Birou Notarial11: survey

joi, 8 septembrie 2011

Traffic moves during rains in Mexico City February 4, 2010.

Credit: Reuters/Daniel Aguilar

By Andrew Stern

CHICAGO | Thu Sep 8, 2011 1:12am EDT

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Driving in Mexico City is a nightmare, while in Montreal it's a relative breeze.

So says an IBM-sponsored survey released on Thursday of 8,000 people in 20 cities who drive regularly and were asked about their level of "commuter pain" and the consequences in terms of stress, lost time, and ill health.

"Traffic congestion is down on a global level, while the pain of commuting is increasing," said Vinodh Swaminathan, IBM's director of intelligent transportation systems.

Economic weakness and high fuel prices were two reasons for the drop in traffic congestion since the survey was first conducted four years ago, Swaminathan said. Huge investments in roads and public transit infrastructure by emerging economic powers China and India also helped a bit.

Still, 41 percent of the drivers surveyed would like to kick their vehicles to the curb and take public transportation instead, if available, the survey found.

Mexico City -- which had the highest driver pain index of 108, compared to Montreal's 21 -- intends to spend more than $2 billion in coming years to ease its colossal traffic problem, Swaminathan said in an interview.

"You cannot build your way out of congestion. It has to be a balance of infrastructure improvements and technology," he said.

Stockholm, ranked fourth-best on the list of 20 cities, installed a congestion pricing system to reduce demand, cutting traffic by 25 percent and commute times in half, he said.

In California, drivers can obtain information on predicted road congestion based on data from road sensors. Some cities use programmable traffic lights to speed flow.

There are clear benefits in reducing traffic jams, Swaminathan said, citing a study that concluded a 10 percent reduction in traffic congestion produced a 2 percent increase in local economic activity.

But even in cities viewed as less-trafficked, many auto-bound commuters were miserable, the study concluded.

In Moscow, half of drivers said they had spent more than three hours stuck in traffic. Drivers in Beijing and Shenzhen expressed the most anger, and New Delhi drivers were most likely to give up and head home rather than fight traffic.

Overall, 60 percent of city-dwellers used a car or motorbike to commute an average of 12.8 miles in 33 minutes -- traveling at 23 mph. Some 13 percent commuted by bus and 7 percent by train.

Stop-and-start traffic was the biggest complaint of drivers, followed by unreliable journey time, the slow pace, and rude or aggressive drivers. One in 10 had no complaints.

More than half of drivers in Mexico City, Milan, Bangalore, and Johannesburg reported getting stressed-out. A significant number of drivers in Chinese and Indian cities said they suffered respiratory problems while stuck in traffic.

Even so, gasoline prices would have to rise 40 percent to persuade even one in five drivers to opt for a different mode of transport.

Drivers ranked Mexico City worst, followed by Shenzhen, Beijing, Nairobi, Johannesburg, Bangalore, New Delhi, Moscow, Milan, Singapore, Buenos Aires, Los Angeles, Paris, Madrid, New York, Toronto, Stockholm, Chicago, London, and Montreal.

When asked what they would do with the additional time if traffic eased, half of New York drivers said they would exercise. More than one in four drivers in Milan, Bangalore, New Delhi, Beijing, and Nairobi said they would work more.

(Editing by Cynthia Osterman)

Birou Notarial Bucuresti

Cost aparat dentar

Dj Botez

Aranjamente baloane

vineri, 2 septembrie 2011

China's workers most likely to call in "sick": survey

Passersby walk across the east section of Chang'an street in Beijing May 14, 2007.

Credit: Reuters/Reinhard Krause

NEW YORK | Thu Sep 1, 2011 5:03am EDT

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Chinese and Indian workers are more likely to skip off work under the false pretence of illness than their French and Mexican counterparts, a new study showed.

The Kronos Global Absence survey conducted online in July and released this week found that respondents from countries where there is more paid leave for employees were much less likely to cry off work with an invented illness than those from countries with fewer holiday allowances.

The Harris Interactive poll commissioned by The Workforce Institute asked some 9,500 respondents, about two-thirds of whom were currently employed either full- or part-time, whether they had ever called in sick when they were not actually sick.

Nearly three-quarters, or 71 percent, of respondents in China said they had, followed by India with 62 percent.

But only 16 percent of workers in France said they had done so. In Mexico, 38 percent had.

In between were workers in the United States and Canada, where just over half had. Australia was higher at 58 percent, and Britain lower with 43 percent.

Joyce Maroney, the director of the Workforce Institute, a think tank established by the workforce management solution company Kronos Inc., called the results fascinating.

Maroney noted that France has been among the world's leading countries in state-mandated annual leave, with annual holiday allowance minimums coming in at 30 days per year.

"Contrast this with India and China, two of the three countries with the lowest holiday allowance minimums, with India only requiring their employees to take 12 days of annual holiday allowance, and China requiring 10," Maroney said.

"One could surmise that in those countries where more paid time off is given, people are less compelled to call in sick when they are not actually sick."

Far more consistent were the reasons given for staging a personal sick day, with feeling stressed and needing a day off the top response by an overwhelming margin. Sick children and insufficient sick leave were also cited by many.

And just what do workers do with this coveted time off? In most of the eight regions surveyed, the top responses were staying home and watching television, and staying in bed.

In India and Mexico, however, folks seemingly prefer socializing to sleep. While watching the tube was a top choice, meeting up with friends or relatives trumped more time in bed.

Workers were also asked what employers could do to cut down on such absenteeism, and unfailingly suggested flexible hours as the solution.

Perhaps not surprisingly, nearly half of respondents in China also said more paid time off would help.

French respondents preferred summer Fridays off and were willing to make up the time during the week.

(Reporting by Chris Michaud; editing by Paul Casciato)