The Days of Our Lives

1. What time do you usually wake up on workdays?

In the pre-dawn pitch black 43%
6:00-6:30 35%
6:30-7:00 13%
7:00-7:30 6%
7:30-8:00 2%
After 8:00 1%

2. Which of the following do you usually do before work? (Respondents were asked to mark all that apply.)

Make lunch for yourself 34%
Are you kidding? It takes all I have just to get to work 30%
Watch TV 29%
Get the kids ready for school/day care 27%
Read the newspaper 21%
Exercise/jog 18%
Drive the kids to school/day care 18%
Make lunch for the kids 11%
Run errands 10%
Work on office tasks brought home 10%
Check in with the office 8%
Attend work-related function (e.g., breakfast meeting) 8%
Care for parent or elderly relative 2%

3. Do you usually eat breakfast?

Yes 60%
No 32%
There is no “usually” 8%

4. If your answer is yes, what do you usually eat?

Cereal 47%
Toast 25%
Fruit 15%
Whatever I can find 11%
Yogurt 8%
Donuts or muffins 6%
Eggs and/or bacon 4%
Fast food 2%
Last night’s leftovers 1%

5. What do you usually wear to work?

Business casual 37%
Business attire other than a suit (e.g., shirt and tie without jacket) 22%
Depends on what’s happening that day 20%
Complete business suit 20%
Really casual 5%

6. How many cups of coffee do you drink on the average work day?

None 37%
Two or three 29%
One 19%
Four or five 13%
So many that the employees at the local Starbucks raise their arms and sing “Hallelujah!” when I arrive 4%

7. How do you usually get to work?

Drive alone 88%
Drive in carpool 6%
Bus or subway 3%
Train 2%
Walk 2%
Bicycle 1%
Chauffeur-driven limo 0%

8. Which of the following do you commonly do during your commute? (Respondents were asked to mark all that apply.)

Listen to the radio 85%
Listen to tapes/CDs 36%
Use cell phone for business 22%
Use cell phone for personal calls 14%
Eat 13%
Other (please specify) 11%
Personal grooming (e.g., apply make-up or shave) 9%
Read 7%
The most common activities that were cited by those who marked “other” include planning for the day, praying and talking to family members. Several respondents, however, admit to “cursing at idiotic drivers.”

9. What time do you usually arrive at the office?

Between 7:00 and 8:00 52%
Between 8:00 and 9:00 36%
In the dark 9%
After 9:00 3%
There is no “usually” 1%

10. If you drive and park, where do you usually park?

Any open spot in company lot 70%
Assigned parking space 18%
Any open space in city lot 5%
Wherever I can find a spot after circling the building several times 4%
On the street 3%

11. When entering the work place, do you pass through a security check?

No 66%
Yes 31%
Depends which part of the facility I enter 3%

12. Do you wear a name badge or security badge at work?

No 66%
Yes, both name badge and security
badge 14%
Yes, name badge only 12%
Yes, security badge only 8%

13. Where do you, personally, have office space?

Private office with door 73%
Open workstation 21%
Share an office with door 6%
I have no assigned work space 1%

14. How much time on an average day do you spend in your workspace?

Most of it 43%
About half the day 31%
Almost all of it 21%
Only a couple of hours a day 5%
Almost none 1%

15. What have you done to personalize your office space? (Respondents were asked to choose all that apply.)

Photos of family/friends 81%
Calendar 61%
Desk accessories other than what the company provides 60%
Books 59%
Artwork 57%
Plants 51%
Toys 34%
Diplomas or professional awards 32%
Vacation souvenirs 16%
Other (please specify) 12%
Among the items most often identified by respondents who chose “other” were candy, cartoons and inspirational messages. Also mentioned were sports memorabilia, coffee mugs, candles, Disney collectibles and “my whip.”

16. To whom do you report?

Senior HR officer 32%
President/CEO 31%
Other (please specify) 17%
CFO 10%
Plant/Site manager 8%
COO 4%

17. Does anyone report directly to you?

Yes 61%
No 39%

18. What are you most likely to do after you first arrive? (Respondents chose more than one answer.)

Check voice-mail 46%
Check e-mail 42%
Get coffee 12%
Get right to work 11%
Talk with co-workers about work 4%
Talk with co-workers about the week-
end, TV shows, the news, etc. 4%
Check regular mail 4%
Use restroom 2%
Read newspaper 1%

19. When you begin working, what are you most likely to do first?

Respond to messages (voice-mail or e-mail) 71%
Begin with task determined previously 17%
Deal with the crisis of the day (unknown to me before my arrival) 12%
Check with direct reports 4%
Attend scheduled meeting 2%

20. Have you ever knowingly violated company policy?

No 78%
Yes 22%

21. If yes, which one? What was the reason?

Of those who said they had violated a policy, the examples given ranged from using the office copier for personal business to eating at a desk. Most often, however, policies were violated to help employees: medical conditions were kept confidential, extra time was given to employees so that they could deal with personal crises, paychecks were issued early during emergencies.

22. How often does your computer or network crash?

Almost never 51%
Once a month or so 21%
Once a week or so 17%
Only when I am depending on it most 8%
At least once daily 4%

23. How many e-mails do you get on an average day?

5-25 50%
25-50 24%
1-5 16%
More than 50 6%
None 3%
I stop counting when the computer overloads 1%

24. How long do you spend answering e-mail on the average day?

15-30 minutes 34%
30-60 minutes 29%
15 minutes or less 19%
More than an hour 18%
It has become a full-time job; I do the rest of my work after hours 2%

25. How much of your e-mail is spam, jokes, notes from friends, chain e-mail and other non-work mail?

Some 68%
None 20%
About half 10%
Most of it 2%
All of it 0%

26. What percentage of your day do you estimate is spent on routine or administrative tasks?

Some—two or three hours a day 42%
About half the time 27%
Very little-less than an hour a day 21%
Most of the time-five or six hours a day 9%
Almost all the time 1%
None 0%

27. What percentage of your day do you estimate is spent on strategic or big-picture issues?

Some—two or three hours a day 41%
Very little-less than an hour a day 37%
About half the time 16%
Most of the time-five or six hours a day 5%
None 2%
Almost all the time 1%

28. What percentage of your day do you estimate you spend on consultative or developmental projects?

Some—two or three hours a day 46%
Very little-less than an hour a day 32%
About half the time 11%
Most of the time-five or six hours a day 6%
None 5%
Almost all the time 1%

29. What percentage of your day do you estimate is spent responding to a crisis or problem presented to you by someone else in the organization?

Some-two or three hours a day 43%
Very little-less than an hour a day 33%
About half the time 16%
Most of the time-five or six hours a day 6%
None 1%
Almost all the time 1%

30. How many meetings do you attend on the average day?

1 52%
2-3 35%
None 9%
4-6 4%
More than 6 0%

31. How long does the average meeting last?

31-60 minutes 59%
1-2 hours 23%
15-30 minutes 16%
More than 2 hours 2%

32. How would you characterize the average meeting that you attend?

Necessary but disorganized 33%
Necessary and efficient but uninspiring 30%
Largely worthless with scattered moments of value 20%
Well organized, compelling and productive 19%
A complete waste of time 1%

33. How do you occupy your mind during meetings?
(Respondents were asked to mark all that apply.)

Listening carefully 72%
Considering how best to make my point 55%
Thinking about the work that isn’t getting done while I’m in the meeting 42%
Talking 25%
Thinking about personal things (e.g., tonight’s dinner) 14%
Doodling 14%
Playing buzzword bingo 1%

34. Whose numbers are programmed into the speed-dial of your phone? (Respondents could choose more than one option.)

None—phone doesn’t have speed-dial option 34%
None-I don’t know how to use speed-dial option 20%
Other (please specify) 17%
Others in my department 10%
Home 12%
My boss 7%
The corporate labor attorney 4%
My secretary 3%
Corporate insurance carrier 4%
Among the examples cited most often by those who selected “other” were branch offices, department heads, emergency services, vendors and spouses at work.

35. For what do you use your company or department break area? (Respondents could choose more than one option.)

To get coffee 35%
To store food 33%
To get water 32%
To eat 19%
Nothing-I never use the area we have 18%
Nothing-we don’t have a break area 14%
To get aspirin or other remedies 13%
To catch up on office gossip 8%
To catch up on newspapers/magazines 7%
Other (please specify) 3%
Those that chose “other” cited such examples as having meetings, posting items on bulletin boards, getting tea or soda, and celebrating birthdays.

36. How would you characterize your typical behavior in the break area?

I’m careful not to make a mess so that I don’t feel guilty about not cleaning it 68%
I’m the kitchen elf who always straightens things, makes a new pot of coffee or changes the water bottle 27%
I’m a frustrated chef and bring goodies for the office to share 5%
I leave my dishes and trash around for someone else to deal with 0%
I bring dirty dishes from home and leave them in the break area so that they get washed 0%

37. How do you usually spend your lunch hour? (Respondents could choose more than one answer.)

I work through lunch 42%
Eating 35%
Reading 10%
Running errands 14%
Working out 4%
In a meeting or business lunch 6%
Other 4%

38. Which best characterizes how you have your meal?

I eat alone at my desk 51%
I eat with colleagues at the company food facility 19%
I join colleagues outside the office 13%
I eat alone outside the office 10%
I go home to eat 6%
I meet colleagues for a working lunch 5%

39. What do you usually eat for lunch?

Sandwich 29%
There is no “usually” 24%
Hot entrée 19%
Salad 14%
Fast food or junk food 10%
Soup 6%
Cold entrée 2%

40. How many voice-mail messages do you get on an average day?

1-10 50%
10-25 33%
None 11%
25-50 6%
More than 50 0%

41. How deep is the stack of papers that are in your in-box right now?

Between 1″ and 2″ 29%
2-6″ 29%
1″ or less 23%
6-12″ 13%
More than 1′ 5%
It’s taller than my children 2%

42. Do you have files in your office?

Yes 98%
No 2%

43. If yes, what’s in those files? (Respondents were asked to choose all that apply.)

Copies of policy manual 83%
Legal documents/correspondence 78%
Training materials 73%
Documents related to company benefit plan 70%
Résumés of job candidates/prospects 56%
Personal papers (e.g., my own résumé, correspondence, etc.) 50%
Employee files from throughout the company 45%
Employee files of my direct reports 29%
Other (please specify) 24%
Among the material cited most often by those who selected “other” were union contracts, project material, payroll data, grievances, budget material and job descriptions. One respondent’s files include “every other paper that ever existed.”

44. How often do you give a formal business presentation or speech to a group of at least 20 people?

Several times a year 37%
Once or twice a year 28%
Monthly 15%
Never 15%
Weekly 5%
Several times a week 1%

45. How often do you travel for business?

Once or twice a year 37%
Several times a year 30%
Never 18%
Monthly 12%
Weekly 4%

46. What is the most common reason for your business travel?

To visit corporate subsidiary/satellite office 29%
Training 26%
To attend trade show or conference 21%
Other (please specify) 10%
To visit corporate headquarters 9%
To visit vendor/supplier 3%
The reasons for travel cited most often by those who chose “other” were recruitment and to attend board meetings.

47. How long is an average trip?

Two or three days 54%
Overnight 38%
Five days 7%
Longer than 5 days 1%

48. How often do you telecommute from home?

Never 63%
A few days a year 27%
Once a month 6%
More than one day a week 3%
Once a week 2%

49. How long a vacation do you usually take?

A series of short (2-4 days) vacations 41%
One week 38%
Two weeks 12%
Three weeks 5%
More than three weeks 3%
I don’t take vacations 2%

50. Where are you most likely to go on vacation?

Major U.S. city other than my own 22%
Other (please specify) 19%
Recreation (e.g., ski resort) 16%
Recreation (e.g., ski resort) nearby (within 100 miles) 13%
Tropics (e.g., Hawaii, Caribbean) 13%
My living room 12%
Major city outside U.S. 7%
“I survived another HR crisis … I’m going to Disney World!” 5%
Favorite vacation spots of those who selected “other” include Australia, Mexico, a family vacation home and golf resorts.

51. What’s your ideal vacation?

R&R on the beach 37%
Sightseeing 21%
Not being at work 18%
Recreation/sports 14%
Visiting friends/family 11%
Cultural activities 9%
Cruise 7%

52. Whom do you spend most of your time with on an average day?

Colleagues in HR 34%
Employees 33%
Line managers 21%
No one … I work alone 11%
My boss (other than the CEO) 4%
The CEO 3%

53. How much time do you spend on the Internet during the average day?

15-30 minutes 36%
15 minutes or less 24%
30-60 minutes 21%
More than an hour 13%
None 7%

54. Which Internet search engine(s) do you use? (Respondents were asked to mark all that apply.)

Yahoo! 74%
AltaVista 38%
Infoseek 37%
Excite 36%
Lycos 34%
Other 22%
America Online 17%

55. When you’re browsing the Internet during work hours, what do you use it for? (Respondents were asked to mark all that apply.)

HR research 78%
HR legal tips/advice 60%
Non-HR sites 52%
HR breaking news 48%
Posting open jobs 22%
Looking for job candidates 22%
HR networking (e.g., discussion forums) 21%
HR humor, surveys, etc. 18%
Looking for another job myself 10%

56. If you were limited to using the Internet for just one thing, which would you choose?

HR research 42%
HR legal tips/advice 16%
Non-HR sites 16%
HR breaking news 8%
Posting open jobs 6%
HR networking (e.g., discussion forums) 5%
Looking for job candidates 4%
Looking for another job myself 2%
HR humor, surveys, etc. 1%

57. What time do you usually leave the office?

5:30-6:00 28%
5:00-5:30 26%
6:00-7:00 19%
4:00-5:00 16%
After 7:00 6%
There is no “usually” 4%
Before 4:00 2%

58. During your commute between the office and home, which do you usually do?

Nothing-I go straight home 48%
Run errands 25%
Stop at grocery store 13%
Pick up children 13%
Stop at gym to work out 7%
Stop at fast-food or take-out restaurant 2%
Meet someone at a restaurant 1%
Stop to visit elderly parent or relative 1%

59. Which of these activities are you most likely to do on a typical evening? (Respondents were asked to mark all that apply.)

Eat dinner 91%
Watch TV 76%
Household chores 65%
Read 64%
Cook dinner 58%
Do work brought from the office 39%
Care for children 29%
Exercise alone 29%
Surf the Internet 26%
Help children with homework 22%
Pursue hobby 20%
Go to community meeting, school meeting, etc. 14%
Go out to a movie, sporting event or cultural event 11%
Volunteer 8%
Play computer games 9%
Participate in competitive sports event 4%

60. Which office leash do you use?

None-when I’m home, my time is my own 38%
Regular phone 36%
Cellular phone 27%
E-mail at home 27%
Pager 15%
Fax machine at home 8%
Palm Pilot (or similar) 5%
Other (please specify) 2%
Laptop computers were the leash cited most often by those who chose “other.”

61. What do you do for exercise? (Respondents were asked to check all that apply.)

Walking 59%
Nothing—I’m a couch potato 17%
Running/jogging 17%
Chase my kids 15%
Aerobics 15%
Participate in organized sports (e.g., softball league) 8%
Swim 5%
Weightlifting 2%

62. What TV show do you most look forward to watching?

Other (please specify) 23%
“ER” 17%
“Ally McBeal” 16%
“Friends” 14%
“Frasier” 10%
“Dateline” 8%
“The X Files” 8%
“60 Minutes” 6%
“Touched by an Angel” 6%
Monday Night Football 5%
Other sports telecast 5%
The TV shows that were cited most often by those who selected “other” include “Dharma and Greg,” “Law and Order,” “NYPD Blue,” soap operas, and various cable networks. Numerous respondents said they don’t watch TV.

63. Below are movies that recently were released. Which are you most likely to go see in a theater?

“Shakespeare in Love” 26%
“Saving Private Ryan” 22%
Are you kidding? Who has time to go to a movie? 16%
None, I only watch movies on video 15%
“Patch Adams” 14%
“Life Is Beautiful” 13%
“A Bug’s Life” 7%
“Payback” 6%

64. What is your living situation?

Live with spouse/significant other and child or children 39%
Live with spouse/significant other 33%
Live alone 16%
Live with child/children only 5%
Live with roommate 4%
Live with parents 2%
Other (please specify) 2%

65. What time do you usually get to sleep?

10:30-11:00 26%
10:00-10:30 19%
11:00-11:30 17%
11:30-12:00 16%
9:00-10:00 14%
After 12:00 7%

66. What is your gender?

Female 75%
Male 25%

67. What is your age?

41-50 34%
31-40 32%
30 or younger 20%
51-60 13%
61 or older 1%