Figuratively Speaking

Percentage of employees who report feeling inspired to do their best at work, according to a survey from Randstad: 78

Percentage who are proud to work for their company: 76

Percentage who enjoy going to work every day: 66

Percentage of respondents who said they are unlikely to give consideration to or accept a new job offer in the next six months: 60

Source: Randstad-USA.

When singles were asked to define chemistry on a first date, percentage who said it was "feeling comfortable together," according to research conducted at ItsJustLunch.com: 44

Percentage who said "great conversation": 28

Percentage who were sparked by physical attractiveness: 20

Source: It's Just Lunch/American Way.

Percentage of Americans who have purchased groceries at large supercenters -- those that sell food, clothing, etc. -- in the past year, according to a Deloitte survey: 61

Outside of shopping at supermarkets and one-stop-shopping supercenters, percentage of consumers who met their grocery needs by visiting a dollar store over the past year: 32.6

Percentage who bought food at a drugstore: 22

Source: Deloitte.

Percentage of pet lovers in the U.K. who regularly take their dogs or cats on car journeys with them, according to a study of car owners and their pets by Confused.com: 39

Ranks of Adele, Madonna and Lady Gaga on the list of the most popular artists to keep pets happy on the move: 1(tie)

Source: Confused.com.

Percentage of moms who said they own or use a computer, up 9 percent from 2010, according to the results of a Disney Interactive Media Group survey: 96

Percentage of moms who have assumed the role of Household CEO: 79

Source: Disney Interactive Media Group.

Percentage of Americans who believe the Earth has been warming in the last year (up from 75 percent in 2010), according to an Ipsos poll conducted behalf of Stanford University and Reuters: 83

Percentage who believe that if warming has been happening, it has been caused either partly (45 percent) or mostly (27 perent) by things people have been doing: 71

Source: Ipsos Public Affairs.

Percentage of shoppers who plan to start holiday shopping earlier this year, according to the results from a PriceGrabber survey: 53

Percentage of consumers who intend to spend less money during the 2011 winter holiday shopping season than they did in 2010: 45

Percentage of shoppers who say the economic climate will affect their overall spending: 68

Source: PriceGrabber.com.

Percentage of adults who agree that a bright or white smile makes a good first impression, according to a survey conducted by Harris Interactive, and commissioned by Philips: 89

Percentage who believe that a person's smile is the best physical indicator of someone's friendliness: 55

Source: Harris Interactive.

Percentage of Americans who believe weight-loss-themed reality television has a positive impact on the country's obesity problem, according to a survey from Thomson Reuters: 50

Among the 15 percent of respondents who regularly watch weight-loss-themed television programs such as "The Biggest Loser" and "I Used to Be Fat," percentage who said the shows have influenced their eating habits: 57

Percentage who said their exercise habits had been influenced: 48

Source: Thomson Reuters.

Percentage of Americans who say the nation would be better off if leaders followed public opinion more closely, according to a Gallup survey: 77

Percentage who say the nation would be worse off if leaders paid more attention to the public's views: 20

Source: Gallup.

Idle Thought

"Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any other." -- Abraham Lincoln

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

Percentage of managers who believe job seekers include dishonest information on their resumes, according to research from OfficeTeam: 43

Percentage of workers who said they know someone who stretched the truth on these documents: 21

Ranks of job duties, education and employment dates on the list of areas that are embellished most frequently: 1, 2, 3

Source: OfficeTeam.

Average number of text messages the typical American adult sends or receives each day, according to the report Americans and Text Messaging, released by the Pew Internet and American Life Project: 41.5

Average number of daily calls made over cell phones: 12

Percentage of respondents who said they prefer communicating by text to talking on the phone: 31

Source: PEW Internet and American Life Project.

Amount of money that Americans estimate the federal government wastes of every dollar it spends, a new high in a Gallup trend question first asked in 1979, according to results of a USA Today/Gallup poll: 51 cents

Amount of money that Americans believe state governments waste for every dollar: 42 cents

Amount of money they believe local governments waste for every dollar: 38 cents

Source: Gallup.

Age at which Americans become proud of their longevity, according to the U.S. Census Bureau: 85

Estimated number of Americans aged 100 or over: 70,500

In 1950, estimated number of Americans aged 100 or over: 2,300

Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

Number of times more likely that a corporate CEO (versus an average worker) is to believe he or she works in a company where people are inspired, according to a study from LRN: 6

Percentage of employees who say they are primarily coerced on the job, rather than inspired by values and a commitment to a mission and purpose: 84

Percentage who say they are motivated rather than inspired: 12

Source: LRN.

Percentage of homeowners who claim if they lost their job, they wouldn't be able to make mortgage payments after nine months, according to a Country Financial survey: 68

Current average unemployment length, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: 10 months

Percentage of homeowners who say they would be able to maintain payments for just three to six months: 31

Source: Country Financial.

Percentage of millennials (ages 20-29) in the U.S. who say the Internet has opened up greater business prospects for people their age, according to research conducted by YouGovStone on behalf of One Young World: 77

Percentage of U.S. millennials who say their career ambition is to run their own business, versus 69 percent of millennials in China and an average of 68 percent worldwide: 38

Percentage of young Americans who report a career ambition to "work their way to the top of an established business," versus 85 percent of young people in China and 64 percent worldwide: 40

Source: One Young World.

Percentage of pet-owning households in the U.S. that are multiple pet owners, according to the American Pet Products Association in its 2011-2012 National Pet Owners Survey: 40

Number of dogs in the U.S.: 78 million

Number of cats: 86.4 million

Rank of companionship/love/company/affection on the list of top benefits of dog, cat, bird, small animal and equine ownership: 1

Source: American Pet Products Association.

Percentage of U.S. manufacturing executives from global companies with at least $1 billion in revenue who say they will focus on top-line growth over the next two years, fueled by new products, strategic acquisitions and alliances, innovation, and increasing production capacity in high-growth markets, according to KPMG: 26

Percentage who say they will focus on research and development/innovation: 13

Percentage of U.S. respondents who were either very optimistic or optimistic about their company's business outlook for the next two years: 79

Source: KPMG.

Percentage of those who have seen 3-D TV who perceive it to be at least "somewhat better" than standard HDTV or "2-D" TV, according to a study of the TV marketplace, conducted by independent research firm Frank N. Magid Associates: 99

Percentage who said that 3-D TV is "much better" or "dramatically better" than 2-D TV: 71

Source: Frank N. Magid Associates.

Idle Thought

"A man who dares to waste one hour of time has not discovered the value of life." -- Charles Darwin

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

Percentage of single men who say they are more productive in the workplace when they are dating someone, according to a survey by Zoosk: 64

Percentage of single women who say their productivity actually goes down or is unchanged when they are in a relationship: 53

Percentage of men who say their role model for living a "fabulous unmarried life" is George Clooney: 65

Percentage of single women who say Cameron Diaz is living the ultimate unmarried life: 62

Source: Zoosk.

Percentage of Americans, prompted by nasty headlines about the economy and the stock market, who reduced their spending in the past 60 days, according to Bankrate.com's September Financial Security Index: 40

Source: Bankrate Inc.

Percentage of parents who believe that helping their kids with algebra is harder than teaching them to drive a car, according to the results of the National Assessment of Educational Progress: 70

Percentage of eighth-graders who scored at or above the proficient level in math: 34

Source: Sylvan Learning.

Ranks of Texas, North Carolina and South Carolina on the list of places having the best business climates among the 50 states, according to a survey of U.S. corporate executives conducted by Development Counselors International (DCI): 1, 2, 3

Ranks of California, New York and Illinois on the list of U.S. states with the least favorable business climates: 1, 2, 3

Source: Development Counselors International.

Number of older adults -- more than a quarter of those 55 and older -- who contributed, on average, more than 3 billion hours of service in their communities per year between 2008 and 2010, according to data released by the Corporation for National and Community Service: 18.7 million

Estimated yearly economic benefit of this service to the nation: $64 billion

Source: Corporation for National and Community Service.

Percentage of cats who said their favorite thing to do was to stay on the move and roam around the house, according to world's first cat survey with Temptations Treats for Cats and Sonya Fitzpatrick -- best known for her television series on Animal Planet and her current SiriusXM show, "Animal Intuition": 52

Percentage of cats who said they liked to watch television: 2

Percent of cats who said getting wet was their biggest annoyance: 49

Source: Temptations.

Percentage of family businesses where the strategic issues are mostly decided by a family council, according to a study of family business owners and executives from the Americas, Asia-Pacific and Europe released by executive search firm Egon Zehnder International: 51 percent

Percentage of executives from this type of company who describe collaboration with the owners as "marked by major conflicts": 33

Percentage of conflicts that are caused by doubts regarding the merits of family members who work at the company: 60

When asked why they would not work for a family business, percentage of executives who named a lack of career prospects: 40

Source: Egon Zehnder International.

Rank of rice on the list of the world's most important grains, according to the U.S. Census Bureau: 1

Number of pounds of rice consumed annually by individual Americans in 1980: 9.5

Number of pounds consumed today: 21

Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

Percentage of business leaders who ranked increased technological capabilities such as IT, mobile computing and social media to be the most important skills by far for tomorrow's global workforce, according to an international survey of business leaders from the U.S., U.K., China and Brazil, commissioned by Global Partnership Schools and GEMS Education from PricewaterhouseCoopers: 37

Percentage who ranked deep technical skills as the most important skill for tomorrow's global workforce: 20

Source: Global Partnership Schools.

Percentage of U.S. adults ages 25-54 who said they would encourage college students to participate in internship programs and the networking opportunities that exist there to make getting a job easier, according to a survey by Aerotek: 57

Percentage of those who held internships who found their current job through networking: 55

Source: Aerotek.

Idle Thought

"All intelligent thoughts have already been thought; what is necessary is only to try to think them again." -- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

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