A new report from CAN reveals clear differences in drinking habits across various occupational groups in Sweden. The report highlights that managers in general, and CEOs in particular, consume the most alcohol. Professionals in healthcare and education have the lowest consumption.
How drinking habits vary between different groups has been extensively studied in Sweden. However, studies on differences between occupational groups are surprisingly rare. Given that the workplace is often highlighted as an important setting for preventing alcohol problems, such knowledge is crucial for making interventions as effective as possible.
The aim of this report was therefore to shed light on how drinking habits differ between various occupational groups in Sweden. The report is based on data from two large national population surveys conducted in 2017 and 2021, where over 8,000 employed individuals answered questions about their occupation and drinking habits. The respondents’ occupation information was categorized into different occupational groups according to the Swedish Standard Classification of Occupations (SSYK)*.
CEOs drink three times more than nurses
The survey shows that managers in general, and CEOs in particular, consume the most alcohol, while staff in healthcare and education drink the least. The CEOs reported an average consumption of 26 standard drinks per month, which is three times as much as nurses and elementary school teachers. The differences were even greater for binge drinking, with the proportion of CEOs who reported binge drinking at least once a month being 3–4 times higher than among nurses and elementary school teachers, and five times higher than among doctors.
Despite the high alcohol consumption, managers did not top the list of occupational groups with the most alcohol problems**, at least not in terms of symptoms of alcohol dependence. Instead, restaurant workers and those working in finance and economics had the highest rates. Occupational groups in healthcare and education had the lowest rates of dependence problems, with a prevalence of about one-third of those found among restaurant workers.
How can we understand these differences?
There are several reasons for differences in alcohol habits between different occupational groups. The drinking culture of the occupation can differ based on how common it is to drink in connection with work, either in the form of business representation or socializing with colleagues after work. The age and gender distribution also plays a role, with alcohol consumption being higher in male-dominated professions than in female-dominated ones. Studies also show that in professions with high demands and stress, alcohol consumption can become a way to cope with the situation, which may lead to higher consumption and, eventually, dependency.
How can the results be used and what impact will they have on society?
Although many other factors besides occupation explain a person’s alcohol habits, this doesn’t mean that understanding which professions have higher alcohol consumption is unimportant. On the contrary, when resources are allocated for preventive measures, it is crucial to focus on areas where consumption and problems are most prevalent. This study suggests that managers and restaurant workers are occupational groups that should be particularly targeted for attention in this regard.
*. SSYK is the standard used by Statistics Sweden (SCB) for classifying occupations in Sweden and consists of a hierarchical structure with four levels, where each level represents an increasingly specific classification of occupations.
**: Alcohol problems were measured as the proportion of individuals meeting the criteria for “mild alcohol use disorder” according to DSM-5.
The article is written by
Mats Ramstedt, Associate professor and head of research at CAN
Isabella Gripe, PhD and researcher at CAN
on the request of PopNAD.
