oddities

Figuratively Speaking for April 17, 2020

Figuratively Speaking by by John MacIntyre
by John MacIntyre
Figuratively Speaking | April 17th, 2020

Percentage of Americans who say nurses and doctors should be regarded as heroes, according to a survey by More in Common: 84

Percentage who say the same for police, firefighters and emergency medical teams: 71

Source: More in Common.

Percentage of Americans who said their Easter spending was affected by the coronavirus this year, according to WalletHub: 68

Approximate percentage of Easter-celebrating Americans who said they skipped out on candy, new outfits and Easter foods this year, compared with prior years: 50

Source: WalletHub.

Percentage of Americans who say they don't wash their hands after using the restroom, according to a ValuePenguin.com survey: 40

Percentage who admit to regularly biting their nails: 18

Percentage who confessed to sleeping next to their phones, which are capable of containing millions of bacteria on their surfaces: 45

Source: ValuePenguin.com.

Percentage of Americans who say if they lost their job due to COVID-19, they would need additional education or training to obtain a comparable job, according to a Strada Education Network survey: 33

Percentage who report they have lost their job or have had their income reduced due to COVID-19: 46

Percentage who say that in times of economic uncertainty, getting more education is essential: 66

Source: Strada Education Network.

Percentage of Americans who currently work at home or have worked from home in the last year, according to research by Blackhawk Network: 71

Percentage who prefer their employers engage them via rewards and incentives -- citing prepaid credit cards and gift cards as the incentive they most want to receive: 84

Source: Blackhawk Network.

Percentage of charities that anticipate their 2020 revenue will be lower than expected, according to research from the Better Business Bureau's Give.org: 80

Percentage who are concerned about maintaining a financially stable organization in 2020: 89.4

Ranks of donors will likely be less able to give, charities will be less able to host fundraising events and donors will redirect support to individuals in need on the list of reasons for the anticipated decreased revenue: 1, 2, 3

Source: BBB Wise Giving Alliance.

Percentage of businesses that did not have a crisis communications plan in place prior to the pandemic, according to a poll released by 5W Public Relations: 67

Percentage of businesses that have seen a negative impact on their business due to COVID-19: 75

Percentage who agree this pandemic will forever change the way we do business: 84

Percentage who have offered free goods or services during the pandemic to help the community/country: 61

Source: 5W Public Relations.

Among U.S. adults who anticipate receiving a stimulus check, percentage who believe that the money would not be enough to sustain their financial well-being for one month, according to a poll by Bankrate.com: 31

Of those who anticipate receiving a stimulus check, percentage who think they would use the added money to help pay monthly bills (e.g. rent/mortgage, utilities): 50

Source: Bankrate.com.

Percentage of Americans who said they are currently self-quarantining, up from 11% on March 15, according to a survey by SurveyMonkey: 50

Percentage who are worried that they or someone in their family will be infected with the virus, up from 57% on March 15: 80

Percentage of Americans who know someone who has been infected with the virus personally: 21

Percentage who are worried about the impact of the coronavirus on the national economy, up from 81% on March 15: 92

Source: Survey Monkey.

Percentage of small businesses that have not yet applied for their CARES Act relief but plan to, according to an Alignable Pulse Poll: 19.3

Of those who have applied, percentage who stated that their bank wasn't ready to accept applications: 11.1

Percentage who have been approved and are awaiting money: 4.9

Percentage who are awaiting approval: 63.8

Percentage who have received their money: 0.8

Source: Alignable.

Idle Thought

"It is only when a man tames his own demons that he becomes the king of himself if not of the world." -- Joseph Campbell, "The Hero With a Thousand Faces"

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

oddities

Figuratively Speaking for April 10, 2020

Figuratively Speaking by by John MacIntyre
by John MacIntyre
Figuratively Speaking | April 10th, 2020

Percentage of Americans who believe that grocery workers should have guaranteed access to emergency paid sick days, according to a poll taken by LeanIn.Org: 72

Percentage who say pharmacy workers deserve the same thing: 71

Source: LeanIn.Org.

Although 31% of respondents to an ROI Rocket survey indicate they're "very concerned" about contracting the virus themselves, percentage who report taking appropriate precautions: 91

Ranks of washing hands for 20 seconds (89%) and social distancing/avoiding large crowds (81%) on the list of the most popularly reported precautions: 1, 2

Source: ROI Rocket.

In a survey by the creators of the dating app Crush, percentage of users who say they would meet potential love interests in person, despite global stay-at-home orders due to the spread of the coronavirus: 78

Among the respondents in favor of in-person meetups, percentage that are men: 63

Source: Crush.

Percentage of credit card holders, or about 110 million U.S. adults, who entered the coronavirus outbreak with credit card debt, according to a CreditCards.com report: 59

Of those with credit card debt, percentage (representing 61 million people) who had been carrying that debt for at least one year: 56

Of those, number who had been carrying debt for at least three years: 27 million

Source: CreditCards.com.

Estimated percentage of business owners who say their businesses are hurting from the coronavirus, according to a survey by WalletHub: 87

Percentage of small-business owners who say their business can survive only for less than three months in current conditions: 35

Percentage who think that minimizing COVID-19 deaths is more important than reopening the economy: 79

Source: WalletHub.

Percentage of Americans who are concerned about their physical health, compared to 58% of Americans who are concerned about their mental health because of social distancing, according to findings of the America's Mental Health COVID-19 Pulse Study by Cohen Veterans Network: 70

Percentage who worry that people who need mental health services won't be able to get help: 80

Source: Cohen Veterans Network.

As a result of the coronavirus crisis, percentage of Americans who now agree with the statement that "we are all in it together," rather than "it's everyone for themselves" -- compared to just 63% in 2018, according to a survey by More in Common: 90

Percentage who now regard the country as "very divided," down from 62% in 2018: 22

Percentage of respondents who say nurses and doctors should be regarded as heroes: 84

Percentage who say the same for police officers, firefighters and emergency medical teams: 71

Percentage of Americans who say that they are more grateful for grocery store staff, with 65% saying they deserve to be regarded as heroes: 76

Source: More in Common.

Percentage of small businesses that say they've been negatively impacted by the coronavirus (up from 60% just two weeks ago), according to a poll by Alignable.com: 90

Percentage that say they have less than one month's savings to keep them afloat: 37

Percentage that say they're not sure where else to turn for extra funding to stay in business: 65

Source: Alignable.

Percentage of investors who are worried they'll lose all of their retirement savings because of the coronavirus outbreak, according to research by LendingTree: 38

Percentage who said they've already lost money from investments during the pandemic (this does not include the 26% of respondents who weren't sure if they had lost money): 59

Percentage of respondents who said they're avoiding looking at their investment portfolio amid the coronavirus pandemic: 39

Source: LendingTree.

Percentage of American leisure and business travelers who said their travel had been upended by the virus, according to Destination Analysts' Coronavirus Travel Sentiment tracking study (collected March 27-29): 66

Percentage of American travelers who now say they will change the types of destinations they choose to visit after the coronavirus situation is resolved: 29

Source: Destination Analysts.

Idle Thought

"Kindness is a language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see." -- Mark Twain

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

oddities

Figuratively Speaking for April 03, 2020

Figuratively Speaking by by John MacIntyre
by John MacIntyre
Figuratively Speaking | April 3rd, 2020

At a time when more Americans may find themselves at home due to the coronavirus, percentage of U.S. adults who have used someone else's account or password to access subscriber-only content -- including video streaming, music streaming and online journalism, according to a study by bankrate.com: 42

Percentage of those with a subscriber-only account who have shared their subscription information with someone else: 56

Percentage of millennials with these accounts who are the most likely lenders: 74

Amount of money that millennial subscription borrowers believe the practice saves them annually: $666

Source: Bankrate.com.

Ranks of Finland, Denmark, Switzerland, Iceland, Norway, The Netherlands, Sweden, New Zealand, Austria and Luxembourg on the list of the world's happiness countries, according to the World Happiness Report: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

In the last three years, number of times Finland has placed No. 1 in the report: 3

Number of the world's richest, biggest economies that cracked the top 10: 0

Rank of China: 93

Rank of Russia: 73

Rank of the United States: 19

Source: World Happiness Report.

Percentage of Americans who are "certain" they understand how the coronavirus spreads, according to the market research team at Colling Media: 48

Among all respondents, percentage who say they are closely following news about the coronavirus: 74

Source: Colling Media.

Percentage of teens living in rural areas who lack access to high-speed internet, rendering them less confident about graduating high school as well as future prospects for jobs and financial success, according to a survey by the National 4-H Council and Microsoft Corp.: 20

Percentage who said they've struggled to complete homework due to slow internet connections: 50

Percentage of American teens who said high-speed internet access could change their community for the better by improving the local economy: 80

Source: National 4-H Council.

Percentage of Americans who support expanding paid sick leave access beyond the provisions included in the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, according to a poll taken by LeanIn.Org: 76

Percentage of Americans who think at least some workers affected by the coronavirus should have access to paid leave for illness or quarantine: 95

Percentage who say health care workers should have access to paid sick days: 77

Source: LeanIn.Org.

As a direct result of COVID-19, percentage of Americans who feel that riding public transit poses a high health risk due to the virus, according to a poll by Northstar: 48

Percentage who report decreased usage of public transportation (subways, buses and light rail): 30 to 40

Source: Northstar Travel Media Research.

Percentage of consumers who have access to an internet-connected TV, according to the results of a survey by Integral Ad Science: 90

Percentage of people who are willing to see ads in exchange for watching free streaming video: 76

Source: Integral Ad Science Inc.

Percentage of enterprises around the globe that say the COVID-19 outbreak is having somewhat of a negative impact on overall business operations, according to a survey conducted by 451 Research, the emerging technology research unit of S&P Global Market Intelligence: 63

Percentage of respondents who are expecting to invest more in employee communication and collaboration technology: 43

Source: S&P Global Market Intelligence.

Percentage of Americans 18 and older who support government-mandated measures of one sort or another in response to the coronavirus pandemic, according to a survey by ROI Rocket: 98

Ranks of restricting travel (85%), imposing quarantines (72%), restricting the operating hours of bars and restaurants (70%) and shutting down schools (70%) on the list of restrictions Americans support: 1, 2, 3 (tie)

Source: ROI Rocket.

Percentage of broadband households that say it would be very difficult to be without broadband service, a finding likely to grow stronger given the public health emergency mandating stay-at-home periods, according to research by Parks Associates: 76

Percentage who would cancel their pay-TV subscription before canceling their broadband service: 60

Source: Parks Associates.

Percentage of organizations that say growing and managing their employee base in new countries limits their international expansion to some degree, according to a report commissioned by ADP: 93

Percentage who say that recruitment challenges are one of the greatest obstacles to their global expansion: 46

Percentage who agree that HR-related issues are some of the most challenging barriers they have when expanding beyond their home country: 71

Source: ADP.

Idle Thought

"We must be willing to let go of the life we have planned, so as to have the life that is waiting for us." -- E.M. Forster, novelist

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

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