What is the wellbeing of Poles in different age groups? Which factors determine its level and how is it affected by the type of work performed? What measures should you implement to comprehensively take care of wellbeing for yourself and your organisation? You can find it out from the report “Wellbeing of Poles” prepared by infuture.institute in cooperation with Benefit Systems.
Wellbeing in times of polycrisis
We live in a polycrisis world, where crises overlap and interact with each other, and through digitisation and access to various sources of information are constantly present in our lives. Geopolitical, economic, health, social, climate and even technological factors affect us every day, both at the individual and organisational levels.
People experiencing high wellbeing levels are able to better cope with the negative impact of random situations on their lives. Against this backdrop, the issue of taking care of wellbeing at the individual and corporate level becomes crucial. Answers to the question of its state in our population are provided by the report “Wellbeing of Poles”, prepared by infuture.institute on behalf of Benefit Systems.
The multifaceted nature of wellbeing has been put into an orderly structure. Wellbeing has been divided into two types of areas that make it up – internal and external. Each consists of 3 elements, together forming 6 interrelated areas:
Internal areas are more subjective elements, related to the individual:
physical health – fitness, shape, but also proper diet or health prevention,
mental health – mental flexibility and ability to cope with challenges,
inner peace – living in harmony with values, pursuing one’s passions and a sense of purpose.
External areas refer to elements of social life, finances or the environment, expressed in the following aspects:
comfort of life – a sense of security (including financial), conditions for effective leisure,
relationships with others – contacts with relatives and friends, a sense of belonging,
contact with nature – fulfilling the need to be close to nature, environmental awareness.
What is the level of Poles’ wellbeing?
A report prepared by infuture.institute in cooperation with Benefit Systems shows that Poles’ wellbeing is currently not in the best condition. Almost half of respondents (47%) rated it as medium. In the survey, the average wellbeing of all Poles was 4.9 on a 10-point scale.
Poles also identified factors that support and disrupt wellbeing. Among disruptive factors, daily stress (40% of indications) and low income (37% of indications) topped the list, while 24% of respondents also indicated that they were bothered by the rush and pace of life. Meanwhile, among the elements that improve wellbeing, Poles cite financial independence (72%), good physical health (68%), a sense of security (64%), and mental health (63%).
Low and very low wellbeing is most often experienced by those aged 35-44, representatives of the so-called “sandwich generation”. They are active professionals, often at the peak of their careers, with children to care for, and supporting their ailing and aging parents – the pressures of life work both ways on them. This generation is the backbone of the workforce – according to Statistics Poland, the average age of workers in Poland today is slightly over 42. These individuals are very valuable to companies, often being experts or managers in their own right, and their wellbeing significantly affects the efficiency of the entire organisation.
Take a look at the full content of our report “Wellbeing of Poles”!
Wellbeing in the workplace
Work is one of the key factors, as it takes up a third of adult life and affects many areas of wellbeing, such as mental health, relationships and finances. Much depends on its form. A higher level of wellbeing in the survey is reported by respondents who work in a hybrid model (52%). The groups working from home (44%) and providing work from the office (39%) fared slightly worse.
Interestingly, the work model also affects our subjective sense of age, also correlated with wellbeing. People who work in a hybrid model not only have a higher sense of wellbeing, but also feel younger. In contrast, those who work exclusively on site are less likely to indicate very good wellbeing, but also do not experience very low wellbeing as often as with other work models. Instead, they more often feel subjectively older.
So it is no surprise that wellbeing has become a key issue in the workplace. The employer can have a tremendous impact on eliminating factors that reduce its level. On the other hand, leaders can take measures to foster wellbeing, such as those related to building a sense of security and happiness as part of a wellbeing strategy. This is important because employees who are employed by companies that support their overall wellbeing are less likely to change jobs and suffer from burnout.
Why is it important to measure wellbeing?
The report “Wellbeing of Poles” has provided a lot of interesting data at the national level. However, it is worth remembering that from the company’s perspective, it is crucial to determine the level of wellbeing among employees. Why is it so essential?
In the current environment, elements of private and professional life are increasingly intersecting. As a result, an employee who is satisfied with the quality of their personal life also performs better at work. Conversely, their personal problems may negatively affect the quality of duties performed. In this regard, activities that foster the comprehensive building of team members’ wellbeing are crucial.
That is why infuture.institute, on behalf of Benefit Systems, developed the Wellbeing Score – a proprietary wellbeing indicator that allows you to monitor wellbeing and proactively work to improve performance.. The model is:
holistic – takes into account multiple factors,
contextual – dependent on the situation in which we find ourselves,
time-varying – takes into account the stage of life,
multi-level – because wellbeing is a spectrum.
For companies, the Wellbeing Score is a tool for measuring the organisation’s overall wellbeing, whereas for employees, it is an effective way to check individual wellbeing. Importantly, the tool is available as part of the MultiLife platform, which offers a range of solutions to support different areas of employee wellbeing, such as consultations with a psychologist, sports coach, financial coach or dietitian, access to physical activity and preventive healthcare, as well as webinars and training.
Benefit Systems, in cooperation with Natalia Hatalska’s infuture.institute, studied wellbeing and described it in the language of real indicators. These indicators are worth using for further diagnosis and improvement of wellbeing. Both from the perspective of the individual and the organisation.
