Posted on: Sunday, October 19, 2008
Companies up executive ante with cell phones, computers
By John MacIntyre
Percentage of organizations that offer cell phones to executives as a perk, according to the Executive Compensation 2008/2009 survey conducted by Compdata Surveys: 60.2
Percentage of companies that provide laptops or home PCs: 43.8
WAYS TO RELAX
Percentage of people who said they manage the stress of tough times by spending more hours with loved ones and on leisure pursuits, according to the Dice Report, the leading career Web site for technology and engineering professionals: 84
Percentage who are taking more time with friends, family or on hobbies: 21
Percentage who are either running, walking or riding: 26
Percentage who are turning their BlackBerrys off and their Tivos on: 7
FOR BETTER OR WORSE
Percentage of Americans who have a "loving and joyful" marriage, according to the findings of a national survey commissioned by Parade: 50
Percentage who admitted they remain married either because of financial reasons or because "it's too much trouble to get out": 30
PERMA-RENTERS
Percentage of renters who have always rented, according to a national survey conducted by www.Apartments.com: 70
Percentage who have been renting for 10 or more years: 37
Percentage of renters who live alone: 35
COST OF COVERAGE
Average amount of life insurance coverage on insured husbands, according to a survey commissioned by Heritage Union: $235,600
When asked how much life insurance they thought was enough, percentage of respondents who said they would need between $400,000 and $1 million: 23
Percentage who thought that $11,001 to $100,000 would be sufficient: 22
GOOD JOBS HARD TO FIND
Percentage of Americans who rate now as a bad time to find a quality job, according to a Gallup study: 82
Percentage who felt this way in October 2007: 56
PARANORMAL BELIEFS
Percentage of Americans who say they believe in ghosts, according to a survey conducted by AP-Ipsos: 34
Percentage of Americans who say they believe in spells or witchcraft: 19
Percentage of Americans who say they have woken up from sleep with a sense of strange presence in the room: 30
KEEPING TOP WORKERS
Percentage of leaders who think retaining key employees is even more important during an economic downturn than it is in a robust economy, according to a study by Personnel Decisions International: 93
Percentage of companies that maintain a list of key employees who they need to retain: 68
SMALL BIZ STRUGGLES
Percentage of small business owners who said that they see developing new business as their No. 1 challenge through the remainder of the year, according to the results of a survey conducted for ING Direct's ShareBuilder 401(k): 57
Percentage who cited "access to cash" as the second greatest challenge they face: 18
Percentage who are raiding retirement accounts for cash: 16
PAGING DR. INTERNET
In 1998, estimated number of people ("cyberchondriacs") who went online for healthcare information at least once, according to a Harris poll: 54 million
Number of people who did so in 2007: 160 million
Average number of times per month cyberchondriacs look for healthcare information: 4.8
IDLE THOUGHT
"People of small caliber like to sit on high horses."
— Magdalena Samozwaniec, writer
Readers can contact John MacIntyre at johnmacintyre@bwr.eastlink.ca.
