Figuratively Speaking

Rank of "having pride in one's organization" on the list of drivers of happiness for workers (those who feel proud of their organization are three times more likely to be happy than those who are not), according to the findings of a study of U.S. workers by Robert Half in collaboration with world-renowned happiness and well-being expert Nic Marks: 1

Ranks of "feeling appreciated" and "being treated with fairness and respect" on the list: 2, 3

Ranks of "a sense of accomplishment," "interesting and meaningful work" and "positive workplace relationships" on the list: 4, 5, 6

Source: Robert Half International.

Percentage of parents who believe kids should get an allowance for doing chores, according to a survey from Country Financial: 68

Percentage of parents who say they learned about money on their own: 50

Source: Country Financial.

Ranks of eyesight getting poorer, not being as mentally alert/memory loss, lack of energy, having trouble taking care of themselves physically, and losing mobility/unable to walk or drive on the list of the top five physical conditions that people worry most about having, either now or as they age, according to a GfK survey conducted across 17 countries: 1 (tie), 3, 4, 5

Source: GfK Media.

Number of Americans age 65 and older in 1967, according to the U.S. Census Bureau: 19.1 million

Number age 65 and older in 2016: 46.2 million

U.S. life expectancy at birth in 1967: 70.5 years

Life expectancy at birth in 2016: 78.8 years

Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

Percentage of girls who wear makeup who rarely/never leave the house without it, according to a survey conducted by Harris Interactive on behalf of the Renfrew Center: 27

Ranks of home, pool or beach, and gym on the list of places that makeup-wearing girls felt were acceptable to be seen without makeup: 1, 2, 3

Ranks of a friend's house and school on the list of places that were deemed least acceptable: 1, 2

Source: The Harris Poll.

Percentage of workers who feel their job or industry is too specialized to easily convey to others, according to a survey from Spherion Staffing: 31

Percentage of workers who feel their professional and personal networks would find their job boring if they accurately described it: 27

Percentage who feel that pop culture significantly shapes others' perceptions of their job, as friends and family may equate them with someone they've seen in a mainstream medium: 31

Source: Spherion.

Percentage interest charged by the average store card, much higher than the national average for all credit cards (15.22 percent), according to a CreditCards.com report: 23.84

Ranks of Big Lots (29.99 percent), Zales (29.24 percent) and Staples (28.24 percent) on the list of store-branded credit cards that are charging the highest interest rates: 1, 2, 3

Source: Creditcards.com.

Within the American workforce, median hourly earnings earned by Asian men, the highest amount, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of median hourly wages that includes full- and part-time workers: $24

In July, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, unemployment rate among adults with a bachelor's degree or higher, versus 5 percent among adults with only a high school diploma: 2.5%

Source: Pew Research Center for the People and the Press.

Percentage of family caregivers who are either working full time or part time who have missed work in the past 12 months, according to a Caring.com report: 79

Percentage who have missed at least seven days: 31

Source: Caring.com.

Percentage of U.S. adults who have spilled a drink in the past year, according to a survey from Contigo: 66

Percentage of Americans who would give up social media to be spill-free for a month: 20

Percentage of Americans that frequently spill who blame it on multitasking: 33

Source: Contigo.

Idle Thought

"It's good to have money and the things that money can buy, but it's good, too, to check up once in a while and make sure that you haven't lost the things that money can't buy." -- George H. Lorimer, editor

(Readers can contact John MacIntyre at johnmacintyre@bwr.eastlink.ca.)

Percentage of American adults who have worked in a convenience store, gas station or corner store, according to a survey by the National Association of Convenience Stores: 16.6

Of that total, percentage who say that they learned a lot about how to work with people: 91

Percentage who say that the experience they gained was valuable: 86

Source: National Association of Convenience Stores.

Percentage of Americans who confirm that appearance (i.e., not blemished or misshapen in any way) is at least somewhat important to them when shopping for fresh produce, with 43 percent saying it is very or extremely important, according to a Harris Poll: 81

Whether "ugly produce" or not, percentage rise in produce sales from August 2015 to July 2016: 5

Source: The Harris Poll.

Number of subscribers that Netflix expects to add in the third quarter, according to a survey by ReportLinker: 2.3 million

Percentage of these subscribers who still pay for cable or satellite TV: 63

Rank of Netflix as the most popular video-on-demand service, with 64 percent of all U.S. VOD subscribers: 1

Source: ReportLinker.

Percentage of Americans who are limiting their monthly spending to save more money, according to a new study by Bankrate.com: 65

Ranks of the need to save more money, stagnant income, worries about the economy and having too much debt on the list of the top reasons for regulating their funds: 1, 2, 3, 4

Source: Bankrate.com.

Among wealthy Americans (those with at least $3 million in assets), percentage who plan to make a real estate purchase within the next three years, according to a report from Luxury Portfolio International and YouGov: 25

Percentage who say that privacy is essential: 61

Percentage who say a master bedroom with a luxury en suite bathroom is a priority: 60

Percentage who say dual walk-in closets: 54

Source: YouGov.

In the last two years, percentage growth in the wellness industry -- from a $3.36 trillion market in 2013 to $3.72 trillion in 2015, according to the 2016 Global Wellness Economy Monitor: 10.6

Over that same period, percentage that the global economy/GDP has shrunk: 3.6

Ranks of preventative/personalized medicine and public health, fitness and mind-body, wellness lifestyle real estate, wellness tourism, and healthy eating, nutrition and weight loss on the list of the fastest growing wellness markets from 2013 to 2015: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Source: Global Wellness Institute.

Percentage of email marketers who say brand building and engagement is their primary goal for email marketing, according to a survey conducted by Clutch: 47

Percentage of email marketers who named subscriber list growth the most important email metric to track: 75

Source: Clutch.

While parents recognize the undeniable role of technology in their kids' lives, percentage who say they need a road map to help navigate tech usage on a day-to-day basis, according to a survey from Sprout: 92

Percentage of parents who feel judged by other parents over their kids' screen time: 59

Percentage who say they've argued with their kids about screen time: 62

Source: Sprout.

Amount of cheese the nations of the European Union combine to produce annually, according to the U.S. Census Bureau: 9.6 metric tons

Amount produced in the United States, matching that of the combined second to fourth place producers -- Germany, France and Italy: 5.4 metric tons

America's annual cheese consumption average per capita: 36 pounds

Percentage of this figure that is accounted for by mozzarella: 32

Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

Percentage of American workers who rate the nation's health care system as poor or fair, according to the 2016 Health and Voluntary Workplace Benefits Survey conducted by EBRI and Greenwald and Associates: 60

Percentage who rate it as good or excellent: 15

Percentage of respondents who are extremely or very satisfied with the cost of their own health insurance plan: 17

Source: EBRI.

Idle Thought

"You have reached the pinnacle of success as soon as you become uninterested in money, compliments or publicity." -- Thomas Wolfe, novelist

(Readers can contact John MacIntyre at johnmacintyre@bwr.eastlink.ca.)

Of the nearly 159 million civilian workers in the United States, percentage who work at least one day per week at home, according to the U.S. Census Bureau: 4.5

Of these, percentage who report working while in their pajamas: 30

Estimated percentage of those working exclusively in their homes who are self-employed: 50

Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

Percentage of Americans who call Halloween their favorite holiday, according to a survey conducted by Edelman Intelligence: 25

Number of times more likely that Americans are to see Halloween ensembles inspired by Pokemon GO characters than by the election: 1.5

Percentage of people who want their outfit to make them look scary: 28

Source: Edelman.

Estimated number of U.S. adults who have had their identities stolen, according to a new Bankrate.com report: 41 million

Number of Americans who know someone affected by identity theft: 49 million

Percentage of people who put themselves in harm's way by failing to regularly check their credit reports: 42

Percentage who say their online account passwords are all or mostly the same: 28

Source: Bankrate.com.

Rank of Chase Sapphire Reserve on the list of travel cards with the best initial bonus -- $1,500 in travel bookings by spending $4,000 in the first three months; $300 annual travel credit; $450 annual fee, according to WalletHub's selections for Winter 2016's Best Travel Credit Cards: 1

Rank of the Barclaycard Arrival Plus for the best all-around travel rewards -- $525 travel statement credit for spending $3,000 in the first three months; 2.1 percent back on all purchases when you redeem for travel; no annual fee in the first year ($89 thereafter): 1

Source: WalletHub.

Percentage of workers who are very confident or somewhat confident that the Social Security system will continue to provide benefits of at least equal value to the benefits received by retirees today, according to EBRI's annual Retirement Confidence Survey: 39

Percentage of workers who are not at all confident that future Social Security benefits will match or exceed the value of today's benefits: 32

Percentage of today's workers who expect Social Security to be a major source of income in retirement: 35

Source: EBRI.

Percentage of employees with smartphones who say it's decreasing their productivity at work, according to a CareerBuilder Survey: 10

Percentage who say they use it (at least) several times a day while working: 66

Ranks of cellphone/texting, internet and gossip on the list of the biggest productivity killers in the workplace, as cited by employers: 1, 2, 3

Source: CareerBuilder.com.

Projected spending on Halloween costumes this year, according to the annual review of popular Halloween costumes conducted by Prosper Insights and Analytics: $3.1 billion

Estimated number of people who are expected to take part in Halloween festivities, spending an average of $82.93 (up from last year's $74.34) apiece: 171 million

Ranks of action/superhero, princess, animal (cat, dog, lion, monkey, etc.), Batman character and Star Wars character on the list of the most popular costumes this year for children: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Source: Edelman.

When it comes to receiving or giving a gift, percentage of Americans who say that a personalized, hand-written note helps to make the gift stand out, according to a survey conducted by Ipsos on behalf of Cramer-Krasselt: 58

Percentage who also believe that the quality of the presentation and the quality of gift wrapping is a major factor in helping make a gift special: 44

Percentage who say the same about the ribbon used: 38

Source: Ipsos Public Affairs.

Percentage of Americans who believe themselves knowledgeable about energy issues, including sources of electrical power and energy efficiency, according to results of a Harris Poll: 62

Percentage who have looked to upgrade their knowledge in this particular area by conducting a home energy evaluation or audit: 11

Source: The Harris Poll.

Percentage of Americans who said their purchases start with mobile shopping more than one-quarter to half of the time, according to a Nielsen's report: 37

Percentage of smartphone shoppers who research an item before purchasing it: 72

Percentage who use a store locator to find a store where they can buy their desired product of choice: 60

Source: Nielsen Analytics.

Idle Thought

"Half of the harm that is done in this world is due to people who want to feel important. They don't mean to do harm, but the harm does not interest them." -- T.S. Eliot, poet

(Readers can contact John MacIntyre at johnmacintyre@bwr.eastlink.ca.)