Ranks of e-mail, crisis of the day and personal interruptions as the biggest distractions in the workplace today, according to a worldwide survey of senior executives and managers, conducted by NFI Research: 1, 2, 3

Percentage of business leaders who get to work early to avoid distractions: 46

Percentage of managers who say focusing is their main solution to workplace distractions: 47

LONDON LIFE

Cost per square foot to buy a city-center condominium in London, England, according to the Global Property Guide: $7,393

Cost for 393 square feet: $2.91 million

Monthly rent for such a property: $12,989

CELLULAR BOOM

Approximate number of people who sign up for new mobile phone plans around the globe every minute, according to a survey by Mobile World: 1,045

Estimated number of mobile phone users globally as of July 2007: 3 billion

Estimated number of mobile phone users globally by the end of 2007: 3.25 billion

'DINE OUT BURNOUT'

Percentage of people who get tired of eating out while traveling and suffer from "dine out burnout" after just one to three days on the road, according to the More Like Home survey by Hyatt Summerfield Suites: 80

Percentage who prefer simple meals over three-course dinners when eating out: 65

STICKY FINGERS

Percentage of workers who report having taken office supplies for personal use in the past year, according to a Spherion Workplace Snapshot survey: 19

Of those who admitted to stealing office supplies, percentage who felt guilty or regretted it: 21

CHILD LABOR

Estimated number of children age 5 to 14 involved in child labor worldwide (the International Labor Organization defines child labor as work that damages the health of a child, prevents school attendance or could block future growth and development), according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations: 218 million

Percentage of those involved in agriculture and working the land, often in unhealthy and hazardous conditions: 70

COLLEGE MORTGAGES

From 2001 to 2006, money borrowed annually through home-equity lines of credit to pay for college educations, according to research by Northlich: $9.4 billion

Number of college-bound students who will be affected by the slumping housing market and the subsequent inability of their parents to borrow through this avenue: 11.2 million

SECRETARIES DO IT

Percentage of administrative professionals who are asked to perform duties outside their job description, according to a survey by Quill Corp.: 47

Percentage of administrative professionals who are asked to make coffee and keep the breakroom clean: 30

Percentage who manage executive calendars and/or correspondence: 13

LUNCH LARCENY

Percentage of Americans who say their lunch has "gone missing" sometimes, according to a survey conducted by Weber Shandwick and KFC: 34

Percentage of Americans who say they have taken someone else's lunch: 5

Percentage of Americans who say they would rather eat boardroom leftovers than the lunch they bring to work: 34

DON'T TELL THE BOSS

Percentage of employed Americans who reported that they seldom or never share their career plans with their employer, according to a nationwide survey by BlessingWhite: 56

IDLE THOUGHT

"My greatest skill has been to want but little."

— Henry David Thoreau, naturalist and author

Reach John MacIntyre at johnmacintyre@bwr.eastlink.ca.