Nearly two thirds of full-time US workers have turned to alcohol, cannabis or unprescribed drugs in the past year. Workplace stress and substance use are now deeply linked, according to a new report by Modern Health. The platform surveyed 1,000 employees at firms with 250 or more staff. What the numbers reveal is not a story about individual choices. It is a portrait of a workforce running on empty.

Workplace Stress and Substance Use: A Nation on the Edge

The scale of the problem is hard to ignore. Nearly half of respondents, 48%, said their job had hurt their mental health over the past year. Some 52% reported anxiety or panic-like symptoms at work. Another 51% said they had cried because of work stress. That figure rose 12 percentage points in a single year.

A 2025 Gallup survey found that more American workers described themselves as struggling (49%) than thriving (46%). It was the first time since 2009 that the balance tipped that way. Together, the two reports point to a workforce whose mental health has quietly worsened for years.

“Many workers are carrying more than they feel equipped to manage,” said Dr Jessica Watrous, Chief Clinical Officer at Modern Health. “The American workforce feels stretched, burned out, and unsupported.”

Work-Related Stress and Alcohol Use During the Working Day

The drinking and drug-taking is no longer just an after-work habit. More than half of those surveyed, 52%, used substances to cope with work stress during the working day itself. That figure is perhaps the most troubling in the entire report.

Among younger workers, the pattern is stark. Some 51% of Generation Z employees used cannabis during working hours. Only fractionally more, 59%, used it after clocking off. For this age group, THC has overtaken alcohol as the after-work coping tool of choice. Some 59% turn to cannabis products after work compared with 50% who reach for a drink.

Dr Watrous was direct about the risk. “Research shows that why you drink can be a risk factor for long-term problems,” she said. “When a majority of employees report turning to substances to manage stress, it points to a gap in how people access support. Over time, that gap leads to more complex health needs and higher costs.”

AI Anxiety Is Fuelling the Crisis

Fear of artificial intelligence now sits at the top of the workplace worry list. Nearly seven in ten employees, 69%, believe AI will cause redundancies at their company within three years. Almost half, 49%, fear losing their own job to it. Some 24% say AI is already damaging their mental health today. That places it alongside financial worries and heavy workloads as an everyday burden.

Trust in employers has also collapsed. Only 33% of employees strongly agree their employer values their mental health. That figure was 41% the year before. The drop is eight percentage points in a single year. As a result, 58% now say they feel safer talking to a chatbot about mental health than to their HR department.

Companies are also seen as placing output above people. Some 72% of respondents said their employer actively encourages productivity at the expense of personal wellbeing. That is up 11 points from the previous year.

Workplace Stress and Substance Use Reach the Management Level

Burnout does not stop at the office door. Senior managers, despite reporting high satisfaction levels on the surface, face serious strain. Some 40% received a new mental health diagnosis in the past 12 months. That is more than three times the rate for non-managers at 13%.

Among senior managers, 57% personally fear losing their jobs to AI. Some 82% say the role has become harder than ever. Only 37% feel equipped to spot burnout in their own teams. One in four senior managers says their direct reports’ mental health has worsened so far in 2026.

The pressure to stay connected makes things worse. Some 57% of employees feel compelled to respond to work messages outside office hours. Political uncertainty adds another layer. Seventy percent of workers say the current political climate has made it harder to stay mentally well at work.

What Employers Must Do Now

Workers are clear about what they need. Some 89% say more mental health benefits are required, up eight points from last year. Almost two thirds believe early, accessible support could prevent work-related stress and alcohol use from becoming deeply entangled habits.

Employers must act before the cost of inaction becomes impossible to ignore. Substance use as a response to daily pressure is not a personal failing. It is a signal that the working environment is failing people. Accessible, stigma-free support offered early on is both the compassionate and the practical solution.

“Workers need access to real support before the workplace pressure becomes unmanageable,” the report concludes.

Source: dbrecoveryresources