Percentage of employees polled who say they have missed workplace banter during lockdown, according to a survey by Laundrapp: 40

Percentage who are looking forward to socializing with office colleagues: 34

Percentage who will miss spending time with the people they live with: 24

Source: Laundrapp.

Percentage of Americans who worry about job security this Labor Day, according to a survey by WalletHub: 33

Percentage of people who think that Congress should continue to give extra unemployment benefits until the pandemic ends: 74

Source: WalletHub.

Percentage of adult women in the U.S. who find men who wear a face mask in public during the COVID-19 pandemic sexier than those who do not (including women who are currently in a relationship with a non-mask wearer), according to a survey for the sexual wellness brand Royal: 88

Source: Royal/Take Shape PR.

Percentage of U.S. adults who are worried about the rising price of groceries, according to an American Staffing Association survey: 75

Ranks of the overall cost of living rising, stock market ups and downs and retirement funds losing money on the list of top reasons U.S. adults are worried about reinstatement of stay-at-home orders in the event of a COVID-19 resurgence in the next year: 2, 3, 4

Source: American Staffing Association.

Percentage of learners who say the pandemic has fundamentally changed education as we know it and they believe there is little likelihood of ever returning to the pre-COVID world of fully in-person work and learning, according to the results of a survey conducted by Pearson: 75

Percentage of learners globally who say online learning will be a permanent part of primary, secondary and higher education moving forward: 88

Percentage of people who say that the pandemic has permanently changed the way people work: 77

Source: Pearson.

This year, percentage of Americans who say they had planned to spend money on big-ticket items, such as buying a new car, paying off debt, going on a vacation abroad or buying a new house, according to a survey by N26: 61

As new challenges and priorities emerged with the crisis, percentage of people who were forced to cancel or postpone such spending: 63

Percentage of people in this situation who lost money because of canceled plans (with an average loss of $759): 39

Percentage who actually saved money as a result: 71

Average amount saved by those who held onto their money: $2,102.

Source: N26.

Percentage of students who lack consistent access to high-speed internet and Wi-Fi, according to a new survey from Visual Objects: 51

Despite expected issues of cheating and technology accessibility, percentage of students who are comfortable taking online courses: 55

Percentage who believe remote learning will not affect their grades: 47

Source: Visual Objects.

Percentage of people who said they've left the kitchen while cooking on the stove, according to an American Red Cross survey: 70

Percentage who left the room or fell asleep while burning candles: 33

Percentage of adults who reported not purchasing a fire alarm because of the expense -- representing nearly 33 million Americans, which is greater than the population of Texas: 10

Source: American Red Cross.

Percentage of homeowners who live in high-risk states for hurricanes who feel prepared for the current hurricane season, according to research by ValuePenguin: 86

Percentage who haven't actually made any preparations: 33

Percentage of homeowners in hurricane-prone states who have no idea how much hurricane-related insurance coverage they need to be fully protected: 45

Source: ValuePenguin.com.

While 90% of high school seniors state they are moderately to extremely knowledgeable about all the financing options for college, percentage who either do not plan to or aren't yet sure if they'll fill out a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), according to research by Ascent Funding: 32

Percentage of high school seniors who plan to apply for merit-based aid or scholarships to pay for college: 44

Percentage who are already planning to work specifically to pay for the cost of their education, adding distractions to their studies prior to even being on campus and settling in to college life: 56

Source: Ascent Funding.

Idle Thought

"We haven't yet learned how to stay human when assembled in masses." -- Lewis Thomas, physician and author

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

Percentage of Americans who replied "definitely yes" or "yes" to the question, "Do you think high school students should take personal finance courses in high school?" according to research conducted by the National Financial Educators Council: 84.5

Source: National Financial Educators Council.

Percentage of Americans who now say they wear a mask at all times when they leave home, according to the Axios-Ipsos Coronavirus Index: 63

Percentage who say they wear one at least some of the time: 88

Percentage who say their own behavior is making the pandemic better: 81

Source: Ipsos Public Affairs.

Percentage of professionals who said it's appropriate to discuss politics with colleagues, according to research from global staffing firm Robert Half: 22

Percentage who noted it's never OK: 26

Percentage of respondents who stated it depends on the situation: 53

Source: Robert Half.

Percentage of university students who dislike virtual learning environments necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a survey of university students across North America, South America and Europe by the Three Amigos, a group of three university professors and four students: 65

After the conversion to a virtual educational environment, percentage of students who reported lower overall performance and outcomes: 79

Percentage who reported lower test results: 59

When asked about what could be improved in virtual teaching, percentage of students who wanted more personal interaction with professors and fellow students -- sharing ideas, knowledge, opinions, points of view and experiences: 75

Source: Three Amigos.

Estimated number of states that do not mandate face coverings in public, according to Clutch's 2020 Return to Work Survey: 15

As offices reopen, percentage of U.S companies that say masks will be part of the employee dress code: 60

Percentage of companies actively creating guidelines and making changes to prepare their office space for their staff's return: 91 

Source: Clutch.

Percentage of renters who say they would rent an apartment without ever seeing the property in person if a 3D virtual tour was offered, according to a survey conducted by Zumper and Matterport: 72

Percentage of property owners who have advertised with a 3D walkthrough who were able to rent their property entirely virtually: 82

Percentage who say that potential renters would be more interested in a listing that offered a 3D virtual tour over one that didn't: 90

Source: Zumper.

For students returning to the classroom, percentage of parents who plan to use their car to take their children to school, according to a survey by Cars.com: 55

Percentage increase in the number of parents who are planning to carpool with other families: 22

Percentage of parents who will have their kids take the school bus, a 31% drop compared to pre-pandemic estimates: 30

Source: Cars.com.

Percentage of K-12 educators who consider their job at least somewhat risky in terms of potential exposure to people who may have COVID-19, according to a poll by the Center for State and Local Government Excellence: 72

Percentage who say the risks they are taking working during the pandemic are not on par with their compensation: 26

Source: Center for State and Local Government Excellence.

Percentage of parents who felt very prepared to become a parent, according to research by Boudreaux's Butt Paste: 12

Percentage who revealed that their baby has a more expensive personal care routine than they do: 56

Even with feeling unprepared -- and having a handful of "hiccups" per week -- percentage of parents who said they excel in teaching their children to be kind and compassionate: 66

Source: Boudreaux's Butt Paste.

Idle Thought

"I dreamt that my hair was kempt. Then I dreamt that my true love unkempt it." -- Ogden Nash, poet

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

Percentage of employees who say their employer tracks them with employee monitoring software, according to new data from Clutch: 21

Percentage of employees in the U.S. who say their company doesn't use employee monitoring software: 49

Percentage of employees who believe they would trust their employer more if they used the software: 10

Percentage who believe employee monitoring software would reduce trust: 37

Source: Clutch.

Percentage of parents with school-age children who say remote learning due to the COVID-19 outbreak during the 2020-21 school year would negatively impact their finances, according to a survey by Bankrate.com: 61

Overall, percentage of parents who would incur additional miscellaneous expenses (technology, tutoring, meals, etc.): 30

Percentage who believe their career opportunities would be limited by balancing work and child care: 22

Percentage who would have to cut back on their work hours: 23

Percentage who would have to pay for additional child care: 16

Source: Bankrate.com.

Percentage of the U.S. population who are aware of the importance of sun protection and state they use sun protection during sun exposure, according to a survey on sunscreen habits by ISIDIN: 50.3

Percentage who use sunscreen on a daily basis: 37

Percentage of skin aging that is caused by accumulative sun damage: 80

Source: ISIDIN.

Percentage of owners of small- to medium-sized businesses who report customer numbers are back up to what they experienced before the virus -- an 8% jump over last month, according to an Alignable survey: 32

Percentage who report they are at or above pre-COVID levels: 26

Percentage who say they're operating with only half (or less) of their January 2020 revenues: 47

Source: Alignable.

Percentage of concert and festival fans who are opting to keep tickets for rescheduled live shows, according to financial results released by Live Nation Entertainment, Inc.: 86

Number of tickets sold to more than 4,000 concerts and festivals scheduled for 2021: 19 million

Source: Live Nation Entertainment.

Percentage of shoppers who plan to stock up if another shutdown occurs, according to a COVID-19 grocery shopper research report from Acosta: 53

Percentage of shoppers who stocked up at the start of the pandemic and plan to stock up again in the event of another shutdown: 38

Source: Acosta.

Percentage of people in the U.S. who have participated in remote training, according to a new survey report from Clutch: 57

Percentage of people who participated in remote training who say it was ineffective: 27

Percentage of employees who say that remote training is either somewhat or very effective: 61

Source: Clutch.

Ranks of laptop, speakers/headphones and electronic accessories on the list of items that parents and students expect to have to buy should online education be the educational scenario this fall, according to a survey by the National Retail Federation: 1, 2, 3,

Percentage of K-12 families who expect to buy computers and other electronics this year, up from 54% last year: 63

Source: NRF.

Percentage increase in fall and Labor Day bookings for RVs, according to an RVshare survey: 50

Percentage who plan to travel in the next three months and hope to do so for seven to 10 days: 69

Percentage who report that they will not fly anytime soon, and will continue to choose road tripping: 63

Source: RVshare.

Idle Thought

"Work saves us from three great evils: boredom, vice and need. " -- Voltaire, philosopher

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