Wellbeing in Canada is at an all-time low as people struggle with lifestyle challenges around sleep and physical activity, according to a report by virtual health and wellness platform, Dialogue Health Technologies, released this week.
The report shows that overall employee wellbeing scores are generally low, and remain significantly worse than pre-pandemic levels, and could be indicative of trends seen across the globe.
Dialogue’s Well-Being Report: A benchmark for Canadian health, is based on the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Well-Being Index (WHO-5), one of the most widely used questionnaires to measure wellness to benchmarks thousands of people across Canada.
Based on data gathered through Dialogue’s Well-Being Score benchmarking thousands of people across Canada, Dialogue says it is also indicative of trends seen across the globe.
The Well-Being Score gives insights across five dimensions of mental health and wellbeing, including mood, stress, sleep, activeness, and sense of purpose.
Results showed lower scores on sleep and physical activity compared to any other dimension.
These two areas can be affected by work stress, family obligations and, in light of the current rise in living costs, financial stress and anxiety, resulting in downstream effects like lack of energy and overall productivity.
Dialogue said: “The data uncovered from the Canadian survey is worryingly reflective of a similar scenario playing out in the UK, with the NHS reporting that 64% of people aged 17 to 23 years of age had sleep issues three or more times in a given week, and with sleep issues being even more prevalent in young people with mental health disorders.
“Mental Health UK cites nearly one in five people in the UK aren’t getting enough sleep, and that 37% of adults in the UK blame their work for reducing the amount of control they feel they have over their sleep.”
Pre-pandemic levels
The report also shows that overall wellbeing scores are significantly worse than pre-pandemic levels.
Older Gen Zs and younger millennials (age 20-29) displayed the lowest subjective scores compared to other adult age groups. This was consistent with increased rates of mental health diagnoses for people of similar age.
Dialogue noted “However, when presented with options to improve wellbeing, 71% of employees with access to Dialogue’s Wellness Programme who benchmarked their wellbeing were motivated to start a small, easily measurable, and attainable new habit.”
Dr Marc Robin, medical director at Dialogue, said: “Measuring and benchmarking how people are feeling and areas of lifestyle in which they are struggling is the key to unlocking the right resources to improve wellbeing through small, measurable changes to daily habits.
“By leveraging the WHO-5 self-assessment, individuals are guided to recognise and embrace the small, everyday steps, such as walking more, that lead to a healthier lifestyle.
“This approach not only provides proven strategies for improved wellbeing but also empowers people to take charge of their health, nurturing better habits early on and reducing the need for more serious care later on.”
“When an employee’s wellbeing is low, benchmarking can additionally help direct employees to the best next step,” said Dr Robin.
“This could mean implementing a healthy habit or leveraging existing benefits such as employee assistance programmes which are traditionally offered across most organisations, but many never use.”