Percentage of American workers who are "not engaged" or "actively disengaged" in their work, meaning they are emotionally disconnected from their workplaces and are less likely to be productive, according to a Gallup poll: 71

Percentage who are "engaged," or involved in and enthusiastic about their work and contributing to their organizations in a positive manner: 29

Source: Gallup.

Percentage of individuals currently paying rent for their residences who said they would prefer to own their own houses, according to a survey on behalf of Whirlpool Corp. and Habitat for Humanity International conducted by the National Association of Home Builders' Research Center: 68

Estimated percentage of households in the United States that live in rental housing (according to the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University): 33

Source: Whirlpool.

Percentage of Americans who said privacy is important during a job search, according to a survey commissioned by TheLadders.com: 88

Percentage of respondents who say when searching online, keeping their resume private from their peers is more important than maximizing its exposure: 55

Percentage who go as far as to say it would be worse for co-workers to find out about their job search than finding out about an office romance: 30

Source: TheLadders.com.

Percentage of IT professionals who are happy at their current job, according to a survey by Modis and conducted by Braun Research Inc.: 89

Percentage who intend to stay where they are presently employed: 64

Percentage of all IT professionals who expect a raise next year: 44

Source: Modis.

Percentage of Americans who believe overweight and obese individuals should be penalized for their unhealthful habits, according to the Thomson Reuters-NPR Health Poll: 30.7

When asked if they thought it was acceptable to deny employment to overweight or obese individuals, percentage of Americans who said yes: 11.3

Source: Thomson Reuters.

Number of cosmetic procedures that were performed in 2010, up 5 percent from previous years, according to a study released by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons: 13.1 million

Percentage rise in the number of facelifts, with nearly 113,000 procedures: 9

Source: ASPS.

Percentage of manufacturers that will give employees both Thanksgiving Day and the following Friday as paid holidays, according to BNA's annual survey of employers' year-end holiday plans: 90

Percentage of employers in non-manufacturing that will give employees both Thanksgiving Day and the following Friday as paid holidays: 71

Rank of overtime pay (45 percent) in the form of either time-and-a-half (26 percent) or double-time pay (19 percent) on the list of the most frequent forms of compensation offered to those who work on Thanksgiving Day: 1

Source: BNA-Bloomberg.

When asked, "On average, how well prepared academically would you say children are when they first enter your kindergarten classroom" -- percentage of teachers who stated that students were only somewhat or not at all prepared, according to the results of a nationwide kindergarten preparedness survey released by Age of Learning Inc.: 66

Percentage of teachers who said that the majority of children do not know their alphabet when they enter kindergarten: 67

Source: Age of Learning.

Year that all railroads in the U.S. began operating on a unified system of time zones, replacing a chaotic welter of different timetables, according to the U.S. Census Bureau: 1883

Year that an international conference in Washington, D.C., adjourned after establishing the system of times zones around the world that is in use today: 1884

Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

Idle Thought

"He who strikes the first blow admits he's lost the argument." -- Chinese Proverb

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

Rank of input from family and friends on the list of the most trusted sources of information about destinations and travel, according to a survey by Ypartnership/Harrison Group 2011: 1

Percentage of American travelers who have the highest degree of confidence in personal recommendations: 80

Source: Ypartnership Public Relations.

Despite incorporating digital media into their lifestyles, percentage of America's most successful and influential business leaders who still utilize print on a daily basis, according to the Business Elite USA survey from Ipsos MediaCT: 87

Percentage of this group who have accessed news via a smartphone or tablet app in the past week: 52

Source: Ipsos MediaCT.

Percentage of millenials (ages 18-29) who agree that the economy grows best when individuals are allowed to create businesses without government interference, according to a poll by sponsored by Generation Opportunity: 59

Percentage of these young Americans who said that if taxes on business profits were reduced, companies would be more likely to hire: 53

Source: Generation Opportunity.

Percentage of employers who have designated both Thanksgiving Day (Nov. 24) and the day after as paid holidays in 2011, down from the 74 percent and the 79 percent that did so in 2010 and 2009, respectively, according to BNA's annual survey of employers' year-end holiday plans: 72

As in previous years, percentage of employers who have scheduled Thanksgiving Day as a paid holiday for employees: 96

Percentage of employers who will require some employees to work on Thanksgiving Day: 29

Source: BNA-Bloomberg.

Approximate 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.

Percentage of employees who continue to be plagued by stress, according to the StressPulse survey by the ComPsych Corporation: 66

Percentage who say they come to work too stressed to be effective on five or more days per year: 29

Ranks of workload, people issues, juggling work/personal life and lack of job security on the list of the top causes of stress: 1, 2, 3, 4

Source: ComPsych Corp.

Percentage of Americans qualified as "heavy" text-message users (50 or more texts sent or received a day) who said they preferred texting to speaking on the phone: 55

Average number of text messages sent or received daily by young adults between the ages of 18 and 24: 109.5

Source: PEW Internet and American Life Project.

Ranks of complying with government regulations, consumer confidence in the economy, lack of consumer demand and lack of credit on the list of the most important problems facing small business today, according to the Wells Fargo/Gallup Small Business Index poll: 1, 2, 3, 4

Approximate percentage of small-business owners who say they are very or moderately worried about going out of business: 36

Percentage who are worried about not being able to compete with large or global competitors, not being able to hire the number of employees they need and not being able to pay their employees: 37

Source: Gallup.

Percentage of Americans who took precautions to protect their privacy online, according to the results from Anonymizer Inc.'s second annual privacy and security survey: 95

When asked what makes them most nervous about being online, percentage of respondents who said having their bank account and credit card information stolen: 31

Percentage who cited computer viruses: 19

Source: Anonymizer Inc.

Idle Thought

"Never mistake motion for action." -- Ernest Hemingway

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

Estimated percentage of the U.S. population who will contract the flu this year, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: 5 to 20

Number of people this represents: 15 to 60 million

Percentage fewer colds that conscientious or nervous personality types reported experiencing: 10

Number of times more likely that those with good manners, such as covering their mouths when sneezing, were to have good health: 2 1/2

Source: Reckitt Benckiser.

Year that Camel cigarettes, the first pre-blended, packaged cigarettes, went on sale (before that, smokers had to roll them by hand), according to the U.S. Census Bureau: 1913

Year cigarettes overtook pipe tobacco in the number of pounds consumed: 1919

Now, percentage of American adults who smoke: 18.5

Across the country, rank of West Virginia as the state with the highest rate of smoking at just under 27 percent: 1

Rank of Utah as the state with the lowest rate of smoking at around 9 percent: 1

Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

Percentage of those with bachelor's degrees in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) occupations who earn more than holders of a master's degrees in non-STEM occupations, according to a report from the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce: 65

Percentage of those with bachelor's degrees in STEM occupations who earn more than Ph.D.s in non-STEM occupations: 47

Source: Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce.

Percentage of employers who reported that workers call in sick more often during the winter holidays, according to CareerBuilder's Annual Survey conducted by Harris Interactive: 33

Percentage of workers who have admitted to already playing hooky from the office this year, citing errands and plans with family and friends among the top reasons for calling in sick when they were well: 29

Source: CareerBuilder.com.

Percentage of American workers who report they work for organizations whose purpose and values inform decision-making and guide all employee and company behavior, according to a study from LRN: 3

Percentage of respondents who work for organizations that do not make them feel completely comfortable in speaking up (e.g., when they see misconduct), challenging the status quo, or voicing alternative opinions or views: 94

Source: LRN.

Percentage of the public who say we should pay less attention to problems overseas and instead concentrate on problems here at home, according to a study by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press: 58

Percentage who say it is best for the future of our country to be active in world affairs: 33

Percentage of Americans who say the U.S. should take into account the interests of its allies, even if it means making compromises with them: 53

Source: Pew Research Center for the People and the Press.

Percentage of HR professionals who said they were working with reduced staff and financial allocation resources than they were two years ago, according to a survey by Information Strategies Inc.: 51

Percentage who report they expect allocations will be even less in 2012: 40

Source: Information Strategies Inc.

Estimated percentage of homeowners who know that they are responsible for repairs to the main water supply line on their property, according to a survey conducted by Home Emergency Solutions: 50

Percentage of homeowners who assume that their local utility is responsible for the cost of a burst water line between their house and the street: 33

Source: Home Emergency Solutions.

Percentage of the total value of B2B (business to business) accounts receivables that are defaulted on, according to the Atradius Payment Practices Barometer survey of respondents across 27 countries and sovereign states in Europe, North America and Asia-Pacific: 3

Percentage of invoices that were paid late: 30

Percentage that extended past two months overdue: 12

Source: Atradius Corporate Communications and Marketing.

Percentage of baby boomers who rank vision as the most important of the five senses, according to Eye on the Boomer, a survey released by the Ocular Nutrition Society: 78

Percentage who worry about vision loss -- almost as much as they worry about heart disease (60 percent) and cancer (65 percent): 55

Percentage of respondents who were not aware of the role of omega 3 fatty acids, an important nutrient in eye health: 60

Source: Ocular Nutrition Society.

Idle Thought

"If they give you ruled paper, write the other way." -- Juan Ramon Jimenez, poet, Nobel Prize in literature

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