Yearly cost of unnecessary work interruptions to the U.S. economy, according to a study conducted by Basex: $650 billion

Source: Basex Inc.

When asked how much money it takes to be rich, percentage of affluent households who said $5 million, according to the research by Millionaire Corner, a newly launched Web site powered by Spectrem Group: 45

Percentage who said $25 million: 25

Percentage who said $1 million is enough to be rich: 22

Source: Spectrem Group.

Percentage of employed Americans who said they will look for a new job in 2008, according to a survey, commissioned by SnagAJob.com: 26

Percentage of hourly workers who said they plan on job hunting: 31

Percentage of Americans ages 18 to 34 who say they will be looking for a new job: 40

Source: SnagAJob.com.

Ranks of empathy and trustworthiness among the best predictors of overall effective leadership, according to a study of 1,405 leaders in 47 organizations conducted by BlessingWhite: 1, 2

Ranks of business aptitude, responsibility and clarity among the attributes successful business leaders were most likely to have: 1, 2, 3

Source: BlessingWhite.

Percentage of executives who said they turn first to spouses or significant others for advice when evaluating a potential job change, according to a poll developed by Accountemps: 46

Percentage who said they would consult their mentor first: 41

Source: Accountemps.

Ranks of North Carolina, Alabama, South Carolina, West Virginia and Tennessee on the list of top Southern destinations for migrating Americans, according to the findings of United Van Lines' 31st annual "migration" study: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Ranks of Nevada, Oregon, South Dakota, Wyoming and Arizona on the list of top Western destinations for migrating Americans: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Rank of Michigan as the top outbound state: 1

Source: United Van Lines.

Population of the U.S. on Jan. 1, 2008, according to a study conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau: 303,146,284

Number of seconds between each new birth: 8

Number of seconds between each death: 11

Number of seconds between each new migrant: 30

Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

Ranks of "Wicked" (the Broadway musical and theatrical tour), Hannah Montana and Miley Cyrus: "Best of Both Worlds Tour," The Police, Kenny Chesney and the New England Patriots on the list of top "most requested events" in 2007, according to Ticketmaster: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Ranks of the New England Patriots, the Chicago Bears, WWE World Wrestling Entertainment and the New York Yankees on the list of the most requested sporting events: 1, 2, 3, 4

Source: Ticketmaster.

Rank of the U.S. among 19 industrialized countries in terms of its effectiveness in the prevention of preventable deaths, according to a study conducted by the Commonwealth Fund: 19

Percentage decline in preventable deaths in all countries except the U.S. between 1997 and 2003: 16

Percentage decline in the U.S. in that same period: 4

Source: The Commonwealth Fund.

Due to convenience and a clearer understanding of usage terms, expected percentage increase in sales of gift cards by 2012, according to a report from market-research publisher Packaged Facts: 5

Estimated amount of money this represents: $14 billion

Estimated percentage of consumers purchasing gift cards in the last 12 months who anticipate spending more on gift cards during the next 12 months: 35

Source: Market Research.

Idle Thought

"A politician is a man who thinks of the next election; while the statesman thinks of the next generation." -- James Freeman Clarke, preacher and author

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

4520 Main St., Kansas City, Mo. 64111; (816) 932-6600

Percentage of people who achieve half or fewer of their resolutions, according to a poll conducted by DecideBetter: 76

Percentage of respondents who make at least some of the same resolutions every year: 86

Percentage of the respondents who stated that they expect to achieve all of their resolutions this year: 50

Source: DecideBetter.

Percentage of women who report that they control the home thermostat, according to a survey conducted by OpinionZone for MARC USA: 70

Percentage of men who say they are in charge: 56

Percentage of respondents who say they and their spouse/partner differ on a comfortable home temperature: 67

Source: MARC USA.

Estimated annual economic burden of smoking in excess medical expenses per smoking employee, according to a report from the National Business Group on Health: $1,623

Estimated additional cost in health-related productivity losses per smoking employee: $1,760

Percentage of survey respondents who said that they believe providing employees with smoking cessation benefits can help improve employee health: 75

Source: National Business Group on Health.

Percentage of employers who reported an increase in the past six months in the turnover of front-line employees -- workers who are usually a customer's first contact with a business, such as salespersons, customer service representatives, and other sales and support staff, according to a study conducted by ClearRock: 37

Percentage of employers who reported an increase in the past six months in the turnover of high-potential employees -- workers whom employers have identified as future leaders based on their background, testing and performance: 31

Percentage of employers who say they have implemented new or revised retention programs for high-potential employees: 56

Source: ClearRock.

Rank of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) among U.S. citizens' least-liked federal agencies, according to a poll conducted by the Associated Press and Ipsos: 1

Ranks of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA): 2 (tied)

Source: Ipsos Poll/Associated Press.

Percentage of couples with higher household income ($75,000 or above) who are in agreement about retirement savings, according to a study conducted by Harris Interactive for The Wall Street Journal Online: 67

Percentage of couples with incomes of less than $35,000 who are in agreement about retirement savings: 30

Source: Harris Interactive.

Year that Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, Mass. -- the first women's college in the U.S. -- was established by Mary Lyon, according to the U.S. Census Bureau: 1837

Weekly salary that Mary Lyon earned as a teacher: 75 cents

Average weekly salary earned by men at that time: $2 to $3

Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

Rank of flight delays and cancellations among the biggest irritants to business travelers, according to a survey conducted by TripAdvisor: 1

Percentage of business travelers who say they are members of a hotel points program: 78

Percentage who say they "often" stay at the same hotel chain: 59

Ranks of New York, Chicago, London, San Francisco and Washington, D.C., among the top destinations preferred by business travelers: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Source: TripAdvisor.

Rank of "working with a boss they respect and can learn from" as the most important consideration in selecting an employer by baby boomers and Generation Y (those born between 1979 and 1999) -- ahead of having a nice office space, a short commute and working for a socially responsible company, according to a study from Robert Half International and Yahoo!: 1

Percentage of Generation-Y members who want to hear from their managers at least once a day: 60

Source: Robert Half International.

Percentage increase in the number of portable and standby generators in household use from 2002 to 2006, according to a report from market research publisher SBI: 30

Estimated rise in sales over the next five years due to advances in design, marketing and availability of portable generators: 5 million

Source: Market Research.

Idle Thought

"The ingenuities we practice in order to appear admirable to ourselves would suffice to invent the telephone twice over on a rainy summer morning." -- Brendan Gill

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

4520 Main St., Kansas City, Mo. 64111; (816) 932-6600

Percentage of adults who say they receive unwanted gifts during the holiday season, according to a survey conducted by eBay: 83

Percentage of adults receiving unwanted gifts who typically re-gift or resell them: 47

Percentage of re-gifters and online resellers who say they feel satisfied after having re-gifted or resold a gift online: 53

Percentage of adults who view re-gifting and reselling as a form of recycling: 69

Source: eBay.

Percentage of pet owners who let their pets sleep in the bed with them, according to the results of a Harris Poll: 69

Percentage who have bought their pet a birthday present: 37

Percentage who have bought their pet a holiday present: 65

Source: Harris Interactive.

Percentage of women who experienced problems during their most recent shopping experience, according to "Men Buy, Women Shop," a study from the Jay H. Baker Retail Initiative at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania: 53

Percentage of men who experienced problems while shopping: 48

Percentage that men are less likely to recommend a store where they experienced problems than women: 20

Source: Baker Retailing Initiative at the Wharton School, The Verde Group and WomenCertified.

Percentage of administrative professionals who said that jeans today are considered acceptable "business casual" attire and not merely a special privilege or part of a weekly "casual day," according to a survey by office product company Quill Corp.: 45

Percentage of respondents who work for companies that still have a designated casual day: 35.6

Source: Brimm Communications.

Percentage of time that U.S. workers waste while on the job, according to a study conducted by Proudfoot Consulting: 29

Number of days per year this represents: 70

Economic cost this represents: $658 billion

Ranks of poor supervision (31 percent), poor management planning/control of work (30.2 percent) and poor communication (18.2 percent) among the leading causes of wasted work time: 1, 2, 3

Source: Proudfoot Consulting.

Percentage of Americans who think the tax system is skewed to benefit the rich, according to the results of the Bankrate poll: 60

Percentage of Americans who disclosed that they feel clueless about tax preparation and planning: 28

Source: Bankrate Inc.

Percentage of U.S. CFOs who said they would be willing to hire someone with fewer technical skills if the candidate had stronger soft skills, such as communication and interpersonal abilities, according to Robert Half Management Resources: 53

Percentage of CFOs who disagreed: 39

Percentage who don't know or declined to answer: 8

Source: Robert Half International.

Percentage of companies serving Europe and Great Britain that said their bookings to these areas have dropped, according to a survey conducted by the U.S. Tour Operators Association: 50

Percentage of respondents who say they expect the weak dollar to be reflected in 2008 prices, which would generally increase between 5 percent and 15 percent: 60

Source: Kundell Communications.

Percentage of U.S. adult Internet users who have looked for information about themselves through Google or another search engine, according to a survey conducted by the Pew Internet and American Life Project: 47

Percentage who did so in 2002: 22

Percentage of U.S. adult Internet users who say they have used Google or another search engine to look up information on someone else, celebrities excluded: 53

Source: Pew Internet and American Life Project.

Total immigrant population (legal and illegal) in the U.S. as of March 2007, according to the report, "A Profile of America's Foreign-Born Population," by the Center for Immigration Studies: 37.9 million

Percentage of immigrants who are illegal aliens: 33

Source: Center for Immigration Studies.

Idle Thought

"Human beings are perhaps never more frightening than when they are convinced beyond doubt that they are right." -- Laurens van der Post, explorer and writer

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

4520 Main St., Kansas City, Mo. 64111; (816) 932-6600