McCann wellbeing study finds that community is now vital to Brits after Covid-19

The Truth about Wellness

• Signaling a move away from individualism, the report found that 45% of people in the UK believe they are only as healthy as those around them – up from 12% who reported feeling this way in 2012.

• In tandem with this insight, it was found that 52% of Britons have reassessed their life priorities during the pandemic, highlighting the far-reaching societal shifts spurred on by the lockdown.

• Healthcare has become a source of worry for many, with 35% fretting that they cannot rely on the NHS to meet their needs.

The Truth about Sustainability

• Sustainability issues impacted 80% of respondents, who report changing their lifestyles to reduce plastic consumption or increase recycling.

• Britons are particularly keen to ditch plastic products entirely, as well as move toward longer-lasting products, and are getting more green-fingered in the garden.

• Professing themselves willing to take a personal hit for the greater good, 16% of people in the UK said they would be willing to stop flying internationally – higher than the 10% willing to do so internationally.

• Moreover, 19% were willing to forego meat, up from 15% globally.

• Such aspirations often flounder in reality, with the main excuse for failing to adhere to these principles being that it is too expensive, followed by companies failing to provide alternatives.

In their own words

• Suzanne Powers, global president and chief strategy officer of McCann Worldgroup, said: “Brands and businesses are at a crossroads in determining the most meaningful actions they can take as the world recovers its health and seeks a sustainable future.”

• Dr Rodney Collins, senior vice-president, director, McCann Worldgroup Truth Central, added: “There is little doubt that the contemporary world is largely governed by engineering short-term future objectives and solutions. We all do this in our lives, but also in the businesses we lead, from retail to media to cosmetics to sustainability to government. The global culture of wellness should be a firm exception to this short-termism given that prevention is fundamental to the achievement of individual and collective wellness.”

• Laura Simpson, McCann Worldgroup’s chief intelligence officer and president of the Truth Central unit, stated: “People have views about what they can accomplish individually that are sometimes at odds with what is possible because of government and institutional factors.”

Methodology

• Conducted by McCann Worldgroup Truth Central, the study surveyed more than 48,600 people across 26 countries, as well as past research from the previous decade.