Percentage of full-time U.S. employees who say that flexible hours are the most important perk they receive, according to a survey by Clutch: 41
Percentage who say it's the perk that matters most to their job satisfaction: 54
Ranks of "flexible hours," "professional development," "fitness/health perks," "food/snacks" and "working from home" on the list of the most common employee perks: 2, 3, 4, 5
Source: Clutch.
Percentage of smartphone users who agree with the statement "I love my phone," according to a survey conducted in the United States, Brazil, France and India by Ipsos on behalf of Motorola: 54
Percentage of Gen Zers and millennials who profess to love their phones, compared to 49 percent of Gen Xers and 37 percent of baby boomers: 63
When facing the prospect of separation from one's device, percentage of users who agree that "it would be very difficult emotionally to give up my smartphone": 43
Percentage who said that if their device were a person in their life, it would most resemble a "best friend": 37
Source: Ipsos Public Affairs.
Percentage of "thrifters" (people who shop secondhand 12 times or more per year) who stated they've found their match and are in a marriage or committed relationship, according to Swap.com: 69
Percentage who have dated fewer than five partners before finding their match: 48
Percentage who dated a year or less before committing: 57
Percentage of all Americans who say the same: 26
Source: Swap.com.
Percentage of professionals who would prefer recognition over extra compensation, according to a Korn Ferry survey: 46
Percentage who said they would prefer a raise with no promotion: 54
Source: Korn/Ferry International.
Amount Citigroup is preparing to issue in refunds after the bank discovered it had overcharged nearly 2 million credit card accounts on their annual interest rates, according to research by CreditCards.com: $330 million
Number of accounts affected: 1.75 million
Average refund amount: $190
Source: Bankrate.com.
Estimated number of Irish-Americans and fellow partiers worldwide who will raise pints of Guinness and forkfuls of corned beef and cabbage in the name of Ireland's primary patron saint, according to WalletHub: 33 million
Percentage of Americans who plan to celebrate St. Patrick's Day: 56
Percentage of celebrators who plan to wear the green: 83
Number of pints of Guinness that will be consumed worldwide: 13 million
Source: WalletHub.
Percentage of parents who claim they wouldn't recognize all of their children's teachers if they saw them in the grocery store, according to findings from a ClassDojo's study: 19
Percentage of respondents who feel their child performs better in school when they're more involved in their child's day-to-day school life: 95
Percentage of parents who feel they perform better at work when their children are excelling in school: 52
Percentage who see an improvement in their relationships with family and friends: 49
Percentage who feel closer to their child: 53
Source: Wyzant.
Percentage of advertising and marketing executives who said the number of counteroffers extended by their company to current employees weighing another job offer has increased in the last six months, according to a survey by the Creative Group: 14
Percentage of executives who said the main reason to issue a counteroffer is to avoid losing an employee with hard-to-find skills: 37
Source: The Creative Group.
Rank of Christmas on the list of the largest gift card-giving occasions, accounting for 33 percent of gift card spending on others, according to Packaged Facts: 1
Percentage of gift card spending on others that falls outside of holidays, with giving tied to "doing something nice," "rewarding someone" and "to say thank you": 26
Source: Packaged Facts.
Estimated number of consumers whose personal information was exposed in the massive 2017 Equifax data breach, according to a CreditCards.com report: 145 million-plus
Percentage of those surveyed who said that having their personal data stolen would be worse than having their cellphone stolen: 74
Source: CreditCards.com.
Idle Thought
"To practice five things under all circumstances constitutes perfect virtue; these five are gravity, generosity of soul, sincerity, earnestness and kindness." -- Confucius
(Readers can contact John MacIntyre at johnmacintyre@bwr.eastlink.ca.)