Photo (cc) by NJ..

Wednesday, September 29th is National Coffee Day, and while you won’t get the day off from work, you can score deals on the beverage that helps you do that work…

• Some participating Dunkin’ Donuts are pouring free coffee while others are donating a share of their sales to the Special Olympics.
• Regional coffee chains like Barnie’s in the Southeast and Lamar’s Donuts in the Midwest are offering free coffee.
• Local coffee shops are getting involved, from the Bohemian Coffeehouse in Melrose, Massachusetts (one free cup) to Bennett’s in Naples, Florida (“two popular and expensive roasts at discounted prices”) to Java Cafe outside Fort Hood in Texas (“drinks 50 percent off…enter to win an Espresso Machine”).
• Oddly enough, Starbucks isn’t running any big National Coffee Day promotions, but last week, we told you what to do – and not do – in Secrets Starbucks Doesn’t Want You to Know.

So when you stop to get your cup of coffee today, inquire about National Coffee Day discounts.

In honor of the day, Dunkin’ Donuts and the employment website CareerBuilder conducted a survey that found, “43 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 and included more than 3,600 workers nationwide – and it even rated the professions whose employees say they needed coffee the most. Here were the top five, with the top two dominated by healthcare professionals…

1. Nurses
2. Physicians
3. Hotel workers
4. Designers/architects
5. Financial/Insurance sales representatives

Of course, it’s an open question whether coffee really helps your productivity. Some studies say yes, some say no. But the fact is, Americans drink 400 million cups of coffee per day. Who knows how many more that will be today.