Americans working from home are having fun, doing side hustles on company time - study
Marijuana sales were high in a number of states where it's legal
A recent research into the activities of the people working from home due to Covid-19 lockdown measures has found that Americans drank heavily, smoked copious amounts of weed, played video games, ate lots of junk food and watched television, Netflix and porn more than ever before.
The study from the Nielsen Corporation revealed that "alcohol sales were up 55% in the week ending March 21," reports the Forbes.
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.
Marijuana sales were 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 weed in March.
The Los Angeles Times reported that "amid coronavirus siege, California cannabis sales soared."
Online porn site, Pornhub has seen a big rise in traffic—up 11.6%.
NBC News wrote at that time, "Many Americans may find their bodies flabbier and less healthy when they finally emerge from the Great Quarantine of 2020."
Bloomberg reported that people have stopped eating healthily, "They are loading up on shelf-stable items from canned meat and soup to pretzels and Kraft Macaroni & Cheese, as they comply with orders to stay home." They cited studies showing an increase in the consumption of potato chips, Oreos, spam, burgers, pretzels and other comfort foods.
During the week of 16 March, Nielsen said that US consumers streamed 156.1 billion minutes of content. That was twice as much as last year at this time. Almost 30% of the stream was Netflix programming—including binging the Tiger King— and 20% was YouTube viewership.
A recent study commissioned by e-conolight captured the current zeitgeist of the working-from-home activities in the US. Here's the highlights of what they found:
- 42% have been on a date
- 41% have had sex
- Almost half said they have 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.
