While Americans know they would pay less in taxes throughout the year, and they are aware they are giving Uncle Sam an interest-free loan, the percentage who still say they would rather get a refund than a bigger paycheck, vs. 37% who say the opposite, according to a survey from Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine and Barclays U.S. Consumer Bank: 63

Percentage of respondents who received a refund last year, with the median amount being $2,154: 74

Source: Commonwealth Public Affairs.

Percentage of people who admit they've cheated on a New Year's resolution, according to a WalletHub survey: 70

Percentage who believe that it is OK to adjust their New Year's resolutions throughout the year: 80

Source: WalletHub.

Percentage of senior managers who said organizations are less formal than they were 10 years ago, according to research by Accountemps: 91

Ranks of cursing, bringing pets and having political decor on the list of workplace behaviors that are still considered inappropriate: 1, 2, 3

Source: Accountemps.

According to parents, number of faux pas they commit before their child moves out of the house, according to a survey by Boudreaux's Butt Paste: 4,000

Ranks of allowing children to have too much screen time, accidentally teaching children swear words and letting children watch something that wasn't age-appropriate on the list of the top parenting snafus: 1, 2, 3

Percentage of parents who think their child behaves worse than they did at their age, while 33% said it's about the same: 29

Source: Boudreaux's Butt Paste.

Percentage of employers who admitted to making a decision not to employ someone because they didn't like the way they looked, according to research by Green King: 51

Of those, percentage who didn't employ the candidate because of their visible tattoos: 43

Percentage who didn't approve of their clothes: 40

Percentage of bosses who were put off by hair color or style: 30

Percentage who said the interviewee failed to land the job because they had a disability: 21

Source: Green King.

Percentage of U.S. adults who admit to committing some form of financial infidelity against their current spouse/partner, according to a survey by CreditCards.com: 44

Percentage who say that financial infidelity is worse than physical infidelity: 27

Percentage who admit to spending more money than they feel their spouse/partner would be comfortable with: 34

Percentage who have kept at least one secret financial account (including 10% with a covert credit card, 9% a savings account and 8% a checking account): 17

Source: CreditCards.com.

Percentage of college students who engaged in high-risk, and often life-threatening, behaviors while away at school over the past 12 months, according to a ValuePenguin.com survey: 50

Percentage of college students who admitted to texting while driving: 47

Percentage who say they don't wear a seat belt: 37

Percentage who confessed to driving under the influence of recreational marijuana: 18

Percentage who confessed to driving under the influence of alcohol: 13

Percentage who have taken prescription drugs to help them study: 20 plus

Percentage who have had sexual intercourse without a condom: 38

Source: ValuePenguin.com.

Percentage of Americans who are in favor of culturally diverse workplaces, indicating that they like working with people from other cultures, according to a survey by Randstad: 81

Percentage of U.S. employees who also feel that it's good their employers hire foreign workers, provided the role can't be filled by candidates from the domestic talent pool: 66

Source: Randstad.

Percentage of U.S. adults with a net worth of $100,000 or more who have credit card debt, vs. 40% of adults with net worths below $100,000, according to a survey by Bankrate.com: 46

Percentage of those with a net worth between $100,000 and $199,999 who carry credit card debt, vs. 42% of all Americans: 57

Percentage of U.S. adults worth more than $1 million who are likely to carry credit card debt: 21

Source: Bankrate.com.

Percentage of parents and students who reported that their high school promotes trade school education as a potential path following graduation, according to a survey commissioned by StrataTech Education Group: 32

Percentage of the students who said they have considered attending a trade school: 51

When asked to select attributes that are important to them in a career, percentage of respondents who selected stability and quality of life: 69

When asked about what is most important, percentage who chose quality of life, vs. 20% who chose stability: 26

Source: StrataTech Education Group.

Idle Thought

"If I could, I would always work in silence and obscurity, and let my efforts be known by their results." -- Emily Bronte, novelist

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

Percentage of C-suite executives who say that their corporate culture is one of the top reasons people join their company, according to a survey by Eagle Hill Consulting: 100

Percentage who cited improving corporate culture as a top strategic priority: 59

Percentage of respondents who agree that they hold their employees accountable for company culture once they come on board: 48

Source: Eagle Hill Consulting.

Percentage of HR managers who say that the Monday after the Super Bowl should be a holiday, according to research by OfficeTeam: 72

Percentage of employees who have discussed a major sporting event with co-workers the day after: 55

Rank of major sporting events on the list of the hottest topics that men discuss at work: 1

Percentage of employees who have taken a planned day off from work following a major sporting event: 20

Source: OfficeTeam.

Percentage of people who have "ghosted" somebody -- or stopped all communication without explanation -- who state that they would do it again, according to a survey by dating.com: 78

Percentage who admit to dropping communication after a first date because they didn't feel a connection: 45

Percentage of ghosters who report that a date looking different than in their online dating profile photos is the main cause of their disappearance: 15

Source: Dating.com Group.

Percentage of moms who say they get a better workout running after their kids than in a spin class, according to a Truvia sweetener survey: 60

Percentage who say that household chores count as cardio: 80

Source: Truvia.

Percentage of U.S. adults who do not expect their personal financial situation to improve in 2020 (this figure includes 41% who expect their finances to stay the same this year and 16% who say their finances will be worse), according to a study from Bankrate.com: 57

Percentage of those who expect their financial situation to improve who say it will be due to making more money at work: 49

Percentage who say they expect to have less debt in 2020: 42

Source: Bankrate.com.

Percentage of Americans who say that it is likely they will live longer than their parents, according to a poll from the Longevity Project and Morning Consult, developed in collaboration with the Stanford Center on Longevity: 63

Ranks of "having more time with their family" and "having new experiences" on the list of positive impacts of living longer: 1, 2

Source: Longevity Project.

Percentage of Americans who said they were spending 30% or less of their monthly income on housing, according to a survey based on questions prepared by Varo Money: 30

Percentage of respondents who stated that their overall expenses have increased in the past 12 months: 78

Ranks of utilities and food on the list of the largest nonhousing expenditures: 1, 2

Source: Varo Money.

Estimated percentage of women married in recent years who have kept their names, according to a Google consumer survey conducted by The Upshot: 20

Percentage who have chosen hyphenating their name or legally changing it while continuing to use their birth name professionally: 10

By comparison, percentage of women who married for the first time in the 1970s who kept their names: 17

Source: Google.

Percentage of Americans who say that the health care system treats physical and mental health as equally important, according to a survey from Ipsos Public Affairs: 23

Percentage who believe that seeing a mental health professional is a sign of strength: 71

Percentage who say people should adopt a more tolerant attitude toward people with mental illness: 69

Source: Ipsos Public Affairs.

Percentage of U.S. broadband households who own a home security system, according to Parks Associates: 33

Percentage who own a smart home control system, an increase of 38% since 2018: 18

Percentage who own at least one smart speaker or display, an increase of 10% since 2018: 41

Source: Parks Associates.

Idle Thought

"Getting money is not all a man's business; to cultivate kindness is a valuable part of the business of life." -- Samuel Johnson, "The Life of Samuel Johnson"

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

Including mortgages, credit cards and student loans, amount of debt owed by Americans, according to the New York Federal Reserve: $14 trillion

According to a recent survey conducted by Nationwide, percentage of Americans who are stressed thinking about their debt: 44

Percentage of respondents who said they feel a sense of relief and accomplishment when they pay off their debt: 54

Source: Nationwide.

Percentage of consumers who eat at fast-food restaurants once per month, according to RetailMeNot data: 86

Percentage who visit "fast casual" establishments: 67

Average cost per month of eating outside the home: $281

Source: RetailMeNot.com.

According to an ongoing Gallup Poll, percentage of Americans (totalling 45 million people) who stated they were utilizing CBD products and fewer opiates to aid with discomfort: 14

Source: Gallup Organization.

Ranks of Iceland, Norway and Finland on the list of countries where gender inequality -- the gap between men and women in terms of health, education, work and politics -- is the narrowest, according to the World Economic Forum: 1, 2, 3

Rank of the U.K.: 21

Rank of the U.S.: 53

Ranks of Pakistan, Iraq and Yemen (the bottom three): 151, 152, 153

Projected number of years it will take gender inequality to disappear altogether, according to the Forum: 99

Source: World Economic Forum.

Ranks of "lack of progression" and "low pay" on the list of reasons people quit their jobs, according to research by CareerAddict: 1, 2

Percentage who said they didn't regret leaving their jobs: 87

Percentage who also revealed they would consider returning if they were offered a better salary or a higher position: 35

Percentage of respondents who said their boss takes credit for their work: 50

Source: CareerAddict.

Percentage of Americans who say the media are important to American democracy, with over half saying they are very important, according to a survey conducted by Regina Corso Consulting: 85

Source: Regina Corso Consulting.

Percentage of professionals who said their company provides the option to work off-site, according to Robert Half: 47

Of those, percentage who take advantage of the perk and work from home: 70

Percentage who do their job from another location, such as a cafe or shared office space: 6

Source: Robert Half.

Percentage of workers who find digital administration boring and a poor use of their skills, according to research conducted by OnePoll: 48

Percentage who say it gets in the way of doing their main job: 51

Percentage who report that it reduces their overall productivity: 64

Ranks of general data entry, managing email traffic and filing digital documents -- such as documents, spreadsheets, images or PDFs -- into the correct digital folder on the list of the most-hated office tasks: 1, 2, 3

Source: OnePoll.

Ranks of dining out and travel/experiences on the list of categories that consumers are most likely to splurge on, as determined by 5W Public Relations in its 2020 consumer culture report: 1, 2

Source: 5W Public Relations.

Percentage of U.S. adults who have enough savings to cover a $1,000 emergency room visit or car repair, according to a report by Bankrate.com: 41

Percentage of adults (or their close family) who have experienced an unexpected expense in the past year: 28

Average cost of one: $3,518

Source: Bankrate.com.

Idle Thought

"Even the most beautiful scenery is no longer assured of our love after we have lived in it for three months, and some distant coast attracts our avarice: Possessions are generally diminished by possession." -- Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche

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