Figuratively Speaking

Percentage of Americans who practice meditation or mindfulness when they are stressed, according to the John Hancock mindfulness survey: 12

Of those who do, percentage who cite meditation and mindfulness as the most effective activity for managing their stress, ranked above listening to music, sleeping or exercising: 70

Source: John Hancock Life Insurance Company.

Percentage of Americans who report they've kissed between five and 10 people in their lives, according to data from YouGov Omnibus: 16

Percentage who said they've kissed more than 50 people: 15

Percentage who said they've never been kissed: 5

Percentage who have kissed only one person: 4

Percentage of people aged 18 to 24 who said that they have kissed zero people: 19

Source: YouGov. Contact Jennifer Abreu at 212 724 3040 or email Jennifer.Abreu@yougov.com.

Percentage of Americans who are saving their money for travel, surpassing saving for emergencies, retirement or purchasing a car or home, according to a poll by SunTrust Banks Inc.: 45

Ranks of building a nest egg, retirement and saving for "little splurges" on the list of reasons for saving: 2, 3, 4

Source: SunTrust Banks Inc.

Percentage of American adults who are married or in a serious relationship who said money caused the most stress on their relationship, according to a survey on behalf of Ally Bank: 36

Percentage of adults ages 18 to 54 who cited money as the top stressor, compared to 23 percent of adults ages 55 and older: 44

Source: Ally Financial.

Ranks of Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter and Snapchat on the list of the social media platforms that Americans say most inspire them to travel, according to a survey by Allianz Global Assistance: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Percentage who say that social media platforms do not inspire them to travel: 34

Percentage of women who say they are inspired by Pinterest: 25

Percentage of men who say the same: 12

Source: Allianz Global Assistance.

Percentage of workers who are nervous that their current role won't exist in five years due to technological changes, according to a survey conducted by Clutch: 15

Percentage of workers who are willing to learn new skills: 87

Percentage of businesses that have already implemented some form of automation, such as self-service kiosks, customer relationship management (CRM) software or tablets used for sales: 17

Source: Clutch.

Percentage of leaders of sales teams across several industries who, despite citing base pay as the top reason for turnover, do not plan to increase total compensation for their team members in 2018, according to a Korn/Ferry survey: 22

Percentage of sales team leaders who say they will lose roughly 10 to 20 percent of their staff annually: 30

Percentage who say they will lose between 20 and 30 percent of their staff: 15

Source: Korn/Ferry International.

Percentage of U.S. full-time workers in sales, office and management/professional occupations who are actively seeking new job opportunities, according to a joint survey by recruitment firms Accounting Principals and Ajilon: 26

Percentage of respondents who are passively open to new job opportunities: 56

Source: Accounting Principals.

Percentage of U.S. employers who plan to hire full-time permanent workers in the second half of 2018, up from 60 percent last year, according to CareerBuilder's Midyear Job Forecast: 63

Percentage who plan to increase starting salaries on new job offers in the back half of 2018: 45

Percentage of all employers who plan to increase starting salaries by 5 percent or more: 23

Source: CareerBuilder.com.

Percentage of consumers who have encountered an emergency expense in the past year, according to a CIT Bank survey: 48

Percentage who don't save anything: 25

Percentage who save less than 5 percent of their monthly income: 25

Source: CIT.

Idle Thought

"That man is richest whose pleasures are cheapest." -- Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862)

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

Percentage of Americans who say the restaurant tipping sweet spot is 20 percent, according to a CreditCards.com report: 42

Percentage of respondents who typically leave 15 percent: 23

Percentage who say they usually leave nothing: 6

Source: CreditCards.com.

Percentage of Americans who said they feel tense or stressed out while on vacation, according to a survey by the American Psychological Association: 21

Percentage who said they wind up working more than they planned to: 28

Percentage who reported that they dread returning to work: 42

Source: American Psychological Association.

Percentage of global citizens who agree that everyone in their country enjoys the same basic human rights, according to a global Ipsos poll conducted in 28 countries: 43

Percentage of all adult respondents across 28 countries who say human rights aren't a problem in their country, ranging from 55 percent in Germany to 17 percent in Colombia: 30

Source: Ipsos Public Affairs.

Ranks of Wyoming, North Carolina, Minnesota, Texas and Florida on the list of the best states for summer road trips, according to research by WalletHub: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Ranks of Rhode Island, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii and New Mexico on the list of the worst states for summer road trips: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Source: WalletHub.

Percentage of Americans who said that their overall happiness would improve if their wardrobe and home interior were in sync, according to a survey by Trunk Club and CB2: 40

Percentage of respondents who say they can predict both wardrobe based on a home's interior design, and a home's interior design based on wardrobe at a moderate, high or very high degree: 72

Source: Trunk Club.

Ranks of munching delicious local delicacies on vacation, visiting landmarks and exploring the outdoors on the list of reasons American millennials give for deciding their vacation destination, according to a survey by Hotels.com: 1, 2, 3

Percentage of millennial U.S. travelers who admit they prefer to snap their food instead of their friends' faces for Instagram: 78

Of the average 128 photos that U.S. millennial travelers snap during a weeklong vacation, percentage that are of food: 15

Source: Hotels.com.

Percentage of professionals who take turns with their spouse to stay at home with the kids in the summer, according to a Korn/Ferry survey: 49

Percentage who are forced to take unexpected time off in the summer due to child care issues: 30

Percentage who say they occasionally bring their children to work to avoid day care dilemmas: 11

Percentage who say they work from home more in the summer: 26

Source: Korn/Ferry International.

Percentage of millennials (18- to 37-year-olds) who say cash is the best place to park money they won't need for 10-plus years, according to a new Bankrate.com report: 30

Percentage of Americans aged 38 and over who agree: 21

Grouping all U.S. adults together, ranks of the stock market, cash investments, real estate, gold or other precious metals, and bonds on the list of the most popular places to park their money: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Source: Bankrate.com.

Number of U.S. broadband households that currently own a product that helps them track their sleep quality, representing less than half of the nearly 60 million consumers who report having at least one sleep problem, according to sleep research from Parks Associates: 29 million

Percentage of U.S. broadband households that are interested in buying a sleep tech device: 51

Source: Parks Associates.

Percentage of Americans who declared they are either "not very likely" or "not at all likely" to use sharing economy services during their 2018 summer travels, according to an Allianz Travel Insurance survey: 53

Percentage of Americans who find sharing economy service providers to be "very" or "somewhat trustworthy," down 3 percent from last year: 62

Percentage who are familiar with at least one sharing economy service, with familiarity of services strongest among younger generations: 80

Source: Allianz Global Assistance USA.

Idle Thought

"I believe the greatest gift I can conceive of having from anyone is to be seen, heard, understood and touched by them. The greatest gift I can give is to see, hear, understand and touch another person." -- Virginia Satir, psychotherapist and author

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

Percentage of millennials who have seen social media ruin a family vacation, according to an Alamo Rent a Car survey: 36

Percentage of millennials who feel pressured to post photos on social media to show they're having a good time: 33

Percentage who even confess they grow concerned when their social media followers don't like or comment on their family vacation posts: 26

Source: Alamo Rent A Car.

In a survey of senior managers, number of minutes they spend looking at each resume, according to a survey by Robert Half: 12

Average number of people interviewed per open position: 7

Average time of those meetings: 41 minutes

Source: Robert Half.

Ranks of beaches and mountains, opportunities for sightseeing and relaxation on the list of the types of travel destinations families are choosing, according to research from AAA Travel: 1, 2, 3

Source: AAA.

Annual amount an employer with 1,000 employees can expect to lose each year in missed workdays, lower productivity and increased health care due to employee fatigue, according to a National Safety Council survey: $1 million

Percentage of workplace injuries that can be attributed to fatigue: 13

Percentage who do not believe their employees would feel comfortable telling them if they were too tired to perform their job safely: 61

Percentage of employers who allow a night shift immediately before or after a day shift, increasing the employee's fatigue and risk of being injured: 51

Source: National Safety Council.

On average, age that Americans think is ideal to retire, according to a survey by Bankrate.com: 61

The optimal age to buy a first home: 28

The best age to open a first credit card: 22

The right time to start saving for retirement: 22

The ideal age to buy or lease a first car: 21

Source: Bankrate.com.

Percentage of millennials (ages 18 to 34) who have aimed to deceive their followers by posting social media vacation images that make trips look better than they are, according to a survey by Allianz Global Assistance: 36

Of those who confessed to this social media deception, percentage who do so in an attempt to make others envious: 65

Percentage who also use it as an opportunity to compete with others who do the same: 51

Source: Allianz Global Assistance.

Percentage of Americans who either were apprentices themselves or know someone enrolled in these "earn while learning" programs who say the experiences had a positive effect on that person's career, according to the results of an American Staffing Association survey: 90

Of U.S. adults with an opinion about apprenticeships, percentage who view them favorably: 92

Percentage of Americans who think more people should consider apprenticeships: 84

Source: American Staffing Association.

Percentage of the nation's workforce who believe they are overweight, according to a CareerBuilder survey: 57

Percentage who believe they've gained weight at their present job: 45

Percentage of all workers who said they gained more than 10 pounds at their current job: 26

Percentage who gained more than 20 pounds: 11

Source: CareerBuilder.com.

Percentage of Americans who believe it is sometimes, often or always acceptable for employers to monitor employees' digital activities to protect against security threats and data breaches, according to a survey conducted for Dtex Systems: 45

Percentage of Americans who agree that employers have the right to monitor employees' digital activities on personal or work-issued devices used to conduct work for security purposes, as long as they are transparent about it and let employees know up front that it is taking place: 64

Source: Dtex Systems.

Idle Thought

"The most exhausting thing in life is being insincere." -- Anne Morrow Lindbergh, writer

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