Figuratively Speaking

Percentage of Americans who have helped entertain other travelers' children, according to a survey by Expedia: 21

Percentage who believe politely speaking with a seat kicker is the best way to address this annoyance: 45

Percentage who wouldn't even do anything because they assume it's not intentional: 16

Source: Expedia.

Percentage of people responding to a survey by Realtor.com who indicated that they would choose to save their sanity by compromising various home features, including lot size, square footage and style of the home, in order to reduce their commute time: 85

Percentage of the respondents who are looking to reduce their commute time by up to 45 minutes: 40

Source: Realtor.com.

Percentage more of their time that employees say they spend on collaborative work than they did 20 years ago, according to research from Eagle Hill Consulting: 50

Percentage of American workers who say that projects take longer and are more frustrating when working on teams: 55

Percentage of workers who indicate team projects yield better outcomes: 68

Percentage who say they are more fun: 61

Source: Eagle Hill Consulting.

Percentage of Americans who admit to binge drinking on the Fourth of July, according to Alcohol.org: 57

Percentage of American men who admitted to driving while blackout drunk, compared to 12% of women who said the same, according to a study on drinking and driving habits by American Addiction Centers: 24

Percentage of respondents who admitted they were a passenger of a drunk driver: 50

Source: American Addiction Centers.

Percentage of medical residents who would prefer to practice in communities of 10,000 people or fewer, according to a report by Merritt, Hawkins and Associates: 1

Percentage who would prefer to practice in communities of 25,000 people or fewer: 2

Percentage who would prefer communities of 250,000 or more: 65

Source: Merritt, Hawkins and Associates.

Percentage of parents who have not been able to save anything for their child's education, with 4 in 10 parents admitting that having a child is more expensive than they anticipated, according to a survey from Country Financial: 30

Percentage of parents who predict/report that their contribution will cover 81 to 100 percent of their child's education: 18

Percentage who said they predict they'll be able to cover, or were able to cover, 60 percent or less of their child's college education costs: 60

Source: Country Financial.

Percentage of U.S. travelers who are planning road trips this summer, according to a survey by TripAdvisor: 60

Percentage who will be heading to a beach/ocean, the most popular trip type: 22

Source: TripAdvisor.

Percentage of American adults who identify a civility problem in society, according to a survey by Weber Shandwick and Powell Tate: 93

Percentage of Americans who say that, in their experience, the impact of social media on civility has been more negative than positive: 63

Percentage of Americans who work with others who describe their place of employment as very or somewhat civil: 89

Source: Weber Shandwick.

Estimated number of people who are suffering from drug use disorders that require treatment services, according to a study from the UN Office on Drugs and Crime: 35 million

Estimated number of people who injected drugs in 2017, 1.4 million of whom are living with HIV, and 5.6 million with hepatitis C: 11 million

Estimated amount of cocaine manufactured (chiefly in South America) in 2017, an all-time high: 2,000 tons

Estimated number of people worldwide who used drugs in 2017: 271 million

Number of reported synthetic opiod overdoses in the U.S. in 2017, centered around Fentanyl and similar drugs: 51,000

Source: UN News Centre.

Percentage of CFOs who expect an economic downturn by the end of 2020, according to a Deloitte survey: 84

Percentage who expect it to be mild: 80

Percentage who say they expect a U.S. downturn in the next two years: 97

Source: Deloitte.

Idle Thought

"Don't ask me who's influenced me. A lion is made up of the lambs he's digested, and I've been reading all my life." -- Giorgos Seferis, writer, diplomat, Nobel laureate

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

Percentage of Americans who took their last vacation more than two years ago, according to a survey released by Allianz Global Assistance: 36

Percentage who have not vacationed in more than a year: 51

When asked if they were confident they would take a summer vacation this year, percentage who responded positively, the lowest confidence rating since 2013: 42

Of those, percentage who said they do not have the money to spend on a vacation: 44

Source: Allianz Global Assistance.

Percentage of male managers who say they are uncomfortable participating in a common workplace activity with a woman, such as mentoring, working one-on-one and socializing together (a 32% increase from last year), according to research by LeanIn.Org and SurveyMonkey: 60

Number of times more likely today that men are to hesitate having one-on-one meetings with a junior woman: 12

Percentage of men who also say they've avoided mentoring or socializing with a woman because they were nervous about how it would look: 36

Source: LeanIn.Org.

Percentage of Americans who are affected by student loan debt, topping $1.5 trillion, according to a survey by YouGov on behalf of Abbott: 25

Percentage of employed adults with student loans who would consider switching companies to gain a student loan relief employee benefit: 62

Percentage of all adults with student loans who say finding a company that offers a student loan benefit is important: 64

Source: YouGov.

Percentage of people who say that taking a holiday has a positive effect on their mental health, according to a study by Travelzoo: 83

Percentage who are incorporating wellness activities into their travel plans for 2019: 70

Source: Travelzoo.

Percentage of people around the world who think things in their country are on the wrong track -- strongest in South Africa (82%), France (80%) and Great Britain (79%) -- according to research by Ipsos: 58

Percentage of respondents across all countries who rank unemployment first among the world's top worries: 33

Ranks of poverty/social inequality (32%) and financial/political corruption (31%) on the list of the world's top worries: 2, 3

Source: Ipsos Public Affairs.

Approximate number of Americans who are bitten by a dog each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: 4.7 million

Number of dog-bite fatalities in 2018: 36

Source: Society for Risk Analysis.

Percentage of employees who prefer to spend some time in an office over being fully remote, according to a Clutch survey: 83

To accommodate workers who prefer private space to get work done quietly and workers who prefer collaboration and interaction with others, percentage of offices that have personal spaces for employees: 74

Percentage that have large meeting rooms: 56

Source: Clutch.

Percentage of the employed Americans who typically eat lunch during work hours who struggle to eat a healthy lunch at work, according to a survey conducted by the Harris Poll on behalf of the American Heart Association and Aramark: 56

Percentage who say they're more likely to make healthier decisions at other times of the day if they eat healthy at lunch: 77

Percentage of employees who typically eat lunch during work hours who cite limited availability of healthy foods as having a great deal/quite a bit of impact on eating an unhealthy lunch: 43

Source: American Heart Association.

Percentage of CFOs who reported an increase in inappropriate expense requests (e.g. pogo stick, Super Bowl tickets, an octopus, trip to Italy, plunger) in the last three years, according to a Robert Half Management Resources survey: 56

Source: Robert Half Management Resources.

Percentage of home sellers who say the process left them in tears, according to a Zillow survey: 36

Percentage who were stressed by uncertainty over the sale price: 70

Percentage who were stressed their home wouldn't sell in their desired time frame: 69

Percentage of respondents who were stressed an offer would fall through: 65

Source: Zillow.

Idle Thought

"It is not a lack of love, but a lack of friendship that makes unhappy marriages." -- Friedrich Nietzsche

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

Percentage of employees who report they get distracted while working at their personal workspace, according to a survey by Poly: 99

Percentage who say that distractions make it tough to listen or be heard on calls: 51

Percentage who say it has an impact on their ability to focus: 48

Source: Poly.

Percentage of barbecue hosts who get nervous and panic about how to feed vegan guests, according to research by Sabra: 47

Percentage of vegans and barbecue guests with dietary restrictions who admit to sneaking their own food into barbecues to avoid having nothing to eat: 52

Source: Sabra Dipping Co.

Percentage of Americans surveyed who have a "work family" and, as a result, feel happier, according to research by Choice Hotels International Inc.: 90

Percentage who keep in touch with former colleagues: 86

Percentage of those surveyed who agree that they spend either the same amount or more time with their work colleagues as they do with their families at home: 59

Percentage of respondents who said they consider work relationships as important as their relationships at home: 65

Source: Choice Hotels International Inc.

Percentage of U.S. travelers who will travel as a couple this summer, according to a survey by TripAdvisor: 48

Percentage of vacationers who will be families: 37

Average length of trip: 1 week

Source: TripAdvisor.

Percentage of team sports athletes who say they use their strengths every day at work, compared to 63% of employees who didn't play team sports who say the same, according to research from Eagle Hill Consulting: 83

Percentage who say they trust their teammates, as compared to 55% of employees who didn't play team sports: 76

Percentage who said their work team is committed to success, as compared to 49% of employees who didn't play team sports: 73

Source: Eagle Hill Consulting.

Percentage of vacationers who are either currently planning or becoming more interested in taking a vacation to spend time with family or friends, according to an Ipsos survey: 84

Ranks of "natural environments and their wildlife," "national parks" and "architectural or historic sites" on the list of the kinds of vacation experiences Americans are interested in: 1 (tie), 3

Source: Ipsos Public Affairs.

Percentage of American adults who say they would support a nationwide mandate requiring solar panels to be installed on all newly built homes, according to a survey conducted by CITE Research on behalf of Vivint Solar: 70

If all new single-family homes built took advantage of solar energy, number of barrels of oil that would be saved annually: 12 million

Number fewer miles driven a year it would equate to: 12 billion

Source: Vivint Solar.

Percentage of urban shoppers who purchase groceries online for delivery, compared to 24% of suburban shoppers and 12% of rural shoppers, according to Acosta's The Urban Grocery Shopper: 57

Percentage of urban shoppers who buy groceries that are shipped (suburban 29%; rural 20%): 58

Percentage of urban shoppers who reported ordering groceries online at least once a week: 25

Source: Acosta.

Percentage of employees who are planning to leave their jobs in the next 12 months, according to a study commissioned by Spherion: 29

Percentage of millennials who report they are planning to leave their current jobs in the next 12 months: 38

Source: Spherion.

Percentage of U.S. adults aged 18 and over who are within three paychecks of needing to either borrow money or skip paying one or more bills, according to findings from a study by Northwestern Mutual: 30

Percentage who have less than $5,000 saved for retirement (down from 31% in 2018): 22

Percentage who have no retirement savings at all (down from 21% in 2018): 15

Source: Northwestern Mutual.

Idle Thought

"Bran thought about it. 'Can a man still be brave if he's afraid?' 'That is the only time a man can be brave,' his father told him." -- George R.R. Martin, "A Game of Thrones"

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