Drinking on a Work Night: a Comparison of Day and Person-Level Associations with Workplace Outcomes

Alcohol use and misuse is costly for U.S. employers, primarily due to health care expenses and lost work productivity. Despite high costs for organizations, employee alcohol use is understudied within the organizational literature. The scant research conducted largely utilized cross-sectional designs examining differences across individuals, despite prevailing theoretical frameworks describing primarily within-person processes. This study examined the simultaneous within-person and between-person relationships between employee alcohol use and work and well-being outcomes. The separation and comparison of within-person and between-person effects is essential for the evaluation of key theoretical frameworks around employee alcohol use. Additionally, this study investigates one mechanism (i.e., sleep quality) that may help to explain how drinking links to work and well-being outcomes. Data was collected from separated post 9/11 service members and active reservists working in the civilian workforce via an internet-based survey completed in the evening over 32 consecutive days. Results indicated that within this sample of more moderate drinkers, between-person estimates were better predictors of the examined outcomes. Specifically, individuals who drank more in general tended to perceive higher levels of self-control demands and sleep less well. Additionally, between-person drinking was indirectly related to work performance, creativity, and perceived self-control demands through poor sleep quality across individuals. Examinations of the work and nonwork factors associated with work and well-being outcomes help identify risk factors that hinder employee success and provide insights into which intervention efforts may be most impactful