Posted on: Sunday, June 17, 2007
Graduates pocket plenty of cash, gift cards
Compiled by John MacIntyre
Ranks of cash and gift cards among the gifts most likely to be given at high school or college graduation, according to a survey by the National Retail Federation and BIGresearch: 1, 2
Percentage of Americans who will purchase at least one graduation gift in 2007: 33
Estimated total value of graduation gifts in 2007: $4.5 billion
RISING MEDICAL COSTS
Average annual medical costs for an American family of four in 2007, according to a study by Milliman Inc.: $14,500
Average annual cost in 2006: $13,382
PEOPLE GAP
Percentage of human resource and non-HR executives who believe that people are vital to all aspects of their organization's performance, according to a global study by Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu and the Economist Intelligence Unit: 85
Percentage of participants who describe their current organization as "world-class" in people management and HR functions: 3
Percentage who believe HR currently plays a crucial role in strategy formulation and operational results: 23
PER DIEM DIET
Percentage of business travelers who say their company has no limits on per diem travel spending for meals, according to an Orbitz for Business corporate traveler poll: 34
Percentage allowed up to $30 a day: 19
Percentage allowed up to $50 a day: 17
Percentage allowed up to $75 a day: 9
Percentage allowed up to $100 a day: 6
Percentage allowed more than $100 a day: 4
SAME OLD, SAME OLD
Percentage of employees who say they are often asked to seek new solutions or take risks by their employers, according to a survey conducted by BlessingWhite: 26
Percentage of employees who say they are sometimes asked to seek new solutions or take risks by their employers: 33
Percentage of employees who say they are never asked to seek new solutions or take risks by their employers: 41
IN SEARCH OF ...
Number of Web searches each month, at the five major search engines, that link to sites flagged as dangerous, according to a study conducted by McAfee SiteAdvisor: 276 million
Percentage of all searches this represents: 4
Percentage of sponsored links this represents: 7
Percentage of all Internet searches done through the five major search engines — Google, Yahoo, MSN, AOL and Ask.com: 93
SHRED IT ALL
Percentage of people who report shredding personal bills and documents containing private information to protect themselves against identity theft, according to a survey by Sallie Mae: 47
Percentage of respondents who said they refrain from giving out their Social Security number to protect personal information: 25
UNDERSTANDING BOSSES
Percentage of the workforce rating their employer favorably when it comes to allowing them to take extra time for personal matters, according to a Hudson time-off survey: 78
Percentage of workers who also say their bosses are very or somewhat accepting if they need to stay home when they are under the weather: 80
STAYING CONNECTED
Percentage of Americans who said they took their cell phones along on their most recent vacation, according to a survey by AP-Ipsos: 80
Percentage who said they took their laptops with them: 19
Percentage who said they checked their e-mail while on vacation: 40
Percentage who said they kept up with personal messages such as voice mail: 50
EXECUTIVE CALIBER
Percentage of chief financial officers who said the most important quality for a business leader is integrity, according to a survey developed by Robert Half Management Resources: 31
Percentage who said experience: 27
Percentage who said communication skills: 27
Percentage who said technical or functional expertise: 11
IDLE THOUGHT
"Half of the harm that is done in this world is due to people who want to feel important. They don't mean to do harm, but the harm does not interest them."
— T.S. Eliot
E-mail John MacIntyre at john macintyre@bwr.eastlink.ca.
