No sex please, we’re CEOs

From work obsession to voluntary celibacy, young CEOs and entrepreneurs are experiencing a decline in sexual activity

IN A LITTLE under two weeks, it’ll be Valentine’s Day. Love will be in the air, chocolates and roses will be gifted and it will be date night for many couples (get those resos made now!).

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But — adulterous Coldplay concerts aside — that amorousness is harder to find in today’s C-suite, where it appears there is less and less time for romance. Or, as Business Insider reporter Henry Chandonnet crudely put it: “‘It’s time to build’ means there’s no time to bone.”

Think back a few months to when we noted the rise of the 996 schedule (9 a.m. to 9 p.m., six days a week) among the tech and Silicon Valley crowds. And prior to that, we wrote about the entrepreneur types touting ‘monk mode’ — essentially shutting out all external distractions in favour of focusing on one core task.

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This is the world in which many of today’s young CEOs operate — and more of them are living celibate, aromantic lives as a result.

“The opportunity cost is really high,” one 24-year-old founder told Business Insider. “Every night you spend out is time you could have spent building your startup. Most founders wait until the startup is more stable, like series B.” She told the publication that when you’re grinding seven days a week, opening Tinder, Bumble or Hinge is “a big, big distraction.”

For some CEOs, celibacy is a deliberate choice. “I went celibate, for a year,” wrote author and career coach Michelle de Havilland. “When I removed myself from the dopamine rollercoaster of modern dating, something fascinating happened: my brain stopped being hijacked by the next swipe, text or flirtation. The constant low-level anxiety of ‘Does he like me? Should I text back? What did that emoji mean?’ vanished.”

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And wouldn’t you know it, there is some evidence suggesting this solo behaviour can actually be good for business. A Wharton School of Business study found that single, unmarried CEOs tended to run companies that invested more in R&D, capital projects and acquisitions, whereas companies run by married CEOs tended to be more risk-averse and cautious.

“Evolutionary biology suggests that single men in particular are more aggressive and are willing to take more risk,” said researcher Nikolai Roussanov. “Riskier firms prefer single CEOs, who are more willing to engage in risky projects.” Kieran Delamont