Spending long hours at the office to advance your career might help you nab that promotion, but it could also put you at risk for a serious health and life challenge: alcoholism.

Finnish researchers performed an overview of past research on the subject and saw a pretty distinct trend. After looking at dozens of studies, they found that people routinely working at least 48 hours a week are more prone to heavy alcohol consumption than those with less demanding jobs.

The overworkers were about 13 percent more likely to drink excessively. The exact term the scientists used was “risky drinking.” They defined it as alcohol consumption that could seriously impair health and working ability and have negative social consequences. Other researchers have put the threshold for risky drinking at more than 14 alcoholic beverages per week for women and more than 21 for men, they noted.

It’s interesting to note that the study included people from 14 different countries, but the researchers found the same link stretched across nationalities.

This was also true for socioeconomic groups. In other words, no matter how wealthy or poor workers are, a link between long career hours and greater chances of risky drinking exists.

There are a few lessons to be gleaned from the Finnish research. One is that busy worker-bee types should guard against using alcohol to drown career stress or unwind from a long day. For healthier options, try exercise, meditation or quality family time for relaxation.

The other, perhaps more complicated, lesson is to avoid overwhelming work demands. For some people, that will mean turning down projects or choosing to clock out earlier. Others may need to seek new jobs with fewer demands.

You might not get the promotion quite as fast, but you could save something much more precious: your health.