In a world where wellbeing is constantly promoted as a personal quest, the results of the Global Wellbeing Report 2024, conducted by Edelman Data & Intelligence, reveal a surprising finding: that people’s overall wellbeing is not improving. This report is based on research carried out in 15 countries, including Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia.
Over the past four years, global wellness scores have not risen or shown significant variation. It currently stands at 66/100, compared with 65 in 2021, after the pandemic. And, paradoxically, the pressure exerted by society to “be well” could actually be making people feel worse.
Today, 61% of people feel under constant pressure to maintain or even improve their level of wellbeing in specific ways. This societal expectation to look and feel good, combined with often contradictory information on how to take care of yourself, leads to almost one in two people (45%) experiencing “wellbeing burnout”. This manifests itself as a state of physical, mental or social exhaustion caused by prolonged stress and an inability to meet expectations.
Worse still, 63% of those experiencing this kind of burnout feel powerless to improve their wellbeing, creating a vicious circle. Younger generations are particularly affected: 76% of generation Z and 71% of millennials say they feel pressure in the ways they are expected to support their wellbeing, compared with just 41% of baby boomers.
This feeling of expectation or pressure hits hardest among those who already feel a sense of loneliness or social disconnection, crucial factors in burnout.
The study identifies three main sources of this relentless pressure: unrealistic societal expectations, contradictory information, and a sense of isolation. Some 61% of people feel social norms dictate that they must always look good, while 53% complain there is too much conflicting advice on how to achieve wellness.
Finally, disconnection from the community accentuates this malaise: 89% of those suffering a wellness burnout cite loneliness as an aggravating factor.
Breaking this vicious circle doesn’t necessarily require drastic action, according to the report. Indeed, the experts often point to simple actions to improve wellbeing, such as taking breaks from social networking (resulting in 9% improved wellbeing), setting boundaries in your work/life balance (13%), doing things at your own pace (15%), spending time in nature or outdoors (18%), or taking walks of less than 15 minutes (13%).
Engaging in physical activities also contributes to improving day-to-day wellness. Here again, it doesn’t take much: mindfulness exercises such as meditation, for example, increase wellbeing by 12%.
Combining low-intensity exercise with activities you can do at home reportedly improves it by 13%, while getting your body moving a little throughout the day (16%) is also cited as a beneficial action.
In addition, the study highlights the fact that doing things in a group can boost wellbeing further: playing a team sport (14%), taking part in a group fitness class (15%), or going for a walk in nature with other people (18%).
At a time when societal pressure to “feel well” seems to be growing, it seems more essential than ever to strike a balance between external expectations and our own needs, to prevent the quest for wellbeing from becoming an additional source of stress.