Percentage of employees who say they are most stressed by unclear expectations from supervisors, according to a survey from ComPsych Corporation: 31

Percentage of employees who are most worried about confusion and conflict between co-workers and departments: 20

Percentage of employees who are stressed because they believe their workload will increase or become more difficult: 18

Source: ComPsych Corp.

Ranks of Florida, California, Hawaii, Colorado and New York on the list of Americans' most desired states to live in (aside from where they live now), according to the results of a Harris Poll: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Ranks of California, New York, Alaska, Mississippi and Texas on the list of states where Americans would least want to live: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Source: The Harris Poll.

Year that the Missouri Legislature voted to tax bachelors between the ages of 21 and 50 $1 a year -- just for being unmarried -- according to the U.S. Census Bureau: 1820

Today, percentage of males over age 15 who have never been married, compared with more than 28 percent of females: 35

Estimated number of people this accounts for, nearly a quarter of the total U.S. population of 322 million: 80 million

Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

Percentage of U.S. smartphone users who watch at least one short streaming video clip every day, according to a Parks Associates' survey: 70

Percentage of smartphone owners who use social networking apps at least once a day: 80

Source: Parks Associates.

In 2014, percentage of Chinese women who were in the workforce, compared with 55 percent in South Korea and 27 percent in India, according to a study of Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development data conducted by Ipsos Global@dvisor on behalf of Thompson Reuters Foundation: 70

Percentage of China's entrepreneurs who are women, according to the Asia Foundation: 25

Percentage of the world's female billionaires who made their own fortunes who are Chinese: 50

Source: Ipsos Public Affairs.

Percentage of employees who say they are least productive between 4 p.m. and 6 p.m., according to a survey by Accountemps and Robert Half International: 29

Percentage who say between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m.: 24

Percentage who say between noon and 2 p.m.: 15

Source: Robert Half International.

Percentage of people who say they hope to make new friends in 2016, according to a survey by SKOUT: 82

Percentage of men who say they are open to their friends setting them up on blind dates: 73

Percentage of women who say they are open to their friends setting them up on blind dates: 60

Source: Skout.

Rank of "Jackson" and "Sophia" on the respective lists of boy and girl baby names in 2015, according to a BabyCenter survey: 1

Number of consecutive years that Jackson has been the top boy name: 3

Number of consecutive years that Sophia has been the top girl name: 6

Source: BabyCenter.

Ranks of Hillary Clinton and Malala Yousafzai of Pakistan on the list of women living anywhere in the world that Americans admire most, according to a Gallup Poll: 1, 2

Ranks of Barack Obama, Pope Francis and Donald Trump on the list of men living anywhere in the world that Americans admire most: 1, 2(tie)

Source: Gallup.

Percentage of Americans aged 18 to 35 who say they are prepared to move to large cities and college towns by the year 2020, according to a Nielsen survey: 75

Percentage that home prices in large metropolitan areas could increase above 2012 prices as a result: 33

Ranks of Memphis, Tennessee; Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, Florida; and Jacksonville, Florida, on the list of the 10 fastest-growing U.S. metropolitan areas: 1, 2, 3

Source: Nielsen Media Research.

Idle Thought

"The most perfect technique is that which is not noticed at all." -- Pablo Casals, cellist, conductor and composer

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

When asked how they like to spend an evening, percentage of U.S. adults who cited "staying home," according to a poll by Gallup: 34

Percentage who said TV was their favorite thing to do at night, down from 48 percent in 1966: 16

Percentage who said they like to relax: 13

Percentage who chose reading: 12

Percentage who said visiting with friends: 6

Source: Gallup Organization.

Percentage of adult Americans who admit to using the Internet for personal reasons while at work, according to a survey by FindLaw.com: 50

Percentage who say they check personal email at work: 34

Percentage who check news: 27

Percentage who check Facebook: 26

Source: FindLaw.com.

Percentage of people who say that autumn is their most productive season, while winter and summer are the most unproductive, according to data released by Crucial.com: 90

Source: Crucial.com.

Average number of credit cards held by U.S. consumers, according to a study by Experian Consumer Direct: 4

Percentage of U.S. consumers who have 10 or more credit cards: 14

Source: Experian Consumer Direct.

Number of new drones or unmanned aerial vehicles said to be flying in U.S. airspace at the end of 2015, according to research from Ball State University: 1 million

Number of safety cases reported per month involving drones: 40

Source: Ball State University.

Rank of Michael Jordan on the list of the greatest sports stars of all time, according to the results of a Harris Poll: 1

Ranks of Babe Ruth, Muhammad Ali, Serena Williams and Peyton Manning on the list: 2, 3, 4, 5

Ranks of Joe Montana, LeBron James, Tiger Woods, Tom Brady and Wayne Gretzky: 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

Source: The Harris Poll.

Number of able-bodied young Americans aged 18 to 29 who gave up looking for work in December, according to the Millennial Job Report: 1.8 million

Percentage of 18- to 29-year-olds who are unemployed: 13

General unemployment rate in the United States for December: 5

Source: Generation Opportunity.

Percentage of workers who say getting a raise and developing skills are their top career resolutions for 2016, according to a survey by Accountemps: 27

Percentage of workers who say getting promoted is their top resolution: 15

Percentage who say making a career change is their top resolution: 11

Percentage who want to get a new job in their field: 10

Source: Robert Half.

Percentage of employees who are pledging to leave their current employers in 2016, according to a survey by CareerBuilder: 21

Percentage of younger employees, ages 18 to 34, who expect to have a new job by the end of 2016: 30

Percentage of employees who are regularly searching for job opportunities even though they are currently employed: 34

Source: CareerBuilder.com.

Percentage of adults aged 22 to 35 who are saving money who say their top priority is an emergency fund (followed by saving for a home and for children's education), according to an Ipsos/Navient survey: 94

Percentage of those who paid off their student loans who say they are worried about debt, compared to just half of those who never borrowed: 70

Source: Ipsos Insight.

Idle Thought

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." -- Margaret Mead, anthropologist

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

Percentage of employees who say their office is too hot, according to a survey by CareerBuilder: 25

Percentage of employees who say their office is too cold: 23

Percentage of employees who have argued with a co-worker about office temperature: 20

Percentage of employees who have secretly changed the temperature during the winter: 18

Source: CareerBuilder.com.

When asked to choose among big government, big labor and big business, percentage of Americans who named big government as the biggest threat to the country in the future, according to a Gallup Poll: 69

Percentage who named big business as the biggest threat: 25

Percentage who cited big labor: 6

Source: Gallup Organization.

Number of people treated in 2014 for injuries sustained while shovelling snow, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons: 203,000

Number of people injured using snow throwers or snowblowers in the same period: 27,000

Source: American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons.

Cost of most the expensive home in America, La Palais Royal in Hillsboro, Florida, according to information from TopTenRealEstateDeals.com: $159 million

Cost of second most expensive home, Palazzo di Amore, in Beverly Hills, California: $149 million

Cost of third most expensive home, Briar Patch, in East Hampton, New York, on Long Island: $140 million

Source: TopTenRealEstateDeals.com.

Ranks of Gatlinburg, Tennessee; Orange Beach, Alabama; and Destin, Florida, as the top U.S. destinations on the rise in 2016, according to TripAdvisor: 1, 2, 3

Ranks of Tulum, Mexico; Cartagena, Colombia; and Porto, Portugal, as the top international destinations on the rise in 2016, according to TripAdvisor: 1, 2, 3

Source: TripAdvisor.

Ranks of Samsung, Apple, Lenovo and Asus on the list of the most reliable computers, based on the percentage of service calls to 1-800-RESCUE-PC, according to RESCUECOM's 2015 Q3 Computer Reliability Report: 1, 2, 3, 4

Percentage of the market share held by Apple, compared to Samsung's 5 percent: 18

Source: RESCUECOM.

Percentage of people who plan to look for a new job in 2016, according to a survey by SKOUT: 55

Percentage of people who plan to exercise in 2016: 78

Source: SKOUT.

Percentage of human resource managers who found performance appraisals effective in improving employee performance, according to research from OfficeTeam: 43

Percentage of workers who found them effective: 37

Source: OfficeTeam.

Percentage of global oil and gas job seekers who were actively seeking a new job, regardless of whether they were currently employed or not, according to a survey by Rigzone: 97

Percentage who are not considering leaving the oil and gas industry: 66

Percentage of hiring managers who stated they will be hiring less than last quarter, due to the drop in oil prices: 49

Source: Rigzone.

Percentage of U.S. car owners who want connected activity built into their next car, according to research by Parks Associates: 64

Estimated number of U.S. vehicles that are connected to the Internet at the end of 2015: 40 million

Source: Parks Associates.

Idle Thought

"If I have any beliefs about immortality, it is that certain dogs I have known will go to heaven, and very, very few persons." -- James Thurber, writer and cartoonist

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