Percentage of managers who think employees often call in sick or make an excuse for skipping work the day after a sporting event like the Super Bowl, according to an OfficeTeam survey: 36
Percentage of workers who know someone who has been a no-show at work for this reason: 41
Source: OfficeTeam.
Percentage of moderate drinkers (one to 14 drinks per week) who have been diagnosed with depression at some point in their lives, compared with 19 percent of nondrinkers and 17 percent of heavy drinkers, according to the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index: 13
Percentage of U.S. adults who say they have zero drinks per week: 54.9
Percentage who report drinking one to 14 drinks per week: 41.4
Percentage who have 15 or more drinks: 3.7
Source: Gallup Organization.
Number of jobs that are accounted for by self-employed Americans and the workers they hired, or 30 percent of the national workforce, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of data from the U.S. Census Bureau: 44 million
Percentage of the nation's 146 million workers who are self-employed: 10
Source: Pew Research Center's Social & Demographic Trends.
Average number of hours the typical vehicle owner spends per week in the car, according to an Ipsos Audio and Infotainment Brand Study: 11
Estimated percentage of new car buyers who indicate that the audio brand in their next new vehicle will have a significant impact on their purchase consideration: 33
Percentage who believe it increases the resale value of their vehicle: 65
Source: Ipsos.
Population of the United States the year of the first Super Bowl, 1967, according to the U.S. Census Bureau: 203 million
Population today: 319 million
Median household income in 1967: $9,590
Median household income today: $53,657
Source: U.S. Census Bureau.
When asked how often they come in late to work, percentage of employees who admitted they do it at least once a month, according to a survey by CareerBuilder: 25
Percentage who said it's a weekly occurrence for them: 13
Percentage of employers who expect employees to be on time every day: 51
Percentage who have fired someone for being late: 41
Percentage of Europeans in France, Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom who are paying quite a lot of attention to the U.S. presidential election, according to Survey Sampling International's U.S. Presidential QuickPoll: 56
Percentage of respondents who said they were very aware of Hillary Clinton: 90
Percentage of respondents who said they were very aware of Donald Trump: 85
Source: Kannon Public Relations.
Percentage of workers who report that they are currently providing financial support to a relative or friend, according to EBRI retirement confidence survey: 29
Percentage of retirees who report they are doing the same: 20
Percentage of workers who support a child age 18 or older: 37
Percentage of retirees who support a child age 18 or older: 57
Source: EBRI.
Percentage of football fans who say they watch the big game at home, according to a Nielsen survey: 56
Percentage who say they watch it at a friend or family member's house: 15
Percentage who will watch from a bar or restaurant: 5
Source: Nielsen Media Research.
Percentage of Americans who are likely to celebrate Valentine's Day, according to a survey by the Public Religion Research Institute: 63
Percentage of men who say they'll spend over $100: 28
Percentage of women who say the same: 11
Percentage of men who report that they're very or somewhat likely to have sex on Valentine's Day: 57
Percentage of women who say the same: 37
Source: Public Religion Research Institute.
Idle Thought
"An artist should never be a prisoner of himself, prisoner of style, prisoner of reputation, prisoner of success, etc." -- Henri Matisse, artist
(Readers can contact John MacIntyre at johnmacintyre@bwr.eastlink.ca.)