It's no secret that the pandemic changed everyone’s lives. While many people are beginning to experience a shift from remote working conditions, some habits gained while working from home have stuck around -- and masturbating at work is one of them.
Masturbating at work is more common (and healthier) than you think! And going by the numbers, you probably already know how much fun it can be.
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It makes sense why this habit gained prominence during widespread lockdowns: The line between most people's work and personal life became blurred while life simultaneously became more stressful. Unique opportunities alone in a bedroom, home office, garage or other private space provided ample opportunity, and increased levels of stress force the mind and body to seek relief.
So, a mid-afternoon pick-me-up of high-powered endorphins to lower stress levels and promote better blood flow, oxygen, neurochemicals, and nutrients became just the thing to get many people through the day. Masturbation to the rescue!
READ: 25 Hot and Healthy Benefits of Masturbation.
Do People Masturbate at Work?
Masturbating during work hours may sound taboo, but it’s much more common than you might think. In an informal survey conducted by a Time Out New York writer, almost 40% of respondents reported they masturbated on the job. And that was in 2015 -- well before work-from-home made a midday sesh that much more handy.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, an online retailer, Yellow Octopus, surveyed 1,000 people from the U.S., Australia, UK and Canada about their masturbation habits while working from home. The survey found 35% of men and 17% of women acknowledged they masturbated while working from home.
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How Many People Watch Porn at Work?
During 2020 and 2021, the rise in usage of porn and erotica also increased exponentially. Most notably, patterns began to emerge around the hours between 1 p.m. and 3 p.m., and again between 10 p.m. and 12 a.m., across all time zones.
According to a usage report from Stripchat, a live-streaming sex cam site, approximately 74% of users logged into the site between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. during the pandemic. The most popular hours were between 3 p.m. and 4 p.m., when 90% of users would be active at once. It is also worth noting that the cam site reported 90% growth users in 2020 alone. The reason for this spike? The report attributes working from home for the dramatic increase, stating:
"Men who work from home added one more favorite tab to their browsers finding a better way to relax and interact during lunch…and before…and after their working hours. Women were not left behind, following their desires and spending more exciting time on Stripchat in 2020.”
Men accounted for 71.6% of visitors on the Stripchat in 2020 and women accounted for 28.4%. According to the website's usage statistics reports, the same usage patterns have continued into 2022, while the use of mobile devices to visit the site has increased.
READ: Masturbation Is the Real Hero of the Pandemic.
This information is similar to Pornhub’s data gathered for their annual Year-in-Review stats report for 2021. According to their stats, usage on Pornhub increased between the hours of 1 p.m. and 6 p.m., peaking at 4 p.m. From 7 to 8 p.m., it dramatically dropped, then picked up again from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m. with a final peak at 11 p.m.
As the pandemic has continued to shift, the use of mobile devices to view content has increased for Pornhub. These patterns do not look to be shifting anytime soon.
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Benefits of Masturbating at Work
As stay-home mandates have eased, some pleasure-based companies have begun to allow breaks during the day for solo time as they've found it has created a positive effect on productivity and morale.
Erica Lust, owner of Lust Cinema and award-winning adult film creator and director, is among the first employers to allow a 30-minute masturbation break during work hours by creating a safe and comfortable space for employees to enjoy pleasurable self-care time.
What started as a perk during Masturbation May in 2021 has continued to gain momentum as more employers take notice. In her magazine, Lustzine, Lust writes:
“Masturbation has been shown to not only make you happier, more relaxed, and more focused, but it is also a proven creativity booster and it increases your focus and drive to get things done. But masturbation break wasn’t only about trying to help my employees feel better in these trying times, I also wanted to do something to normalize masturbation on a broader scale. Sexual wellbeing is deeply intertwined with your overall mental health and physical health and should be treated with the same respect and resources.”
Benefits of Masturbation
Masturbation has also been shown to provide many health-related benefits. Research Institutes like the Kinsey Institute, as well as individual researchers such as Dr. Emily Negoski, sexologists, sex therapists, and more, have conducted countless studies on the topic of masturbation, from behaviors and benefits to arousal.
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The overall conclusion? Masturbation is universal across nearly all cultures and has several positive health benefits, such as:
- Stress relief.
- Physical tension release.
- Lower anxiety levels.
- Helps to stop the stress response cycle by providing a natural dose of the feel-good chemicals dopamine and oxytocin.
- Providing an outlet for sexual tension.
- It’s the safest sex you can have without the risk of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) or pregnancy when done as mutual masturbation (when two or more people masturbate in front of each other).
- For those living with a uterus, it can alleviate premenstrual symptoms.
- Ensuring a good night’s sleep or help to start the day energized and calm.
- Strengthening muscles in the pelvic floor and genital region.
- Studies show that women who masturbate have more satisfactory sexual experiences and couples have higher levels of sexual satisfaction in their relationship.
- Masturbation can help overcome some types of sexual dysfunction.
- It allows people to learn about their bodies, desires and sexuality.
READ: Tips to Level Up Your Masturbation Game.
Conclusion
Masturbation is one of the healthiest ways to combat workday stress. And engaging in some solo pleasure during a lunch break or midday slump is unlikely to fade into obscurity -- even as the world shifts from mostly remote work to more hybrid arrangements.
Given its health-related benefits, and people like Erika Lust working to make masturbation breaks a social norm, perhaps we should be looking at more ways to incorporate a mid-day self-pleasure session.
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Dr. Tiffany K.
Based in California in the L.A. area, Dr. Tiffany "K." (she, her, they) is a Certified Holistic Sexuality Educator (CHSE), Board-Certified Sexologist, and Intimacy Consultant who specializes in kink education and D/s dynamics. She also holds an Ed.D. in Education and M.A. in English Literature.
Her research has been published in scholarly journals, with non-fiction and erotica works published since 2016. Her work has appeared in American Popular Culture, Men’s Health, NCSFReedom.org, The Science Publishing Group, and more.
In addition, she hosts The Submissive Next Door Podcast which brings a down-to-Earth approach to D/s dynamics and kink through scholarly research, communication, consent, and safety practices, and the More Than Sex Podcast with a focus on sexology from historical, literary, and scientific perspectives.
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