Figuratively Speaking

Percentage of organizations that implemented larger salary increases this year compared to 2021, with 21% reporting "significantly higher" increases, according to a survey by Pearl Meyer: 70

Ranks of concern about retaining employees and rising inflation (and higher cost living) on the list of factors for the larger increases: 1, 2

Source: Pearl Meyer and Partners.

Percentage of men who somewhat or strongly agree that it is socially acceptable for women to enter a female-led age-gap relationship -- that is, to date someone 10 or more years younger than them, according to a survey conducted for Ruby Life Inc.: 65

Percentage of women who are accepting of male-led age -gap relationships, though that number drops to 56% when the gap is female-led: 70

Source: Ruby Life Inc.

Percentage of working adults who say they would prefer a 10% pay increase over an additional week of paid time off, according to a survey by CareerBuilder: 66

Among employed adults, percentage who selected "a good salary" -- tied with "job security" as the aspects of their current job they most appreciate: 47

Source: CareerBuilder.com.

Percentage of adults age 21 and older who have ever consumed cannabis who have done so for health and wellness purposes, according to a survey conducted on behalf of Curaleaf Holdings Inc.: 91

Percentage of Americans who say they would prefer holistic solutions over pharmaceuticals to treat a medical issue when possible: 75

Percentage who say they would prefer to use cannabis rather than pharmaceuticals to treat a medical issue: 62

Source: Curaleaf Holdings Inc.

Ranks of feeling frustrated, irritated and stressed on the list complaints from a survey of patients with sleep difficulties, according a survey conducted by The Alliance for Sleep and sponsored by Idorsia: 1, 2, 3

Source: Idorsia Pharmaceuticals U.S. Inc.

Percentage of Americans who plan to grill out more during the next six months, according to poll conducted on behalf of Omaha Steaks: 76

Percentage who enjoy outdoor BBQs with friends and family more than going out to a restaurant: 79

Source: Omaha Steaks.

Percentage of remote workers -- including both fully remote and hybrid workers -- who say their teams' performance has improved during the past two years, according to research from Eagle Hill Consulting: 45

Percentage of in-person workers who say their teams' performance has improved: 34

Percentage of all workers who say their manager trusts them to get their work done -- a sentiment that is fairly consistent for remote, hybrid and in-person employees: 64

Source: Eagle Hill Consulting.

Percentage of people who report that inflation has made them more interested in earning credit card rewards, according to WalletHub: 80

Amount more money that the best rewards cards can yield than the worst rewards cards over the first two years: $1,204

Source: WalletHub.

Estimated number of weddings that are expected to happen in 2022, the most since 1984, according to Bankrate.com: 2.5 million

Number of U.S. adults who feel or have felt pressure to spend more time than they're comfortable with to attend a celebratory event in 2022: 39 million

Source: Bankrate.com.

Percentage of adults who believe climate change is already impacting the health of Americans, according to a poll from the American Psychiatric Association: 58

Percentage of adults who are anxious about climate change's impact on future generations: 51

Source: American Psychiatric Association.

Idle Thought

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." -- Margaret Mead, anthropologist (1901-1978)

Percentage of American men (18 years and older) who are fathers, according to the U.S. Census Bureau: 46

Number of fathers there are in the U.S. out of about 152 million men: 72 million

Projected Father's Day spending for 2022, according to research by The Shelf: $20.1 billion

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau and The Shelf.

Ranks of walking to work, taking public transportation, walking to complete errands and carpooling on the list of alternative options to driving that many Americans say are not available to them, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll: 1, 2, 3 (tie)

Percentage of Americans who say rising gas prices will most impact how they spend their money on meals at restaurants: 54

Estimated percentage who say they will decrease recreational driving if gas prices hit $6 or $7 per gallon: 60

Source: Ipsos Public Affairs.

Percentage of Americans who say they have felt underpaid compared to peers with similar experiences or qualifications, according to Bankrate.com: 55

In the last 12 months, percentage of workers who reported asking for changes to their current role: 35

Even with this request, percentage of Americans who said they are likely to look for a new job in the next 12 months: 51

Source: Bankrate.com.

Percentage of employed Americans who believe their workplace/employer is "Culture Conning," defined as a practice by which companies market themselves as having inclusive, employee-centric workplace cultures to recruit employees, but fail to deliver on that promise, according to research commissioned by Employer Brand Consultancy Blu Ivy Group: 35

Ranks of leadership/management, lack of trust between staff and management, lack of work/life balance and unsustainable workload on the list of "broken" aspects of their company cultures: 1, 2, 3, 4

Source: Blu Ivy Group.

Ranks of "another COVID spike causing travel issues/delays" (37%) and "testing positive for COVID before or during my trip" (24%) on the list of summer travel concerns cited by Americans, according to a survey by Allianz Partners: 1, 2

Percentage who were concerned about "more expensive food and entertainment": 7

Source: Allianz Life Insurance.

Percentage of women who say it is difficult to find flattering swimwear or swimwear in their size, according to a survey by QVC and Morning Consult: 25

Percentage who said "size inclusivity" is very important or somewhat important when shopping for swimwear: 65

Percentage who said they are much more or somewhat more likely to purchase online if they see a live video of products modeled on different body types: 45

Source: QVC.

In a Premise survey of Ukrainian adults, percentage who don't believe Ukraine should negotiate with Russia to end the war: 53

Percentage who believe Ukraine will either recapture all the territory it held before the war or make gains in Crimea and/or Donbas: 80

Source: Premise.

Percentage of consumers in 11 different countries who are calling for greater harmonization of health protocols and the use of technology to enable seamless travel, according to The Future of Tourism survey conducted by YouGov: 44

Percentage who want to see greater sustainability at the heart of tourism: 34

Percentage who want to see health and sustainability prioritized over profits for the travel sector: 29

Source: YouGov.

Percentage of parents who have a child ages 14 or younger who are concerned about their child drowning in a swimming pool, according to a survey conducted by The Harris Poll on behalf of the Pool and Hot Tub Alliance: 65

Percentage of parents who plan to enroll their child in formal swimming lessons this year: 54

Percentage of dads who have confidence in their child's ability to be safe in the water, compared to 74% of moms who said the same: 92

Source: The Harris Poll.

Since 2008, when British Telecom launched its adopt-a-kiosk scheme, estimated number of phone boxes -- mostly the iconic, old red ones -- that have been bought by local communities for £1 each, now housing such things as mini libraries, art galleries and plant displays: 7,000 plus

Number of payphone calls that are still made each year in the U.K.: 5 million

Source: The Guardian.

Number of people who think their credit card rates are too high, according to a survey by WalletHub: 148 million

Percentage of consumers who think rate hikes are bad for their wallet: 55

Source: WalletHub.

Idle Thought

"All men should strive to learn before they die what they are running from, and to, and why." -- James Thurber, writer and cartoonist (1894-1961)

Among U.S. adults who say they will take a vacation this summer, the percentage who anticipate making changes to their plans due to the high level of inflation, according to a study from Bankrate.com: 69

Percentage who will take fewer trips and travel shorter distances: 25

Percentage who will engage in cheaper activities: 23

Source: Bankrate.com.

Percentage of Americans who say their credit card spending habits returned to pre-pandemic levels in 2022, according to a survey by WalletHub: 47

Projected number of Americans who will have more credit card debt by the end of 2022: 33 million

Percentage of people with credit card debt who say they would do anything to be debt-free: 37

Source: WalletHub.

Amount that will be spent this summer on vacations, according to Allianz Partners USA: $194 billion

Percentage increase over last year, when many Americans slowly began making their return to travel: 26

Americans' average anticipated spend on vacations this summer: $2,644

Source: Allianz.

Number of Americans who have fallen victim to a phone scam in the past 12 months -- up from 59.4 million in 2021 and 56 million in 2020 -- according to research by Truecaller: 68.4 million

Amount of money that was lost to phone scams this past year: $39.5 billion

In the last 12 months, percentage of those who fell victim to a phone scam who were men, compared to only 42.2% who were women: 55.6

Percentage of Americans who report having fallen victim to phone scams, and 20% on more than one occasion: 33

Of those who lost money to phone scams in the last year, the average reported loss: $577

Source: Truecaller.

Percentage of U.S. adults who have experienced buyer's remorse after buying items online, according to a survey commissioned by Slickdeals: 74

Percentage who had the feeling that the purchased item was less valuable than expected: 39

Percentage who found they were not using it as frequently as expected: 34

Percentage who thought they spent too much money in the first place: 32

Source: Slickdeals.

Percentage of people who say traveling to their destination is often as much fun as the actual vacation destination, according to a survey by the National Association of Convenience Stores: 69

Ranks of by car, by air and by train on the list of the ways vacationers most frequently travel: 1, 2, 3

Source: National Association of Convenience Stores.

Percentage of parents who believe the more curious children are, the more likely they are to be successful as adults, according to a research survey by Wakefield Research commissioned by Baby Einstein: 94

Ranks of being creative, learning new things faster and more easily, and thinking critically on the list of the top areas that curious kids excel over their less-curious peers: 1, 2, 3

Source: Wakefield Research.

Percentage of American adults who weigh more than their ideal weight -- mirroring a 30-year trend toward obesity -- according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention statistics: 82

When it comes to shedding the pounds, percentage of Americans who say that hearing from a doctor that they need to lose weight would motivate them: 83

Percentage who say they'd be influenced if their doctor told them they had a serious health risk: 90

Percentage of Americans who say they've actually asked their primary-care doctor for weight-loss help or advice: 20

Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Among Americans who have ever hosted guests, percentage who enjoy doing so at their home, according to survey commissioned by Boursin and conducted by The Harris Poll: 92

Percentage who feel hesitant about assuming the role of host, including 21% who feel uncertain about "new rules" for hosting since the coronavirus pandemic began: 60

Percentage of hosts who are gravitating toward simple versus complex recipes for their gatherings: 79

Source: The Harris Poll.

Percentage of parents or guardians who report that issues with child care access have prevented or postponed career activities, such as earning a living wage or acceptable salary, getting a job, increasing their lifetime earnings potential and pursuing education or training for career advancement, according to survey by BestColleges.com: 18

Source: BestColleges.com.

Idle Thought

"Every age is fed on illusions, lest men should renounce life early and the human race come to an end." -- Joseph Conrad, novelist (1857-1924)