IT and financial services professionals are as different as apple and orange when it comes to their eating and drinking habits, with a majority of financial sector employees staying away from alcohol while a significant percentage of IT professionals are tipplers, says a comparative study.
Large cross sections of the financial sector employees are more conservative compared to the IT sector employees, says a new survey by the global consultancy CLSA Asia Pacific.
"This is true of not only about their preferred cuisines while eating out but also of their drinking habits, with 60 per cent of financial sector employees do not taking alcoholic beverages," the survey said.
In contrast, 58 per cent IT employees take alcoholic beverages with nearly half of the them preferring wine or beer, the study said.
Even the choice of their drink varies widely. While nearly half of the 58 per cent IT employees who drink prefer wine or beer, among financial sector employees who consume alcohol, an overwhelming 54 per cent hard liquor -- whisky, rum or vodka.
Overall, the pattern of alcohol consumption is different with 55 per cent of men and 81 per cent of women in financial services sector not consuming alcohol at all.
In IT sector, 36 per cent and 67 per cent men and women respectively do not prefer boozing.
"We believe relatively more traditional behavioural pattern among financial sector employees is a function of location
with less concentration in metros and lower income profile of the financial sector employees," CLSA analyst Anirudha Dutta said in the report.
We also believe that these mores are likely to rapidly change, he added.
Interestingly, the survey also gives details about the preference of various alcoholic beverages by the two sectors.
Among IT employees 22 per cent prefer to consume beer, 20 per cent hard liquor, 10 per cent wine and six per cent cocktails. In financial sector, 22 per cent go for hard liquor, 13 per cent for beer, three per cent for cocktails and just two per cent prefer wine.
The survey also throws light on the eating preferences of the IT and the financial sector employees. While about 42 per cent of financial sector employees eat out once a week, only over 40 per cent IT professionals prefer to dine out at least once in a week.
"We believe that there is a just like that generation out there. About 82 per cent of respondents eat out either for no particular reason or to spend time with family and friends," the survey said.
New generation workforce have convenience and leisure increasingly in their priority list even as they work hard.
However, while 55 per cent of the metro-centric IT sector employees prefer to eat international cuisine or fast food on special occasions, nearly 80 per cent of financial sector employees prefer Indian fast food or traditional Indian cuisine when eating out.