Week 24: Health, wealth and happiness

This week’s well-being index drops by 2 points, registering at 36, which is the lowest well-being score for twelve weeks.

This decline appears to be driven by men, with well-being dropping by 8 points to 27%. This is the lowest score male well-being has reached since the index began and reflects the dramatic declines across all areas this week. Perhaps the fall in wealth satisfaction and happiness in men can be linked to the recent travel chaos, with unplanned expenditure, loss of working days and stressful journeys back to the UK all contributing.

People’s financial satisfaction shows a varied picture this week. Following last week’s increase amongst men, this week sees a dramatic drop by 11 points to 21%. With less than a quarter of men now feeling financially satisfied perhaps recent economic problems throughout Europe are causing feelings of uneasiness. The younger generation and the grey market also register significant drops, decreasing by 6 and 8 points respectively. In contrast, the financial satisfaction amongst women increases by 4 points to 29% this week. This, combined with a 3 point rise in happiness suggests that increased financial stability has had a positive impact on morale.

The most notable drop in health levels this week is felt amongst the grey market, where there is a fall of 6 points to 36%. Perhaps this is due to 55-74 year olds feeling fewer benefits of summer fitness regimes, in comparison to other age groups. In contrast, the 16-34 age group has a further increase this week by 1 point to 56% – it’s highest for three weeks.

Here are the results by each demographic:

Young People
Wealth levels continue to fall, despite the boost seen last week. A drop of 6 points this week puts the financial satisfaction of 16-34 year olds at its lowest for many weeks. Whilst there are financial pressures, there is an increase in health and happiness and the well-being index remains unchanged at 37%, suggesting that financial stability isn’t such a priority for this age group.

Middle-aged band
A drop in happiness by 7 points makes this age group the least content generation, at 35%. With a decline also recorded in health (34%) and well-being (32%), could looming exams and final assessments for younger members of the family be causing a strain on parents at this time of year?

Grey Market
The decline in well-being by 2 points, bringing it down to 39% is a decline for the fourth consecutive week. In addition to this, significant drops in health and wealth, by 6 and 8 points respectively, suggest that the uncertain future being brought about by the election is causing anxiety for the grey market.