Percentage of working adults who admitted that they were thankful to be distracted by work email during the holidays, according to a survey conducted by Harris Interactive: 15

Percentage of those who said they check work email during a holiday who admitted that they did so while at holiday parties or meals: 10

Source: Harris Interactive.

When asked how they would spend a holiday bonus this year, percentage of respondents earning over $100,000 who say they are likely to invest it, according to a Deloitte survey: 22

Percentage of those earning less than $100,000 who say they will invest it: 11

Percentage of those in the lower income brackets who say they will likely use it to pay for everyday necessities: 31

Source: Deloitte Public Relations.

Year that push-button, or touch-tone, phones made their debut, according to the U.S. Census Bureau: 1963

At that time, percentage of U.S. homes that had telephones: 81

Today, estimated number of cellphone subscribers (fast replacing landline phones) in the U.S.: 300 million

Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

Percentage of Americans who suspect they've been the recipients of a re-gift, according to a study for national off-price home fashions retailer HomeGoods: 65

Percentage of respondents who have re-gifted a present at least once: 54

Percentage who are repeat offenders: 36

Source: HomeGoods.

Percentage who say the biggest mistake at work during the holiday season is not attending the holiday party, according to a Randstad survey: 11

Percentage of workers who feel that holiday parties help to build morale: 78

Percentage who would rather receive a bonus than have a holiday party: 93

Source: Randstad-USA.

Ranks of crowded shops, early Christmas hype, "None of them -- I love Christmas," and commercialization on the list of responses from people who were asked to name their top Christmas hates, according to research by money-saving website DiscountVouchers.co.uk: 1, 2, 3, 4

Source: DiscountVouchers.co.uk.

Percentage of people who said they intend to use the gift cards received this Xmas on day-to-day expenses (groceries, gas, etc.), according to a TD Bank poll: 31

Percentage who intend to use them on household items (kitchenware, furniture, etc.) or living expenses (bills, rent, etc.): 11

Percentage of holiday shoppers who say they haven't saved at all for the holidays: 68

Source: TD Bank.

Percentage of parents who like to be prepared for the holiday shopping season, according to a survey of parents who buy gifts for their children at Christmastime, conducted by Ipsos Public Affairs on behalf of Duracell: 82

Percentage of moms who like to plan ahead for holiday shopping -- compared to 76 percent of dads: 88

Percentage of moms who have done Christmas shopping at the last minute -- compared to 56 percent of dads: 46

Source: Ipsos Public Affairs.

Rank of the Ford Focus on the list of Car Connection's "Best Cars to Buy 2012," according to High Gear Media: 1

Rank of the Porsche 911 on the list of "Best Performance/Luxury Cars to Buy 2012": 1

Rank of the Toyota Prius on the list of "Best Green Cars to Buy 2012": 1

Source: High Gear Media.

In the last six months, percentage of Americans who have researched potential purchases on their smartphones or other mobile devices at least once, according to a study by the National Cyber Security Alliance and McAfee: 50

Percentage who have shopped: 27

Percentage who have made online payments: 18

Percentage who have purchased goods from auction sites: 12

Source: National Cyber Security Alliance.

Idle Thought

"When small men begin to cast big shadows, it means that the sun is about to set." -- Lin Yutang, writer and translator (1895-1976)

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

Percentage of employers who reported that workers call in sick more often during the winter holidays, according to a survey by CareerBuilder.com: 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 consumers who believe the best deals for holiday shopping are available after the Thanksgiving holiday, according to a survey by PriceGrabber: 29

Percentage who specifically indicated Black Friday (Nov. 25): 28

Source: Experian Consumer Direct.

Percentage of executives whose companies awarded bonuses last year who said they plan to give higher bonuses this time around, according to a survey developed by Robert Half International: 30

Ranks of human resources managers, technology executives, and accounting and finance executives on the list of those executives most optimistic about increasing bonus levels in 2011: 1, 2, 3

Source: Robert Half International.

Percentage of companies that will have holiday parties this year, down from 95 percent in 2006, according to a survey by Amrop Battalia Winston: 74

Of the 26 percent of companies not holding a holiday party this year, percentage who said it was not in their budget: 44

Percentage who felt that their employees were simply not that interested in attending corporate parties: 19

Source: Amrop Battalia Winston.

Percentage of gift cards that can be delivered electronically, up from 41 percent in last year's survey, according to a survey by Bankrate.com and CreditCards.com: 51

Percentage of cards that have expiration dates (all of which are general-purpose cards issued by credit card brands): 8

Percentage that charge purchase fees: 14

Source: Bankrate Inc.

When respondents were asked how much they estimate that Americans pay in ATM fees per year, percentage of respondents who chose the correct answer, according to a survey conducted by Ally Bank: 9

Range in which the majority of estimates fell: $100 million to $2 billion

Amount Americans actually spent in ATM fees in 2010, according to consulting firm Oliver Wyman: $7.1 billion

Source: Ally Financial.

Percentage of consumers surveyed who say they most likely will shop for gifts online this holiday season -- a double-digit (13 percent) increase from last year, according to a survey by Deloitte: 48

Percentage of online shoppers who indicate that competitive prices are the top reason to shop with a particular retailer online: 48

Percentage who cited free shipping: 20

Source: Deloitte Public Relations.

Among the 40 million foreign-born U.S. residents in 2010, percentage that reported a year of entry prior to 2005, according to the U.S. Census Bureau: 82.6

Ranks of California (19 percent), Texas (11 percent), New York (10 percent) and Florida (9 percent) on the list of states having the largest proportion of the nation's newly arrived foreign-born residents: 1, 2, 3, 4

Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

When asked about their last car-buying experience, percentage of women who felt they did not get a fair trade-in value, according to a poll conducted for CarMax Inc.: 15

Percentage who did not feel their salesman was trustworthy: 15

Percentage who thought they did not get low, fair pricing: 15

Source: CarMax Inc.

Percentage of consumers who said they would be more likely to visit a restaurant that offers new or innovative flavors, according to a survey by Technomic: 53

Percentage of consumers who say that preparation style is an appealing way for restaurants to add flavor to their food: 81

Source: Technomic.

Idle Thought

"Time has a wonderful way of weeding out the trivial." -- Richard Ben Sapir, novelist

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

Percentage of holiday consumers who say they plan to spend the same amount of money on gifts this season as compared to last year, according to a TD Bank poll: 51

Average gift spending projected for the majority of consumers: $670

Percentage of holiday shoppers who say they haven't saved at all for the holidays: 68

Source: TD Bank.

When presented with an age-progressed image of their actual future selves, percentage of working-age adults who were willing to allocate approximately 33 percent more of their paychecks to their retirement accounts versus those participants who did not view an image of themselves, according to research published in the American Marketing Association's Journal of Marketing Research: 50

Source: Journal of Marketing Research.

Percentage of CEOs and other company leaders who said they wear business casual attire to the office, according to a CareerBuilder survey on Emulating the Big Cheese: 63

Percentage who said jeans or shorts is typical workplace wear: 18

Percentage who wear a business suit: 14

Source: CareerBuilder.com.

Percentage of U.S. working adults who will be checking their work email over the holiday season, according to a survey conducted by Harris Interactive: 59

Of the 59 percent who check their email, percentage who said they will check their work inbox at least once a day: 55

Percentage who will look at their work email multiple times throughout the day: 28

Source: Harris Interactive.

Percentage of workers who said being courteous to others can help an employee rise through the ranks, according to a Robert Half survey: 48

Percentage who said etiquette plays at least some role in career advancement, but skills play a bigger role: 41

Source: Robert Half Management Resources.

Ranks of New York City, Los Angeles, Dallas-Fort Worth, Chicago, Houston and Nashville on the list of markets for country album sales, according to Nielsen: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

In the first 10 months of this year, number of physical and digital country albums that have been sold nationwide: 31.8 million

Year to date, percentage of album sales in the U.S. accounted for by country music: 13

Source: Nielsen Media Research.

Average age at which men today begin to use cologne, according to the results of research by Debenhams: 14

Percentage of sexagenarians -- and their older brothers -- who claimed that they only began wearing aftershave at the age of 30: 77

Source: Debenhams.

Percentage of U.S. adults who had planned to shop in stores or online on Black Friday, according to a survey conducted on behalf of CouponCabin.com: 35

Percentage of shoppers who said Black Friday shopping trips are old hat and it was not their first time participating: 84

Percentage who said that it's a tradition for their family and friends: 27

Source: CouponCabin.

Percentage of workers in the U.S. who are seriously considering leaving their organization, up 9 points from 23 percent in 2005, according to global analysis of Mercer's "What's Working" survey: 32

Ranks of being treated with respect, work/life balance, type of work, quality of co-workers and quality of leadership on the list of non-financial factors that play a prominent role in influencing motivation and engagement in workers worldwide: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Rank of base pay: 6

Source: Mercer.

Percentage of publishers who say they have a well-developed plan for the mobile market, up from just 28 percent in 2009, according to a survey from the Audit Bureau of Circulations: 59

Percentage of respondents who said they currently have mobile content for smartphones, e-readers or tablet devices, up from 76 percent last year: 85

Rank of newspapers (88 percent), consumer magazines (83 percent) and business publications (79 percent) on the list of publications most likely to have mobile initiatives in place: 1, 2, 3

Source: Audit Bureau of Circulations.

Idle Thought

"A problem well-stated is a problem half-solved." -- Charles F. Kettering, inventor and engineer (1876-1958)

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