Yahoo Finance Shocking cost of Melbourne Cup Day hangover
Millions of Aussie workers are expected to be hungover on Wednesday and it could cost their employers millions.
It’s the race that stops the nation and the Melbourne Cup could be stopping the workforce in its tracks too.
Millions of workers are expected to be hungover on Wednesday following Tuesday’s big race, and it’s expected to cost the economy more than $750 million in lost productivity.
Around two in five workers (44 per cent) are planning on drinking with their workmates on Melbourne Cup Day, with more than a quarter (29 per cent) admitting they plan on drinking “a lot”.
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The research, provided exclusively to Yahoo Finance by alc-eze, found 14 per cent of workers planned to “work” from home on Wednesday while nursing their hangover.
About 6 per cent admitted they would spend more time scrolling social media than actually doing work, according to alc-eze which is a natural supplement designed to ease hangover symptoms.
Others said they wouldn’t front up for work at all, with 650,000 people expected to call in sick on Wednesday.
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Which workers will be the least productive?
Sales professions are expected to see the biggest drop in productivity (42 per cent loss), followed by those that work in sport (40 per cent), and retail workers (35 per cent).
The research, which was based on a survey of 1,007 adult Aussies, showed productivity would drop by a third across the country on Wednesday.
New South Wales residents will be the least productive (35.9 per cent loss), followed by South Australians (35.6 per cent) and Top Enders (35 per cent).
Aussies spending $180 each
Recent research by Finder found Aussies were planning to spend $180 per person on the Melbourne Cup, with around half of that figure spent on betting.
Worryingly, the research found 18 per cent of Aussies had actually increased their gambling habit over the past year despite cost-of-living pressures.
“There'll be a certain percentage of people who are gambling for fun and a certain percentage that are gambling to try to make up the shortfall to pay bills,” Finder finance expert Taylor Blackburn previously told Yahoo Finance.
"There's only one guaranteed winner on Cup Day – the bookies."
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