Average length of a weekly staff meeting, according to a survey for GroupSystems Corp.: 50 minutes

Percentage of workers who say they don't take minutes for most meetings: 59

Percentage who say action items are documented only sometimes or not at all: 56

Percentage who say input from the discussions is used only sometimes or rarely when implementing action items: 68

Source: GroupSystems Corp. Contact Diana Peterson at 800-368-6338 ext. 107 or diana.peterson@groupsystems.com.

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Amount of money made by "Desperate Housewife" Teri Hatcher, 41, in 2005, according to PARADE's annual salary report, "What People Earn": $1.25 million

Amount made by real-life housewife Carla Kenney, 40, of Saddle Brook, N.J.: $0

Amount 12-year-old actress Dakota Fanning made last year: $15 million

Amount LaToya Milana, 26, a caregiver from Lewiston, Maine, made in 2005: $13,000

Source: PARADE Magazine. Contact Christie Emden at 212-450-7049 or christie _emden@parade.com.

· · · · ·

Percentage of employed Americans who cite condescending tones as their biggest pet peeve at work, according to a workplace etiquette survey conducted by Harris Interactive for Randstad: 44

Percentage who cited public reprimands as a big pet peeve: 37

Percentage who cited micromanaging as one of their biggest pet peeves: 34

Percentage who cited loud talkers as one of their biggest pet peeves: 32

Source: Randstad. Contact Cindi Kurczewski at 770-303-6756 or cindi.kurczewski@us.randstad.com .

· · · · ·

Percentage of online customers worldwide who say they would purchase Giorgio Armani or Gucci if money were no object, according to a survey by ACNielsen: 30

Percentage who purchase Giorgio Armani and/or Gucci today: 12

Source: ACNielsen.

· · · · ·

Percentage of workers who say they tell lies at the office at least once a week, according to a survey by CareerBuilder.com: 19

Percentage who say they have been caught in a lie: 15

Percentage of hiring managers who say they have fired an employee for being dishonest: 24

Source: CareerBuilder.com. Contact Michael Erwin at 773-527-3637 or Michael.Erwin@CareerBuilder.com.

· · · · ·

Number of chocolate Easter bunnies made for Easter each year, according to the National Confectioners Association: 90 million

Number of jelly beans made for Easter each year: 16 billion

Source: National Confectioners Association. Contact Susan Fussell at 703-790-5750 or susan.fussell@candyusa.com.

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Percentage of teens who feel college is necessary for a successful career, according to a poll by the Boys & Girls Clubs of America: 48

Percentage who fear they will not be able to graduate from high school: 25

Percentage who say that their parents significantly influence their decisions: 48

Source: Boys and Girls Clubs of America. Contact Jan Still-Lindeman at 404-487-5739 or jslindeman@bgca.org.

· · · · ·

When asked what they had done to get revenge on a bad boss, percentage of workers who say they ridiculed bosses to colleagues, according to a survey by BadBossology.com and Development Dimensions International: 48

Percentage who say they have gone over a bad boss's head to the next boss up with a new idea or complaint: 34

Percentage who say they have quit a project or position at a crucial time to leave the boss in the lurch: 14

Source: Badbossology.com.

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Percentage of Americans age 18 to 29 who say they are excited when they first use new technology devices, according to a poll by Gallup: 47

Percentage of Americans age 30 to 49 who say they are excited when they first use new technology devices: 42

Percentage of Americans age 50 to 64 who say they are excited when they first use new technology devices: 27

Percentage of Americans age 65 or over who say they are excited when they first use new technology devices: 14

Source: Gallup Organization. Contact Eric Nielsen at 202-715-3030 or eric_nielsen@gallup.com.

· · · · ·

Number of major work stoppages that began in the United States during 2005, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics: 22

Number of workers the work stoppages idled: 99,600

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Rank of the New York City Metropolitan Transit Authority and the Transit Workers Union, Local 100, stoppage as one of the largest work stoppages in terms of worker participation in 2005: 1

Number of employees the stoppage idled: 35,000

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics. Contact Janeka Sanders at 202-691-5200 or sanders.janeka@bls.gov.


John MacIntyre has been writing Figuratively Speaking since 1989. You can contact him by e-mail at johnmacintyre@bwr.eastlink.ca.

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