why do alot of construction workers smoke,drink alot and have unhealthy diets?

Answer 1

Because thats what they want....

Answer 2

Because construction work is very stressful - the work itself is very physically hard, and you are under a lot of pressure to get it done, correctly, in a very short amount of time. Construction worker employment is also unstable - most construction workers are hired by the day, and can get laid off at any time, for any reason, or no reason at all. And even if you are a great worker, at the end of the job, you get laid off and have to find the next job.

Many construction workers deal with the stress by smoking cigarettes, drinking alcohol or getting high on drugs.

As for the diet, in construction, you get to work before 7AM, have a brief 15 minute "coffee break" for breakfast around 9AM and a 30 minute lunch break at 12 Noon.

Since you have such a short time to eat, you have to get food that's quickly and easily available and has a high calorie content. That's why fast food is so popular among construction workers. Also, on some big jobs, there will usually be a local vendor who drives to the site in a catering truck and they usually serve fast food type stuff (if it's a remote job, like a railroad track or a school in a residential district with no restaurants or delis, this may be the ONLY place where you can get lunch)

It's hard to eat healthily if you work construction (and most health food doesn't have the calorie content necessary to do construction work - you burn up a lot of energy when you're working)

Answer 3

I do tease my husband of this stereotype but he is completely the opposite of this. He has never smoked in his life and hardly drinks. He comes home to eat but does do the fast food thing quit a bit also. 1 out of the 3 isnt bad. The construction life is hard and alot of these workers go through ups and downs in business. My husband is very educated and is nothing like the redneck. You have no idea the stress this business brings on these men and its mostly from the irritating know it all customers or the customers who like to hold off on paying the bill. Heck...how many politicians smoke and drink...its all over and its an epidemic in todays society.

Answer 4

Typically, most construction jobs don't make it easy for workers to adopt decent diets, regimented exercise programs or the best habits. Schedules are hard, the work is harder in most cases and they don't get cut much slack for things like 'personal lives'.

Then, they have to deal with their home lives as well. People with that much pressure tend to fall into a cycle of bad habits and find it hard to break out to them. It's not just construction workers either. It's most people who have to spend so much time and effort making ends meet that they don't have the energy to fix the unhealthy cycles that develop.

Answer 5

What you listed are things that makes people happy, comforted and energetic. Construction workers had difficult life since childhood, smoking, drinking and bad diet compensates a miserable life.

Answer 6

I don't know but I work in the Oil Field and it's the same out here. At least out here there is a gym on board but a lot of the older guys don't use it. I'd say about 70% of them smoke, and almost all of them drink, the diet thing....well that depends on a lot of things.
I don't know why they have all these unhealthy habits, I guess there just living.
I'm no exception, I drink but these guys out here smoke allot, I actually timed one guy when I was in Indonesia and he only waited 80 seconds before he lit up the next cigarette. That's practically chain smoking.
I'll never understand.

Answer 7

the job really sucks. It's super boring. Why not get high?

-I work construction. I drink hella coffee. I tried nicotine, but I think it sucks. And I've always reacted poorly to ethanol, so 'drinking' doesn't work for me either. Cooking takes time. But I'm too poor to afford decent (no preservatives, no msg, no weird filler ingredients) restaurant foods, so I have to cook :-/. It sux.

Answer 8

This only applies to construction workers? You've just described a huge percentage of Americans.

Answer 9

Probably for similar reasons that they became construction
workers lack of education and upbringing.

Answer 10

Many of those men feel it is manly to smoke, drink and eat fatty foods. They often work long hours so they do the fast food thing.

Answer 11

Why do a lot of guys named Wayne on Yahoo Answers ask ignorant questions that generalize and stereotype?