted, “Alcohol sales were up 55% in the week ending March 21.” It found that the amount of spirits sold—such as tequila, gin and pre-mixed cocktails—skyrocketed 75% compared to March of 2019. Wine sales rose 66%, beer sales popped 42% and online alcohol sales grew by an astounding 243% from last year at this time.
Meanwhile, marijuana sales have been high in a number of states where it’s legal. For instance, Illinois marijuana dispensaries—which were allowed to stay open—sold almost $36 million worth of legal pot during March, while the Los Angeles Times reported that during the coronavirus lockdown marijuana sales have “soared.
Pornhub, which says it has seen more than 120 million viewers every day, reported viewership was up another 11% in March.
Not surprisingly, Nielsen also reported U.S. consumers streamed 156.1-billion minutes of content in March, almost double the content streamed in mRch of 2020, with 30% of the viewership being on Netflix and 20% on YouTube.
Other Findings
In addition, a new study commissioned by e-conolight and conducted by ZDNet on working-from-home activities found that during the last year:
- 42% have been on a date
- 41% have had sex
- Almost half said they’ve had an alcoholic drink
- About 60% have taken a nap
- An overwhelming 77% say that they shop online, while on the clock at least once a week
- Around 50% of the respondents have worked for another company while on the clock with their employer
- Two in five (44%) have been reprimanded at least once for getting off-task, and 39% of people have been let go from their jobs for doing non-work-related activities
- Despite 76% of respondents spending more than four hours each day focused on work, 40% of participants said they spend four or more hours away from their computers.