When managers become stressed, percentage less likely their employees are to feel valued, when compared to employees working for unstressed managers, according to a survey from Sirota Intelligence: 7

Percentage less likely they are to feel recognized: 6

Percentage less likely they are to feel their managers are "walking-their-talk": 6

Source: Sirota Survey Intelligence.

Given the current state of the economy, average number of months that a senior manager can be out of work before his or her career prospects are adversely affected, according to a survey of executives developed by Robert Half Management Resources: 9

Source: Robert Half Management Resources.

Percentage of Americans who cite quality of goods and trust in the brand as their criteria for buying a product, according to survey by The Body Shop: 70

Percentage who say they purchase based on the ethical reputation of a company: 39

Percentage who say price and value are their criteria for purchase: 38

Source: The Body Shop International.

Percentage of Americans who say they have started at least one small business, according to a survey by FindLaw.com: 30

Percentage who have thought about starting their own business at some point in their lives: 31

Source: FindLaw.com.

Percentage of travelers who consider checked bags the most annoying airline fee, according to a TripAdvisor flier survey: 54

Percentage of fliers who have been surprised by the cost of checked baggage fees at the airport: 36

Percentage who said they always carry on a bag to avoid additional fees: 19

Percentage who said they often do: 39

Source: TripAdvisor.

Percentage of Americans who are concerned they or someone they know will face foreclosure in the next six to 12 months, according to a survey commissioned by Move Inc., the operator of Realtor.com: 52

Percentage of homeowners who plan to take advantage of the administration's new program to help prevent foreclosures: 18.9

While searching for answers in the past 12 months, percentage of all homeowners with a mortgage who contacted a lender to restructure their loan: 21

Source: Move Inc.

Percentage of Americans who believe that their boss's management style brings out the best in their work, according to a "WorkWatch" survey, released by global staffing agency Randstad: 51

Percentage who said that their boss is respected for his/her business expertise, but doesn't have people skills: 38

Source: Ranstad.

Percentage of Americans who said small business leaders and entrepreneurs will lead the U.S. to a better future, according to a We Media/Zogby survey: 63

Percentage who said the same of science and technology leaders: 52

Source: Zogby International.

Projected percentage decline in Easter holiday expenditures, according to industry research firm IBISWorld: 8

Estimated total sales from Easter clothing, candy, flowers, decorations, food and greeting cards in 2009: $13.6 billion (down from $14.8 billion in 2008)

Projected percentage rise in supermarket food sales as families prepare their holiday meals at home, rather than dining out: 3.5

Source: Mom Central Inc.

Percentage drop in prices for hotel rooms in North America last year, according to the Hotels.com's Hotel Price Index: 12

Percentage drop in prices for hotel rooms in Europe: 10

Percentage drop in the Caribbean and Latin America: 7

Percentage drop in Asia: 2

Source: Hotels.com.

Idle Thought

"The only real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes." -- Marcel Proust, novelist

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

Number of billionaires on the planet in 2008, according to Forbes' 2009 list of the world's billionaires: 1,125

Number of billionaires on the list this year: 793

Total net worth of these billionaires last year: $4.4 trillion

Total net worth this year: $2.4 trillion

Source: Forbes.

Number of American presidents who have turned down their salaries, according to the National Coalition for the Homeless: 2 (George Washington donated his earnings back to the state; John F. Kennedy donated the money to private organizations)

Source: National Coalition for the Homeless.

Percentage of adults born in Alaska who still live there, placing it last among the 50 states on this measure of population, according to the Pew Research Center's Social Demographic Trends: 28.2

Texas, by contrast, knows how to hold 'em -- percentage of adults born in that state who still live there, making the Lone Star state the nation's stickiest: 75.8

Percentage of adult residents who live in the state of Nevada who were born in a different state: 86.4

Source: Pewsocialtrends.org.

Average percentage more that vehicle repairs cost at new car dealerships than at independent repair shops, according to a study released by the Automotive Aftermarket Industry Association: 34.3

Resulting excess costs annually to consumers: $11.7 billion

Source: AAIA.

Percentage of Americans who say their personal financial situation is poor, according to a Zogby poll: 20

Percentage who have little or no confidence their children will have a better life than they had: 42

Source: Zogby International.

Percentage of marketing executives who consider April Fools' jokes unsuitable for the office, according to a survey developed by The Creative Group: 71

Percentage of executives who find workplace pranks appropriate: 51

Source: Robert Half International.

Percentage of small business owners who agree with the statement, "Even in these turbulent economic times, the rewards and opportunities of running my own business outweigh the risks and challenges," according to the American Express OPEN Economic Pulse: 80

Source: American Express OPEN Economic Pulse.

Percentage of consumers who said that energy -- not water or time -- is most important to them when it comes to home appliance efficiency, according to a survey by Whirlpool Corp.: 84

Percentage of energy that can be saved using top-loading HE machines as compared to conventional top-loaders: 67

Percentage less water that these machines use: 70

Source: Harris Interactive.

Value of the pet business in 2008, according to the report U.S. Pet Market Outlook 2009-2010: Surviving and Thriving in Challenging Economic Times: $51 billion

Projected value of the business by 2010: $57 billion

Source: Market Research.

Percentage drop in the number of U.S. households with a net worth of $1 million or more, not including primary residence, according to a report released by Spectrem Group: 27

Percentage drop in the number of ultra-high net worth households, those with a net worth of $5 million or more: 28

Percentage drop in affluent households, a broader group defined as those with $500,000 or more in net worth: 28

Source: Spectrem Group.

Idle Thought

"There is only one difference between a madman and me. The madman thinks he is sane. I know I am mad." -- Salvador Dali, painter

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

Percentage of Americans who admit they have dated someone with a higher position in their company, according to a survey by CareerBuilder.com: 34

Of those who have dated a higher-up in the last year, percentage of female workers who have dated their boss: 47

Percentage of males who have dated the boss: 38

Source: CareerBuilder.com.

Percentage of those Americans who say the "American dream" does not exist who also believe the powers that be don't care about people like them, according to a survey by Zogby: 44

Percentage who say Americans shouldn't think of themselves as special and entitled to an ideal life: 29

Source: Zogby International.

Percentage of U.S. couples who are finding that the worldwide financial crisis is affecting their relationships at home, causing them to argue more often, primarily about finances and household chores, according to PayPal's third annual "Can't Buy Me Love" international survey conducted by Ipsos Public Affairs: 43

In addition to arguing, percentage of couples surveyed who say they have ended a relationship due at least in part to financial issues: 11

Percentage of couples in the U.S. who are hiding purchases from their partners (18 percent in 2008) this year: 23

Source: Ipsos Public Affairs.

Percentage of all Easter chocolate sales for which women are responsible, as reported in the Daily Telegraph: 66

Percentage of these purchases that they eat before they share the rest: 60

Source: Christian Research Association.

Percentage drop in North American car and truck production in the first seven weeks of 2009 versus the same period in 2008, according to Viraf Baliwalla, a consumer advocate for car buyers and founder of Automall Network: 40 (From 2,157,688 units down to 886,614.)

Advertised cost of a Chevy Malibu with approximately $4,000 in manufacturer rebates: $22,000

Cost to the consumer for a brand-new midsize vehicle if the government were to match the rebates rather than handing out bailouts: $14,000

Source: Automall Network.

Percentage of American adults who have not lived outside of the state in which they were born, according to Pew Research: 57

Percentage who have never left their original hometown: 37

Source: Pewsocialtrends.org.

Percentage of Americans who feel very sympathetic or somewhat sympathetic toward the single woman in California with six children who recently gave birth to octuplets after undergoing in-vitro fertilization, according to a Gallup Poll: 26

Percentage who feel somewhat unsympathetic, or very unsympathetic: 70

Source: Gallup.

Number of intercity bus (motor coach) locations in the U.S., according to data released by the American Bus Association: 3,046

Number of airports: 604

Number of intercity rail stations: 525

On the list of the safest and greenest modes of transportation, rank of bus travel: 1

Source: American Bus Association.

Percentage of primary care physicians who reported that health care delivery will "get worse" in the next four years, after viewing video segments from President Obama's speech to Congress, according to a study conducted by HCD Research: 61

Percentage of respondents who indicated that skepticism was the emotion they felt most while watching President Obama outline his new health care reform plan: 49

Percentage who felt inspired: 21

Source: HCD Research Inc.

Percentage of respondents who say human error is the leading cause of information systems failure and fear that security attacks that exploit human error and breaches caused by distracted or disgruntled employees may be the root cause of information security failures in coming months, according to Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu's sixth annual survey of global financial institutions' information security efforts: 86

Percentage of respondents who expressed concern about insiders' misconduct: 36

Source: Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu.

Idle Thought

"It is impossible to enjoy idling thoroughly unless one has plenty of work to do." -- Jerome K. Jerome, humorist and playwright

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