More than half of American employees travel for work at least once a year, amounting to about 462 million domestic business trips alone in 2017. And when they're are out of the office, they let loose in a big way, according to a new report from employment website Simply Hired.
Of the 1,000 employed Americans who were surveyed, more than 50 percent admitted to getting drunk outside of work hours on business trips, while 28 percent said they didn't even wait until after work hours to get intoxicated.
And it's not just drinking: Almost 23 percent of employees said they smoked marijuana, while about one in 10 said they dabbled in harder, illicit substances. Another 20 percent admitted to using some of their time away visiting a strip club or meeting up with someone from a dating app or website.
Of course, well-behaved employees do exist. About a third of people say they've never done any of the things detailed. But those individuals tend to be low-level or junior staff members who earn less than $100,000 a year, the survey found.
Worst offenders
The more senior or high-paid an employee is, the more likely they were to engage in naughty behavior while on a work trip.
For instance, 25 percent of managers and supervisors admitted to spending company money on unsanctioned events versus the 18 percent of more junior employees who did. Leadership also visited strip clubs, used marijuana and illicit drugs and got drunk at work events at far higher rates than the rest of their staff.
This could be explained by the fact that managers are on the road more often, which gives them more opportunity to engage in unprofessional acts. On average, the data showed that company leadership spends 10.4 percent of their working year traveling, while employees spend only 8.5 percent of their year on business trips.
SimplyHired adds that managers may be more likely to commit these acts because "they feel as though they are the ones in charge, with no one else above them to check their actions." What's more, they typically have to "wine and dine" clients or prospective business partners more often than junior staff, and may feel pressured to engage in such activities as part of the "deal-making" process.
Whatever the excuse, management appears to be very good at getting away with their crimes. Far fewer workers had actually witnessed their boss committing a naughty act, like getting drunk, using drugs, visiting a strip club, stealing something or cheating on their partner than they had co-workers.
Side action statistics
One in five workers were guilty of considering cheating on their significant other or hitting on someone else while away on a business trip. About 16 percent of employees actually took the plunge and cheated on their partner.
Men across the board were more likely to commit (or consider committing) infidelity. About seven percent of men said they cheated on their partner, while only four percent of women did. And more than 10 percent of men considered cheating compared to seven percent of women.
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