Behavioral research has continued to document college student drinking with the goal in mind being greater understanding and potential prevention. A litany of motivating factors and influential characteristics have been studied on this topic, but little research has been performed that investigates relationships between college student drinking behavior and their current workplace policies. Similarly, little, if any, research has been published concerning college students and alcohol consumption at the workplace. This study aimed to examine the effects of employer-based policies and students’ college major(s) on alcohol consumption at work.
The study’s sample was comprised of 788 undergraduate students at both a large university in the southeastern United States and an undergraduate institution in Israel (N=788, 71.2% female). Students responded to an online survey which consisted of questions related to their demographics, college major (in this study it remained dichotomous: hospitality major or non-hospitality major), personal alcohol use (using the Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test, or “AUDIT”-based measurement), and current work environment with an emphasis placed on alcohol consumption prevalence and policy. Examples of survey items concerning the work environment section included “I have accepted a drink at work” and “How often do you go to a local bar after work?”. The survey was translated between English and Hebrew to fully accommodate communication needs of students from either the United States or Israel. Data was subsequently analyzed using exploratory factor analysis and moderated regression analysis. The sub-samples from each country were compared using statistical tests revealing adequate similarity to use both sub-samples together in the overall analysis plan.
Results of the study found that the heavy majority of working students go out drinking after shifts (90.1%) for reasons related to relaxation, socializing, etc. Significant relationships were found between alcohol consumption at work and coworker drinking (p<0.001), social drinking (p<0.001), and access to alcohol at work (p<0.001). Interestingly, alcohol policies at work shown to strengthen the relationship between social drinking and workplace drinking but weakened the relationship between access to alcohol and workplace consumption. Hospitality majors were found to drink more, on average, than non-hospitality majors but not by a large margin.
Takeaway: workplace alcohol consumption in college students is influenced by a number of different variables and contains moderating factors related to employer alcohol policies and subsequent policy enforcement. More research is needed in this particular scenario to further characterize the behavior.
Orlowski M, Fuchs G, Pizam A. Alcohol consumption among working students: the moderating effects of workplace policies and college major. Journal of Human Resources in Hospitality & Tourism. 2021;0(0):1-29. doi:10.1080/15332845.2021.1872270