Percentage of women who would rather have their homes dusted by their beloved than receive a box of candy, according to the SC Johnson "Love Affair with Cleaning" survey: 56
Percentage of women age 35 to 44 who said that a clean bathroom beats out a bouquet of flowers: 45
Percentage who chose a kitchen clean-up instead of a dinner out: 21
Source: Edelman.
Percentage of workers who said they would consider dating a co-worker, according to a Spherion office romance survey: 36
Percentage of workers who reported that their company does not have a policy on workplace romance: 57
Percentage of workers who reported that they have had a workplace romance: 39
Percentage of workplace romances that have resulted in marriage: 22
Source: Spherion.
Percentage of U.S. corporate executives who plan to pursue hobbies, travel or golf during their retirement years, according to a survey conducted by Gray Hair Management: 70.4
Percentage who are planning a post-retirement relocation: 50.7
Percentage who said climate was the biggest reason for their planned relocation: 38.5
Source: Gray Hair Management.
In general, percentage of employees who report feeling overworked, according to a Sirota survey: 22
Percentage who say they are bored: 14
Percentage of employees with "about the right amount of work" who feel they are an important part of their companies: 61
Percentage of those with "too little work" who agree: 34
Source: Buchanan Public Relations.
Year that Pope Gelasius set aside Feb. 14 to honor St. Valentine, according to the U.S. Census Bureau's "Facts for Features" series: 496
Decade in which Esther Howland, a native of Massachusetts, was given credit for sending the first valentine cards: 1840s
Number of locations in the U.S. producing chocolate and cocoa products in 2005: 1,198
Number of people these establishments employed: 38,718
Source: U.S. Census Bureau.
Estimated number of visits that Canadians made to the United States in 2006, according to the latest study by the Travel Industry Association of America: 40 million
Estimated amount of money they spent: $13.5 billion
Estimated cost to the American economy by just a 5 percent decline in Canadian visits: $700 million
Source: Travel Industry Association of America.
Amount earned by Madonna in a 12-month period, ending in June 2007, through concert ticket sales, merchandise revenue, album sales and earnings from ancillary products such as clothing, perfumes and endorsements, making her the top-earning female musical artist, according to a study conducted by Forbes.com: $72 million
Amounts earned by Barbra Streisand, Celine Dion, Shakira and Beyonce Knowles in 2007, respectively: $60 million, $45 million, $38 million, $27 million
Rank of Britney Spears ($8 million): 14
Source: Forbes.com.
Percentage of employees who say they are highly motivated to eat right, according to a study conducted by ComPsych Corp.: 42
Percentage who say they would likely use an employer-sponsored wellness program if it were offered: 67
Percentage who say they would be interested in such a program: 87
Percentage of employees who say that health and lifestyle have a significant impact on productivity: 74
Rank of lack of energy among the top hindrances to productivity cited by workers: 1
Source: ComPsych Corp.
Percentage of U.S. companies that report having a formal or informal environmental responsibility policy, according to a study conducted by the Society for Human Resource Management: 50
Ranks of implementation cost (85 percent), maintenance cost (74 percent), lack of management support (43 percent), lack of employee support (25 percent) and concern for workplace efficiency (20 percent) among the top barriers to creating a workplace environmental plan cited by HR professionals: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Source: Society for Human Resource Management.
Idle Thought
"It is not how old you are, but how you are old." -- Jules Renard, writer
(Readers can contact John MacIntyre at johnmacintyre(at)bwr.eastlink.ca.)
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