Percentage of American employees who describe their bosses as competent, according to a workplace survey by Randstad USA: 50

Percentage who perceive their boss as a great role model and mentor: 29

Percentage who believe their boss is their biggest advocate: 19

Percentage who feel motivated by their boss: 22

Source: Randstad USA.

Percentage of online shoppers who change their passwords only when or if required, according to the findings from the 2008 PayPal Trust and Safety Study: 34

Estimated percentage of consumers who use social networking sites where they post important family dates, family members' names, nicknames or pets' names that they use to create their passwords: 40

Source: Ipsos Public Affairs.

Ranks of Sarah Palin, Oprah Winfrey, Michael Phelps, and Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie as the people that U.S. adults would most like to be neighbors with, according to a survey by real estate Web site Zillow.com: 1, 2, 3, 4

Ranks of Britney Spears, Rosie O'Donnell, Joe the Plumber and Lindsay Lohan as the people that U.S. adults would least like to be neighbors with: 1, 2, 3, 4

Source: Zillow.

Percentage of Millennials (aged 14 to 25) who view the computer as more of an entertainment device than their TV, according to Deloitte's third edition State of the Media Democracy survey assessing the preferences of consumers aged 14 years to 75 years from Brazil, Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States: 75

Percentage of Millennials who are regularly searching, downloading and listening to music over the Internet: 80

Percentage who are also regularly socializing online (via social networking sites, chat rooms or message boards): 73

Source: Deloitte LLP.

Even with slower hiring predicted for 2009, percentage of workers who say finding a new job is on their list of New Year's resolutions, according to a CareerBuilder.com survey: 19

Percentage who say they actually plan to leave their current job before the end of the year: 19

Percentage of workers who say the economy and the tightening job market are not making them hold off on their plans to change jobs: 60

Source: CareerBuilder.com.

Percentage of financial advisers who are worried the industry's reputation has been tarnished by Bernard Madoff's alleged $50 billion fraud, according to a poll from InvestmentNews: 69

Percentage of advisers who reached out to clients in December to reassure them that their assets were safe from similar schemes: 59.3

Source: InvestmentNews.

Average percentage of total revenues of S&P 500 companies that come from sources outside the U.S., according to the first Egon Zehnder International Global Board Index: 36.9

Percentage representation of foreign nationals on S&P 500 boards: 6.6

Percentage of board members who have no international work experience: 73

Despite the importance of current and projected international revenues, percentage of these companies that still have no foreign nationals serving on their boards: 56

Source: Egon Zehnder International.

Percentage of travelers who stay within the confines of their hotel until checkout, according to research by OnePoll on behalf of Samsung: 45

Percentage who do not even leave their room: 18

Source: OnePoll.

Percentage of American women who would be willing to give up highlights/lowlights to save money, according to the Sally Beauty Supply Best Tressed survey: 33

Percentage of women who say they would never give up professional trims, even in a sinking economy: 56

Source: Sally Beauty Company Inc.

Percentage of the U.S. adult population incarcerated or under community supervision at the end of 2007, according to the Office of Justice Programs' Bureau of Justice Statistics: 3.2 (or one in every 31 adults)

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics.

Idle Thought

"Sooner or later, those who win are those that think they can." -- Richard Bach, author

(Readers can contact John MacIntyre at johnmacintyre(at)bwr.eastlink.ca.)

Ranks of Detroit, Philadelphia and Los Angeles as the most expensive places to own and operate a 2009 mid-size vehicle, according to an analysis by Runzheimer International: 1, 2, 3

Annual cost of vehicle expenses, including operating costs (fuel, tires and maintenance) and ownership costs (insurance, depreciation, license and registration fees) in Detroit: $13,199

Source: Runzheimer.

Number of seconds of delay in the response times of Web applications after which business performance begins to suffer, according to a report by Aberdeen Group: 5.1

For every additional second of delay in the response times, projected percentage decline in page views: 11

Percentage decline in conversations: 7

Percentage decline in overall customer satisfaction: 16

Source: Aberdeen Group.

Percentage of travelers who expect hotel entertainment systems to at least match their home set-up, according to research by OnePoll on behalf of Samsung: 75

Percentage who expect an even higher standard: 26

Source: OnePoll.

Percentage of executives who cited better communication as the best remedy for low morale, according to a survey developed by Accountemps: 48

Percentage of respondents who said lack of open and honest communication with staff members tops the list of management missteps that can erode morale: 33

Source: Accountemps.

Percentage of single men in the United Kingdom who were expecting to reduce the amount they would spend on a date due to the economic meltdown, according to research by FreeDating.co.uk: 12

Percentage of guys who believe the man should pick up the tab for a first date: 64

Percentage of women who would expect their date to settle the bill: 35

Source: FreeDating.co.uk.

Percentage of Americans who do not know that you have to pay both the interest on your entire balance as well as a late fee when making a late credit card payment, according to the Center for Economic and Entrepreneurial Literacy: 69

Percentage of respondents who cannot identify the percentage that service fees typically take out of a $20 ATM withdrawal: 97

Percentage who either didn't know how much the fee would be or thought it was less than it really is: 90

Source: Econ4U.

Estimated number of American households that lost economic security between 2000 and 2006, according to a report published by the policy center Demos and the Institute for Assets and Social Policy (IASP) at Brandeis University: 4 million

Percentage decline in the median financial assets (not including home equity) held by middle-class families during the period: 22

Percentage rise in monthly housing expenses for the middle class: 9

Source: Demos.

Percentage of Americans who set aside money every month for emergencies and a rainy day, according to a survey released by Visa Inc.: 30

Percentage who set aside money for retirement: 20

Percentage who set aside money for education: 10

Source: VISA USA.

When Americans are asked to name their favorite sport to watch, percentage who said football, the runaway winner, according to a Gallup Poll: 41

Ranks of baseball (10 percent), basketball (9 percent), ice hockey (4 percent) and soccer (3 percent) on the list of favorite sports Americans most like to watch: 2, 3, 4, 5

Source: Gallup.

Percentage of human resource professionals who say it is important for their employees to have home computers, according to a survey of HR professionals by Purchasing Power at the 21st Annual Benefits Forum & Expo and the Society for Human Resource Management: 94.5

Percentage of them who say that more than 30 percent of their employees don't have computers at home: 26.5

Source: Kaiser Marketing Group.

Idle Thought

"I am looking for a lot of men who have an infinite capacity to not know what can't be done." -- Henry Ford

(Readers can contact John MacIntyre at johnmacintyre(at)bwr.eastlink.ca.)

Year that the tradition of New Year's resolutions had its beginning, according to goalsguy.com: 153 B.C.

Year that Jan. 1 became the beginning of the New Year, when Julius Caesar developed a calendar that would more accurately reflect the seasons than previous calendars: 46 B.C.

Year that the song "Auld Lang Syne" was written by Robert Burns, and is now sung at the stroke of midnight in almost every English-speaking country in the world to bring in the New Year: 1788

Source: goalsguy.com.

Ranks of losing weight, managing debt, saving money, getting a better job and getting fit on the list of the most popular New Year's resolutions, according to USA.gov: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Source: USA.gov.

Estimated annual cost to the U.S. economy in lowered employee productivity and reduced innovation caused by information overload (described as an excess of information that results in the loss of ability to make decisions, process information and prioritize tasks), according to research from Basex: $900 billion

Percentage of their day that workers spend managing and searching for information: 50

Source: Basex Inc.

Estimated percentage of current congressional members who have degrees in the business, economics or finance fields, according to an analysis of economic education among members of Congress conducted by A Center for Economic and Entrepreneurial Literacy: 15

Percentage of members who actually studied economics: 6.7

Percentage of congressional members who have received no formal schooling in economics or business yet are responsible for solving the biggest economic crisis in more than 70 years: 80

Source: Econ4U.

Rank of Italy as the top international country for travelers in 2008 as well as the overall top destination for packaged travel, according to annual polling of member companiesby the U.S. Tour Operator's Association: 1

Number of consecutive years that Italy has held this position: 6

Rank of Latin America -- for the first time -- on the list of the most popular international regions: 1

Source: Kundell Communications.

Date that He PingPing, the world's smallest man, met Svetlana Pankratova of the world's longest legs, according to Guinness World Records highlights for 2008: Sept. 16, 2008

Standing 6 feet 5 inches tall, length of the Russian beauty's legs versus the total height of the tiny 20-year-old He PingPing from Inner Mongolia: 51.9 inches vs. 29.4 inches

Source: Guinness Book of World Records.

Percentage of respondents that expect a decline in their own company's business performance in 2009, according to Mercer global survey: 81

Percentage that are likely to make significant workforce reductions: 35

Rank of worry about retirement investments on the list of employee concerns, respondents report, outweighing employee anxiety about job security: 1

Source: Mercer.

Ranks of "The Shack" by William P. Young, "The Appeal" by John Grisham, "The Host" by Stephenie Meyer and "The Friday Night Knitting Club" by Kate Jacobs on the list of the top sales of adult fiction, according to the Nielsen Company: 1, 2, 3, 4

Ranks of "A New Earth" by Eckhart Tolle, "The Last Lecture" by Randy Pausch, "Eat Pray Love" by Elizabeth Gilbert and "Three Cups of Tea" by Greg Mortenson on the list of the top sales of adult nonfiction: 1, 2, 3, 4

Source: Nielsen Media Research.

Of the 352 companies cited by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for financial statement fraud from 2000 to 2007, percentage that experienced a stock price decline, according to a study from the Deloitte Forensic Center: 70

Of those, percentage that experienced a decline of at least 50 percent: 53

Percentage that delisted from primary stock exchanges: 32

Source: Deloitte Forensic Center.

When asked about their greatest staffing concern in the current economy, percentage of senior executives who cited employee retention, according to a survey developed by Robert Half International: 39

Percentage who said recruitment: 22

Percentage who cited productivity: 17

Percentage who cited employee morale: 17

Source: Robert Half International.

Idle Thought

"Nothing is illegal if one hundred businessmen decide to do it." -- Andrew Young, author, civil rights activist, U.S. congressman, mayor and U.N. ambassador

(Readers can contact John MacIntyre at johnmacintyre(at)bwr.eastlink.ca.)