Opinion: Business casual attire leaves lasting impression

Percentage of executives who say that employees who are dressed casually are perceived to be creative: 36

Percentage of executives who say that employees who are dressed casually are perceived to be more fun: 31

Percentage who say that employees dressed casually run the risk of being taken less seriously: 49

Looking good

Percentage of the adult population of the United States who have had cosmetic surgery, according to the results of the 2006 Consumer Perception Survey conducted on behalf of the American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery: 6

Percentage of the population who aspire to have

some cosmetic surgery done at some point in their lifetimes: 20

Percentage of consumers who believe that personal appearance is key to professional success: 83

Fatal typos

Percentage of executives polled who said it takes just one or two typographical errors in a résumé to remove a candidate from consideration for a job opening, according to a survey developed by OfficeTeam: 84

Global threat

Percentage of adults in France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy and Spain who believe that the United States is a bigger threat to global stability than Iran, North Korea, Iraq, China or Russia, according to an online survey conducted by Harris Interactive: 30

Presidential office

If named president of their companies, the percentage of senior managers who say creating an employee-friendly work environment would top their to-do lists, according to a survey developed by Robert Half Management Resources: 26

Percentage who said they would improve communication: 17

Percentage who said they would not change a thing: 26

Raises vs. inflation

Rank of Latvia (6.8 percent), Paraguay (6.4 percent) and China (5 percent) as the countries expecting to see the largest salary increases above inflation in 2007, according to a 60-country survey by Mercer Human Resource Consulting: 1, 2, 3

Percentage rise in salaries above inflation expected in the United States in 2007: 1.3

Overtime

Percentage of Americans who work more than 40 hours a week, according to the Census Bureau: 28

Percentage who work more than 60 hours a week: 8

Wireless world

Number of text messages sent in the United States in the first six months of 2006, a 72 percent increase over the first six months of 2005, according to a survey by CTIA-The Wireless Association: 12.5 billion

Number of minutes U.S. wireless customers spent talking on the phone in the first six months of 2006: 850 billion

Road rage

Percentage of commuters who say they see drivers doing things like putting on makeup, shaving or reading while driving, according to a survey commissioned by AutoVantage: 30

As a reaction to rude or bad driving by others, percentage of people who say they honked their horn at the offending driver: 40

Percentage who say they cursed: 32

Percentage who say they made an obscene gesture: 8

Serious shoppers

Percentage of U.S. household shoppers who say they are bulk shoppers, according to a survey commissioned by the Aluminum Can Council: 33.5

Percentage of those who bulk shop who said they do it to save costs: 79

Percentage who said they also do it so they can shop less often: 67

Idle thought

“A great writer is, so to speak, a second government in his country. And for that reason, no regime has ever loved great writers, only minor ones.” - Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, novelist, Nobel laureate

John MacIntyre is an author and former city magazine editor. His Figuratively Speaking column, launched in 1989, is published in more than 40 newspapers and magazines.