Percentage of professionals who said they know someone who's called in sick or made an excuse for skipping work following a major sporting event, according to an OfficeTeam survey: 54

Percentage of senior managers who identified playing hooky the day after as the most distracting or annoying employee behavior when it comes to sports: 42

Source: OfficeTeam.

Percentage of Americans who will be pulling out all the stops on Feb. 14, spending a collective $30 billion, according to research by Finder.com: 54

Approximate number of Americans this represents: 43 million

Percentage of men who expect to buy a gift for a loved one, versus only 45 percent of women: 62

Average projected spend by men buying gifts for their wives in 2019: $357.96

Average projected spend by women buying gifts for their husbands: $206.23

Source: Finder.com.

Percentage of American adults who take vitamins or supplements, according to a survey conducted on behalf of the American Osteopathic Association: 86

Percentage of those taking vitamins or supplements who had received test results indicating they have a nutritional deficiency: 24

Source: American Osteopathic Association.

Estimated percentage of the world's entrepreneurs who are working with family members, according to Global Entrepreneurship Monitor's 2018-2019 Global Report, sponsored by Babson College, Universidad Del Desarrollo and Korea Entrepreneurship Foundation: 19

Source: Global Entrepreneurship Monitor.

Despite awareness of their increased spending in 2018, percentage of Americans who have never had a budget, according to a survey released by Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards Inc.: 20

Percentage who find it easy to spend money: 77

Percentage who say it's easy to overspend when using a credit card or mobile payment: 64

Percentage who do not track their spending: 59

Source: Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards Inc.

Average amount American adults say they planned to spend on food, drinks and party supplies as they watched the New England Patriots and the Los Angeles Rams in the Super Bowl, according to the National Retail Federation: $81.30

Total spend: $14.8 billion

Source: NRF.

Percentage of people who have agreed to accomplish more than they can actually do in the time they have available, according to a study from researchers at VitalSmarts: 60

Percentage who say they have reached their limit and can't possibly commit to more: 20

Source: VitalSmarts.

Percentage of Americans who say they plan to share chocolate and candy with friends, family and loved ones during Valentine's Day, according to a National Confectioners Association survey: 80

Percentage who are in agreement that chocolate and candy are a treat: 92

Source: National Confectioners Association.

Percentage of Americans with a side hustle or gig who cite the desire to supplement their income as the main reason for taking on the extra work, according to Packaged Facts: 41

Percentage of side giggers who rely on these jobs as their primary source of income: 15

Percentage of gig workers who say the side jobs play a role in leisure activities and are performed just for fun or as a hobby: 19

Source: Packaged Facts.

Number of American adults who say they bet on the Super Bowl, according to a survey conducted for the American Gaming Association by Morning Consult: 22.7 million

Estimated amount that Americans say they wagered: $6 billion

Source: American Gaming Association.

Idle Thought

"Art should be like a holiday: something to give a man the opportunity to see things differently and to change his point of view." -- Paul Klee, painter

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

Percentage of senior managers who are open to rehiring boomerang employees (staff members who previously left the company on good terms), according to an Accountemps survey: 94

Percentage of former employees who would be likely to apply for a position with a previous company: 52

Ranks of dissatisfaction with management (22 percent), poor fit with organizational culture (17 percent) and unfulfilling job duties (13 percent) on the list of reasons professionals cited for not wanting to return to past employers: 1, 2, 3

Source: Accountemps.

Ranks of Baltimore, Washington, D.C., Chicago, Los Angeles and Columbus, Ohio, on Orkin's Top 50 Bed Bug Cities list, according to Orkin's Behind the Cost of Bed Bugs Hospitality Industry Report (in partnership with The Bantam Group): 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Source: Orkin LLC.

Percentage of Americans who know their Social Security number, according to research by Quest Diagnostics: 94

Percentage who know their social media passwords: 80

Percentage who know the current balance in their financial accounts: 75

Source: Quest Diagnostics.

Percentage of workers who said they would consider moving for a position, according to research from global staffing firm Robert Half: 62

Percentage of companies that have increased what's offered in the relocation packages they present to top candidates outside their geographic area: 34

Ranks of better pay and perks (44 percent), family or personal reasons (17 percent), cost of living (16 percent) and career advancement (16 percent) on the list of the top factors in the decision to move for a job: 1, 2, 3 (tie)

Source: Robert Half Management Resources.

Number of pounds of grain consumed by cattle per pound of beef, according to research conducted by the USDA's Agricultural Research Service and The Beef Checkoff, and published in the journal Agricultural Systems: 2.6

Percentage of harvested corn grain in the U.S. that is used to feed beef cattle: 9

Source: National Cattlemen's Beef Association.

Percentage of social media users who interact on social media at least 10 times per day by either liking, sharing or posting content, according to a survey from The Manifest: 30

Percentage of users who post images, compared to 47 percent who post updates/announcements, 46 percent who post videos and 42 percent who post opinions: 69

Source: The Manifest.

Percentage of Americans who agree that employable adults aren't working today because they don't possess the skills they need for the jobs they want, according to the results of an American Staffing Association Workforce Monitor survey: 45

Percentage who say few jobs are available in their specific field, trade or skill set: 45

Percentage who cite limited job opportunities where they live: 33

Source: American Staffing Association.

Percentage of millennials (ages 18 to 37) who foresee an improved personal financial state in 2019, compared to just 35 percent of those who are older, according to a Bankrate.com report: 59

Among those who think their finances will improve this year, percentage who believe it will be because they will make more money at work, ahead of things like having less debt (38 percent) or making more money from savings and investments (17 percent): 52

Source: Bankrate.com.

Percentage of U.S. business leaders who said it was "unlikely" that their businesses would be laying off workers in 2019, according to a survey by Zogby Analytics: 55

Percentage of business decision-makers from large businesses (5,000-plus employees) who said it was likely that they would lay off workers this year: 28

Source: Zogby International.

When it comes to risk-taking in the workplace, percentage of women who are open to taking small risks to further their career, according to a study of professional women by KPMG: 69

Percentage who are open to taking bigger risks that may be associated with career advancement: 43

Source: KPMG.

Idle Thought

"Can anything be sadder than work left unfinished? Yes, work never begun." -- Christina Rossetti, poet

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

Percentage of Americans who believe it is important to have financial conversations before saying "I do," according to a SunTrust survey: 88

Percentage who actually discussed how they would handle finances before getting married: 51

Percentage of married couples who disclosed their annual salaries before walking down the aisle: 41

Percentage who disclosed their debt: 36

Source: SunTrust Banks Inc.

Percentage of Americans (93 million) who say they overspent this past holiday season, according to a WalletHub survey: 37

Percentage (46 million) who regret at least one of their 2018 holiday purchases: 18

Percentage of people who plan to return a present they received this past holiday season: 34

Source: WalletHub.

Age at which kids ages 4 to 14 are the most entrepreneurial, that is, the most likely to boost their income by selling old toys and clothes -- averaging $28 per sale, according to a report by Rooster Money: 11 years

Source: RoosterMoney.

Number of farms that dot America's rural landscape, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation: 2.1 million

Percentage that are operated by families -- individuals, family partnerships or family corporations: 99

Percentage of all farmers who are beginning farmers (in business less than 10 years): 20

Percentage of the total number of U.S. farm operators who are women: 30 (969,672)

Source: American Farm Bureau Federation.

Percentage of Americans who say their skin feels different in winter than it does during the rest of the year, with six in 10 going as far as calling it "unhealthy," according to a survey conducted for CeraVe: 83

Ranks of dryness (69 percent), itchiness (51 percent) and redness (24 percent) on the list of the most bothersome skin discomforts during the colder months: 1, 2, 3

Source: CeraVe.

Percentage of American adults with debt who don't know when they'll ever be debt-free, according to a study from CreditCards.com: 65

Percentage who expect to die in debt, down from 30 percent last year: 25

Percentage of Americans with debt who believe they'll conquer it at some point: 35

Average projected age to be debt-free: 53

Source: Bankrate Inc.

Percentage of Americans who say cities should provide more environmentally friendly alternatives to driving, according to a survey conducted for Bird by Global Strategy Group: 84

Percentage who said they want more options specifically for trips that are shorter than 2 miles: 76

Percentage who support increasing the number of bike and scooter lanes in their city: 80

Source: Bird.

Odds of dying accidentally from an opioid overdose, according to the National Safety Council: 1 in 96

Odds of dying in a motor vehicle crash: 1 in 103

Lifetime odds of dying from any preventable, accidental cause (a change from one in 30 in 2004): 1 in 25

Source: National Safety Council.

Percentage of parents who are likely to reward good behavior with video game playing time, according to YouGov Omnibus research: 60

Percentage who say video games can help kids build teamwork skills: 48

Percentage who say video games allow parents/kids to stay in touch with one another: 44

Percentage who believe that playing games with their kids helps strengthen their relationship: 54

Source: YouGov.

Idle Thought

"It is curious that physical courage should be so common in the world, and moral courage so rare." -- Mark Twain

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