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CareerBuilder and Dunkin' Donuts Survey Finds Which Professions Need Coffee the Most

In Advance of National Coffee Day, Study Shows Nearly One-Third of Workers Need Coffee to Get Through the Workday

CANTON, MA and CHICAGO, IL September 27, 2010) - National Coffee Day is this Wednesday, September 29, and according to a new survey commissioned jointly by Dunkin’ Donuts and CareerBuilder®, a cup of Joe helps in keeping the nation’s workforce – particularly younger workers – productive and energetic. Thirty-two percent of workers stated they need coffee to get through the workday. Forty-three percent of coffee drinkers reported they are less productive if they don’t drink coffee while on the job. The survey was conducted from August 17 to September 2, 2010, and included more than 3,600 workers nationwide.


Dunkin' Donuts, the #1 retailer in the hot regular/decaf plus flavored coffee and iced coffee categories according to the NPD Group/CREST, and CareerBuilder, the global leader in human capital solutions, partnered to determine the latest coffee consumption trends brewing in the workplace.

According to the results, the professions with the highest proportions of workers stating they are less productive without coffee vary widely. Those who need coffee the most are:

    1) Nurses
    2) Physicians
    3) Hotel workers
    4) Designers/Architects
    5) Financial/Insurance sales representatives
    6) Food preparers
    7) Engineers
    8) Teachers
    9) Marketing/Public Relations professionals
    10) Scientists
    11) Machine operators
    12) Government workers

How does coffee fit into people’s "daily grind" in the workplace? Highlights include:

  • Working professionals need coffee to perk up. More than two-in-five American workers claim they are less productive without coffee. Geographically, workers in the Northeast U.S. stated they are the most dependent on coffee, with 48 percent of people claiming they are less productive without coffee, compared to the South at 45 percent, West at 44 percent and Midwest at 34 percent.

  • Younger workers more dependent on coffee fix. Forty percent of American workers aged 18 to 24 admit they can’t concentrate as well without coffee. Forty-three percent of workers aged 18 to 34 stated they have lower energy if they don’t drink coffee.

  • Keep the refills coming. Thirty-seven percent of American workers drink two or more cups of coffee during their workday.

  • Convenience matters. Seventy-five percent of American workers who buy coffee during the workday only travel a quarter mile or less for their daily brew.

  • Coffee equals congratulations? Twenty-four percent of American workers aged 18 to 34 buy coffee as a way to treat themselves for a job well done.


According to John Costello, Chief Global Customer and Marketing Officer at Dunkin’ Brands, the survey results are consistent with the brand’s own customer feedback and an understanding of coffee drinkers forged over the company’s 60-year heritage. “A large percentage of people start their day with a cup of coffee, and more than any other product, coffee has a unique place among hard-working people looking to make it through their increasingly busy and hectic workday,” Costello said.

"Today’s workforce is working longer hours and shouldering heavier workloads," said Richard Castellini, Chief Marketing Officer at CareerBuilder. "The survey shows having an extra energy boost in the morning and throughout the day may be helping productivity levels."

Survey Methodology
This survey was conducted online within the U.S. by Harris Interactive© on behalf of CareerBuilder among 3,661 U.S. workers (employed full-time; not self-employed; both government and non-government) ages 18 and over between August 17 and September 2, 2010 (percentages for some questions are based on a subset, based on their responses to certain questions). With a pure probability sample of 3,661 one could say with a 95 percent probability that the overall results have a sampling error of +/- 1.62 percentage points. Sampling error for data from sub-samples is higher and varies.

About Dunkin' Donuts
Founded in 1950, Dunkin' Donuts is America's favorite every day, all-day stop for coffee and baked goods. Dunkin' Donuts is a market leader in the regular/decaf coffee, iced coffee, hot flavored coffee, donut, bagel and muffin categories, and the largest coffee and baked goods chain in the world. Dunkin' Donuts has earned the No. 1 ranking for customer loyalty in the coffee category by Brand Keys for four years running. The company has more than 9,000 restaurants in 31 countries worldwide. In 2009, Dunkin' Donuts' global system-wide sales were more than $5.6 billion. Based in Canton, Massachusetts, Dunkin' Donuts is a subsidiary of Dunkin' Brands, Inc. For more information, visit www.DunkinDonuts.com.

About CareerBuilder®
CareerBuilder is the global leader in human capital solutions, helping companies target and attract their most important asset - their people. Its online career site, CareerBuilder.com®, is the largest in the United States with more than 23 million unique visitors, 1 million jobs and 32 million resumes. CareerBuilder works with the world’s top employers, providing resources for everything from employment branding and data analysis to recruitment support. More than 9,000 websites, including 140 newspapers and broadband portals such as MSN and AOL, feature CareerBuilder’s proprietary job search technology on their career sites. Owned by Gannett Co., Inc. (NYSE:GCI), Tribune Company, The McClatchy Company (NYSE:MNI) and Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT), CareerBuilder and its subsidiaries operate in the United States, Europe, Canada and Asia. For more information, visit www.careerbuilder.com.

CareerBuilder Media Contact
For all media inquiries and interview requests, contact:

Jennifer Grasz
(P) 773-527-1164
(E) jennifer.grasz@careerbuilder.com