Posted on: Sunday, November 4, 2007
Most workers put up with 'slackers,' 'kiss ups'
Compiled by John MacIntyre
Rank of "slacker" and "kiss up" among the most irritating and annoying people to work with, according to a survey conducted by www.SnagAJob.com: 1 (tie — 32.6 percent)
Ranks of "gossip hound" (18.4 percent), "loud talker" (11.8 percent) and "hypochondriac" (4.6 percent): 2, 3, 4
Percentage of respondents who nevertheless said they were satisfied with their jobs: 61
SICK CALLS
Percentage of U.S. workers who call in sick at the last minute who do so for reasons other than physical illness, according to a survey conducted by CCH: 66
Ranks of family issues (22 percent), personal needs (18 percent), entitlement mentality (13 percent) and stress/burnout (13 percent) among reasons that workers call in sick: 1, 2, 3 (tie)
MOSES AND MARCIA
Percentage of Americans who cannot name all 10 commandments, according to a poll conducted by Kelton Research on behalf of The Ten Commandments Commission: 86
Percentage who cannot name five of the 10 commandments: 60
Percentage of Americans who were able to recall the names of all six kids from "The Brady Bunch": 35
Percentage who could name all seven ingredients of the Big Mac: 25
WEDDING WORDS
Having purchased a pre-written speech from the Web, percentage of "fathers of the groom" who made any substantive alteration to the speech, according to research carried out by global online speech provider Speech foryou.com and covering speakers at weddings across the United States, Canada, the U.K. and Australia: 26
Percentage of "best men" who took the time to personalize the pre-written speech: 51
Percentage of "fathers of the bride" who took the time to personalize the pre-written speech: 52
MONEYMAKER
For every $1 that Microsoft earns in 2007, the amount of money that companies working with Microsoft will earn, according to IDC's independent research in 82 countries, which was sponsored by Microsoft Corp.: $7.79
Estimated number of vendors in the Microsoft ecosystem: 640,000
Estimated amount these vendors will make in revenues: $425 billion
GIFT OF GIVING
Percentage of shoppers who say they began their holiday shopping before Halloween, according to a survey conducted by the National Retail Federation: 40
Total value that an average consumer plans to spend on gifts for the 2007 holiday season: $816.69
Percentage of their holiday shopping that consumers plan to do online in 2007: 30.2
Rank of gift cards among the gifts of choice for 2007: 1
LEARNING SKILLS
Percentage of registered voters in the United States who say that the kind of skills students need to learn to be prepared for the jobs of the 21st century is different from what they needed 20 years ago, according to a national poll conducted by Public Opinion Strategies and Peter D. Hart Research Associates on behalf of the Partnership for 21st Century Skills: 80
Percentage of voters who say that schools have done only a fair or poor job keeping up with changing educational needs: 60
$2 TURNOFF
Percentage of social networking users who would stop using a site if required to pay a $2 monthly fee, according to the "Digital Media Habits II" survey from market research firm Parks Associates: 72
Percentage who would stop if a site contained too many advertisements: 40
RIGHT PRICING
Of the 4,400 consumers surveyed in 16 countries in Asia, Europe, North America and South America, percentage who indicated that attractive pricing is the most important driver in the decision for signing a bundled-service contract for telecommunications services, according to a study by KPMG: 57
LATE BLOOMERS
Percentage of baby boomers who claim they feel an average of 11 years younger than their actual age, according to the "Boomers Get Moving" survey conducted by Kelton Research: 64
Percentage who say they are more adventurous and willing to experiment now than when they were in their 20s: 48
Percentage of boomers surveyed who said they are living healthier and are more physically fit than they were in their 20s: 40
IDLE THOUGHT
"The barriers are not erected which can say to aspiring talents and industry, 'Thus far and no farther.' "
— Ludwig van Beethoven, composer
Contact John MacIntyre at johnmacintyre@bwr.eastlink.ca.
