How many ambidextrous CEOs do you know who part their hair down the middle, ride a bike to work while carrying a sack lunch in their back pack, park the bike and don a pair of shorts for the workday, and find time in a 50-hour work week to exercise four or more times?
Believe it or not, such people are inhabiting the corner office.
This information comes to us from CareerBuilder after the job search firm put a series of questions to the big shots about their habits, both personal and work-related. Here's how the data shook out:
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Work wear: Only 20 percent consider a business suit typical office attire, while 57 percent choose business casual clothing and 18 percent regularly wear jeans or shorts to work. One-third go the Goth (black) route when color selecting, but navy blue isn't far behind. Choice No. 3 is gray. Not a colorful bunch, our CEOs.
Transportation: Automobiles: 79 percent drive cars to work; 25 percent of those cars are SUVs, 22 percent are mid-sized sedans, and 10 percent prefer a luxury sedan. Another 4 percent said they drive hybrids.
Non-drivers: The ones that don't drive cars take public transportation (9 percent), walk (4 percent) or bike (1 percent).
Drinking habits: Two-thirds said they abstain from drinking alcoholic beverages at company happy hours, choosing soda (23 percent), water (19 percent), coffee (13 percent) or nothing at all (7 percent) to keep a clear head while the rest get rowdy. The ones who do drink with the troops drink beer (13 percent), wine (13 percent), 8 percent opt for mixed drinks.
Photo: Associated Press/Alastair Grant
Lunchtime habits: 42 percent bring their lunch from home; 22 percent eat fast food; 14 percent actually go sit down and eat at a restaurant, and 10 percent skip lunch.
Lefty/righty: Right-handers outnumber left-handers by nearly 7 to 1 (80 percent versus 13 percent); however, 8 percent of executives claim to be ambidextrous.
How they wear their hair: 29 percent part on the right side, 19 percent go down the middle, and 15 percent part on the left. One in four (25 percent) don't part their hair at all, while 11 percent sport a shaved or bald head.
Work week: 58 percent work 40 to 49 hours, 32 percent work 50 or more, 9 percent work less than 40 hours.
Buffing up: 82 percent work out at least once a week, with 39 percent working out four or more days a week. Nearly 1 in 5 say they rarely or never work out.
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Dan Cook
Dan Cook is a journalist and communications consultant based in Portland, OR. During his journalism career he has been a reporter and editor for a variety of media companies, including American Lawyer Media, BusinessWeek, Newhouse Newspapers, Knight-Ridder, Time Inc., and Reuters. He specializes in health care and insurance related coverage for BenefitsPRO.
