Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, people in Ireland are exercising less, feel more isolated, are half a stone heavier and are more sedentary during the work day according to Irish Life’s Health of the Nation research. The research, completed in May 2022 and based on a nationally representative sample of adults, indicates a need to tackle the effects of post-pandemic exercise inertia and its knock-on impact on the happiness and sociability of adults in Ireland.
When it comes to physical health, the research shows that exercise is decreasing while
weight is continuing an upward trend. The number of people who exercise more than 3.5
hours a week has decreased by 7% since 2020. Despite the average height remaining
constant, the research findings show that the average weight has increased by half a stone
since 2018, which is the equivalent of three pineapples.
In terms of social health, interestingly there’s been a really big change with 76% of people
now saying they like spending time alone, compared to 48% in 2019. However, there’s been an almost doubling of people now feeling lonely or isolated, up to 34% compared to 19% before COVID-19.
The research also found Irish adults are more stressed, depressed and with less hope for
the future in comparison to 2020. This includes hope for the future being at an all-time low
with over half of people feeling only ‘somewhat hopeful’, and 4 out of 10 respondents
reporting severe or moderate distress. More than 1 in 4 of under 35s are reporting severe
distress, while women are more likely to report severe distress than men.
Of those who classified themselves as being severely distressed, 19% indicated that they
undertook no exercise, compared to 13% and 14% in the mild and moderate group
respectively.
Work life balance
While social and mental health has wavered following the pandemic, work life balance has
become the most important aspect of a role (47%), more than double the next most
important aspect, salary, at 20% and job satisfaction third with 14%.
Professor David Collings, Professor of Human Resource Management at DCU said: “There is
little doubt that the increasing prioritisation of work-life balance is a partial explanation for
the staffing challenges being faced in hospitality and other sectors where employees are
looking for alternatives to the long and anti-social hours which were the norm. Those lucky
enough to work from home during the pandemic, also experienced tension in this regard
with some research suggesting that working from home meant that the work day extended
for many and increasingly impinged on social and family time. The Health of the Nation
findings provides some support for those trends. This challenges organisations to think
about how they design and allocate work to help employees more effectively balance their
work and life.”
Stacey Machesney, Head of Health and Wellbeing at Irish Life said: “We see how wellbeing is strongly linked to happiness and life satisfaction, and how the priority has shifted to focus on maintaining a work life balance and increasing quality time with friends and family above career development and salary goals. It is important that companies and teams ensure they are investing in what employees care about and that these values are driven throughout the company culture. It is our goal at Irish Life to identify the nation’s current health index and then work to empower people with lifestyle interventions that will help them live healthier lives.”
Irish Life was also able to determine the nation’s attitude toward workplace wellbeing
following two years of remote working. The research highlighted a range of disparities relating to workplace wellbeing regarding female and male workers. The average number of short breaks taken during the working day was 2.16 for men and 1.67 for women. Men were also more likely to feel expected to check and reply to work emails outside of work hours, with 38% feeling an expectation compared to 27% of women.
The Health of the Nation research has been conducted on an annual basis since 2018,
aside from 2021 where restrictions were in place due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The full Health of the Nation research results can be accessed here
