Print

Email story

Comment

Letter to the editor

On the Mind

Biz tidbits from surveys

By Times Wires
Published January 11, 2008

Is your boss funto be around?

America has voted: Barack Obama and Rudy Giuliani are the presidential candidates most likely to be the life of a party. That's according to a recent survey that asked which candidates seem the most fun to be around. Still, the fun-alysis found that 39 percent of Americans think having a root canal would be more fun than spending time with a politician.

The Ritz Fun-alysis telephone survey of 1,000 Americans, conducted by the Segmentation Company on behalf of Kraft Foods Inc., found that:

- 74 percent of Americans agreed the ability to have fun is an important quality in a president.

- Among the Democratic candidates, 27 percent said Hillary Clinton seemed the most amusing, while 19 percent chose John Edwards.

- Fred Thompson was a runnerup for Republican hopefuls with 16 percent.

- 14 percent of those polled said they wouldn't mind hanging out with John McCain.

- Of those surveyed, 42 percent of Republicans said they have a lot fun each day, compared with 35 percent of Democrats.

We would prefer a 'computer therapist'

Discomfort with tech support is no secret, but there may be a way to ease it, according to a "Cyber Stress" survey of 1,001 broadband Internet service users conducted for SupportSoft Inc., a Silicon Valley company that provides software and services to help resolve tech problems:

- 46 percent of respondents said the typical tech support person uses too much technical language.

- 52 percent said they felt "anger, sadness, alienation" when dealing with their most recent computer problem.

- 74 percent of respondents looked to family, friends or significant others for tech help.

- 61 percent said they would prefer a "computer therapist" who is compassionate and easy to talk to.

Few are prepared for aging in the workplace

If you haven't done much to figure out how the aging work force will affect your business, you aren't very far behind. In fact, you're in good company, says expert Michael Smyer, based on a national study conducted by his academic center, the Sloan Center for Flexible Work Options & Older Workers at Boston College:

- Just 12 percent of employers have analyzed demographics that show the work force is rapidly aging.

- 26 percent of the survey's 600 responding employers indicated they have done nothing to examine the issue, with the majority being mildly aware that at the same time the population is aging, the work force is shrinking.

Times wires

[Last modified January 11, 2008, 01:22:57]