Benefits of Caring

Inclusive and personalised approaches to wellbeing

Living standards are improving at the slowest rate in over two hundred years, and inflation has hit a thirty-year high. Energy price surges, rising taxes, and fears of further disruption to global supply chains have impacted people nationwide.

The grim prospects are refusing to let up. Seismic drivers of financial instability have laid a heavy burden on individuals and their personal, mental, social and physical health. Combined with a renewed public preoccupation with health as a result of COVID-19, wellbeing has never been more valued by consumers.

In a recent McKinsey study, 8 in 10 people said they believed wellbeing is important — 4 in 10 considered it a top priority.

An expanding definition of wellbeing

Our concept of wellbeing has evolved. From treatment of illness to a lifestyle that focuses on prevention over cure. That means it is more holistic and more ubiquitous. Our understanding of what being ‘well’ means has changed.

A survey of consumers across the world identified the following components of wellbeing: health, fitness, nutrition, appearance, sleep, mindfulness.

Then there’s financial, social and emotional wellbeing. A $1.5 trillion dollar market is growing to accommodate these needs — and consumers are showing an increasing willingness to spend in this space.

Since the pandemic, the lines between our work and home lives have melded, merged and blurred into new configurations. If work is no longer confined to the office, the personal pressures and burdens of employees are no longer confined to the home.

While 90% of firms focus their wellness packages on managing employee mental health, 41% now also deal with social and financial wellbeing. Workers expect their unique circumstances to be accounted for by richer, more inclusive wellbeing packages. A quarter of people changed jobs during the pandemic to get more support for their wellbeing at work

On financial wellbeing — 49% Forty nine percent of workers say that it’s a workplace’s responsibility to help improve financial worries beyond just providing a wage. This was particularly felt by younger generations, with 64% of 18–24-year-olds expressing the sentiment.

• Bupa has rolled out an earned-wage access system, releasing earnings before payday, to its 11,000 care home staff via Wagestream. Since rollout, 50% felt more in control of their finances.
• Financial product provider Cushon’s app allows workers to save and invest their pay in ISAs and other financial instruments.
• Google offer personal financial coaching to drive measurable improvements in employee saving, spending, debt, retirement, and other financial decisions.

Who will be the first company to meet that need for a more holistic vision of wellbeing? Where will our priorities be five years from now? How is the mainstream understanding of wellbeing changing?

Wellbeing 2.0: Personalisation and inclusion

The pull of the personal and bespoke, a common trend in e-commerce or social media, has gained ground in the wellness space, integrating into people’s day-to-day through wearable tech. In the US, UK, and Germany, 9 in 10 consumers report prioritising personalisation in their wellbeing products and services more than they did two years ago.

Many essential workers had to work onsite when everyone else was at home. Some 9 in 10 of them reported feeling anxiety while working. Wellbeing needs for these workers are different to those of remote workers, who themselves faced isolation, loneliness, and financial insecurity.

An interest in wellbeing is expanding beyond white collar workers. What about call centres? Factories? Retail? Hospitality? All huge employers. All a world away from the office or work from homers that dominate the wellbeing conversation.

Then consider language and literacy, sex and gender, family demands, religion, culture, age, and health status. One-size most certainly does not fit all, and there has been a real shift towards inclusive products that look to distinct needs:

• Between 2019 and 2020 there has been a 500% increase in family-building benefits, with companies funding IVF treatments and egg-freezing.
• Controversial start-up Moodbeam launched a silicone wristband to tell managers if individual workers were happy or sad, even at home.
• Aviva’s Flex-pertise package allows employees to change their wellbeing package as they reach different life stages, e.g. spouse critical illness cover or bereavement support.

What role will personalisation play in wellbeing in the future? How can we adapt wellbeing products and services for different needs and audiences? How will the burgeoning wellbeing market evolve to make sure everyone’s needs are met, no matter how unique?

In our next Exchange discussion, we’ll be bringing leaders from a wide range of different sectors to talk about net zero — and what that entails in 2022.