Humor is in short supply in the business world. And that's a shame because there are some subjects that benefit from a liberal dose of levity.

Osterman Research's report, "Email Troubleshooting: The Cost and Impact to the Enterprise," represents just such a topic. Though no doubt a subject near and dear to the heart of Zenprise, the E-mail management software maker that sponsored the study, it's not the sort of reading matter that generates much interest outside of corporate E-mail administrators.

Thankfully, the good people over at Atomic PR, which represents Zenprise, had the sense to realize this and decided to include a few facts and figures put to survey respondents that didn't make the final report.

Theses questions from the cutting room floor manage to convey the cost and impact of E-mail troubleshooting far more effectively than the "serious" findings like "it takes an average of nearly three hours to troubleshoot and resolve an E-mail problem."For instance, of the 100 E-mail management professionals surveyed for the report, 80% find determining the underlying cause of E-mail problems to be at least as painful as shopping with their significant other.

That alone should be enough to strike terror into anyone's heart. But it gets worse.

Over 72% of the corporate E-mail admins surveyed believe ferreting out E-mail problems is at least as onerous as sitting in traffic. Some 70% would rather be waiting at the Department of Motor Vehicles than trying to determine the source of an E-mail problem.

Over 60% consider identifying the underlying cause of E-mail issues to be at least as excruciating as visiting the dentist. And 39% revealed that E-mail problem resolution represents a level of unpleasantness that meets or exceeds that experienced at a colonoscopy.

It sounds to me like E-mail admins deserve hazard pay.