Southern Cross Healthy Futures Report 2020 - A comprehensive look at New Zealand's health and wellbeing

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Southern Cross Healthy Futures Report 2020 - A comprehensive look at New Zealand's health and wellbeing
Southern Cross
Healthy Futures Report 2020
A comprehensive look at New Zealand’s
health and wellbeing
Southern Cross Healthy Futures Report 2020 - A comprehensive look at New Zealand's health and wellbeing
Shining a light on
New Zealand’s health
and wellbeing
Southern Cross gives care and attention to over a
million New Zealanders and is committed to inspiring
Kiwis to advance their health and wellbeing.
The Southern Cross Healthy Futures Report       The Southern Cross Healthy Futures
has been designed to explore what’s on the      study was able to capture a glimpse
minds of New Zealanders at a time when          of New Zealand’s psyche before the
understanding health and wellbeing has          outbreak of the coronavirus and then
never been more important.                      tracked the attitude and behaviour
                                                shifts that took place during Alert
Together with research partner Colmar           Level 4 and 3.
Brunton, Southern Cross spoke to more than
3,000 Kiwis to get insights into how they see   These insights offer a unique
and value different aspects of their lives      opportunity to see the world through
when it comes to health and wellbeing.          the eyes of a diverse New Zealand.

 When the outbreak of COVID-19 sent New
Zealand into lockdown, it impacted the way
Kiwis perceive the world and their outlook on
life at home in a way never seen before in
their lifetimes.
Southern Cross Healthy Futures Report 2020 - A comprehensive look at New Zealand's health and wellbeing
How New Zealanders                                   Physical health                                                Emotional health
think about their                                    and wellbeing
                                                     is about being visibly
                                                                                                                      and wellbeing

                                                                                          Health &
health and wellbeing
                                                                                                                           is about people’s
                                                     healthy and what                                                  outlook and how they
                                                     they are doing with
                                                     their body to                        wellbeing                        carry themselves
                                                                                                                                 through life.

When Southern Cross set out to uncover
                                                     achieve this.                         in NZ
perceptions about health and wellbeing, Kiwis
said they see it as being interconnected in
three ways – physical, emotional and social.
                                                                                                is all about feeling connected
                                                                               Social health    and having a relationship with
                                                                               and wellbeing    people and the community.

Other aspects such as financial, spiritual,
environmental and academic wellbeing are
viewed as influencing factors to people’s
overall health and wellbeing rather than
standalone categories in their own right.       Financial                     Spiritual        Environmental                     Academic
Southern Cross Healthy Futures Report 2020 - A comprehensive look at New Zealand's health and wellbeing
Delving deeper into health and wellbeing

               Physical health                            Emotional health                                      Social health
                and wellbeing                              and wellbeing                                        and wellbeing

   This is the most clear cut of the dimensions     New Zealanders see emotional health and            For New Zealanders, their sense of social
   - everyone feels like they know what they        wellbeing as something that needs to be            health and wellbeing acts as a source of
   need to do to be physically healthy and well.    actively pursued and maintained, but there’s       feedback and validation for how they are
   However it also carries the greatest amount      not a lot of clarity around how best to do this.   doing in life (their social status). It's a
   of guilt and frustration when people don’t       Mostly people approach this in a reactive          measure of what they believe has been
   live up to these ideals because they feel like   way - when something goes wrong.                   given back to them based on what they
   they should know better.                                                                            have put out into the world.

Southern Cross Healthy Futures Report 2020                                                                                                           4
Southern Cross Healthy Futures Report 2020 - A comprehensive look at New Zealand's health and wellbeing
Getting personal
        For the most part, Kiwis are on the same page
        about what good health and wellbeing looks like.
        However there is no one version of health and wellbeing
        in New Zealand as it manifests differently depending on…

                                                       how people
               life stage                    outlook
                                                       prioritise it

Southern Cross Healthy Futures Report 2020                             5
Southern Cross Healthy Futures Report 2020 - A comprehensive look at New Zealand's health and wellbeing
University students                      Parents with older kids (10-17yrs)
              For students, health and wellbeing       Health and wellbeing is about living a
              at its best is just as much about        full life, leading by example and providing a
              looking the part as it is about          good family future.
              feeling the part.
                                                       Retirees

The many
              SINKS (single income, no kids) /         Their health and wellbeing is best when
              DINKS (double income, no kids)           staying positive, appreciating the good

faces of
              Their approach to health and             things and staying fully involved in life. They
              wellbeing is about living their best     tend to look to their younger, more able and

New Zealand
              life. They measure their health and      energetic selves as the benchmark for their
              wellbeing against doing well at an       current health and wellbeing. This can be
              individual level and doing good for      disheartening – accepting their mortality
              the world.                               and living for today is key.

              Parents with young kids (0-9yrs)         Living with disability / illness
              Their health and wellbeing is best       For people living with a disability or illness,
              when achieving balance and               the gold standard in health and wellbeing is
              simplicity while coping with the         about improvement rather than
              demands of a young family. These         deterioration. Their ability to live their life as
              parents put themselves last with         successfully and as independently as
              their attitude being “if the kids feel   possible without being a burden on those
              good, then I feel good”.                 they love is the main factor in how they
                                                       track their health and wellbeing.
                                                                                                            6
Southern Cross Healthy Futures Report 2020 - A comprehensive look at New Zealand's health and wellbeing
Issues concerning Kiwis most
The top health and wellbeing concerns
reflect a broad range of physical,
emotional and social issues.

    General   Mental / emotional    Physical

   86%            85%              84%         83%
                                                             80%               79%               79%              79%         79%
                                                                                                                                               77%

  The cost       Violence          Mental      Suicide   Drugs / alcohol     Not having        Obesity and     Not having   Physical    The impact of
  of living     in society         health       rates      addiction /     access to good,    its impact on     access to    health    food and drinks
                                                             abuse           affordable      people’s health     cancer                 that are high in
                                                                             healthcare                        treatment                   sugar on
                                                                                                                services               people’s health
Southern Cross Healthy Futures Report 2020 - A comprehensive look at New Zealand's health and wellbeing
Seeking                                              Looking at where Kiwis get their health advice, there is some interesting demographic
                                                          differences. Retirees rely heavily on health professionals while more university students
health advice                                             consult social media. The majority of Kiwis look to digital channels for information.

                        Retirees                                                                                                  University
                         (81%)                                                                                                    students
                                                                                                                                    (42%)

     65%                                63%                           46%                    45%                    29%                              20%

        Health                        Online articles /                Friends              TV shows /             Social media                      Books /
     professional                        websites                     and family          documentaries      e.g. Facebook groups /                  Library
e.g. your doctor / GP                                                                                               influencers

                                                                                                                                                           1%
     20%                                16%                            9%                     8%                      7%

   Magazines                       Work resources /                  Seminars /               Blogs                 Podcasts                      Fitness group /
                                      training                        events                                                                   gym / personal trainer
Southern Cross Healthy Futures Report 2020 - A comprehensive look at New Zealand's health and wellbeing
Timely health treatment                                                     10%                                   10%
                                                             I usually don’t seek                           I go immediately
Almost half of Kiwis will seek treatment within             professional advice /
                                                                  treatment
a day or two after starting to feel unwell.
                                                       University
One in 10 take steps as soon as they feel sick, but    students                               When
                                                         (26%)
                                                                                          unwell, when
the same amount don’t seek any treatment at all.                                          do you seek
This figure is even higher for university students.                                        treatment?
                                                                          37%                                      43%
The timeliness of people seeking medical                                                                           Within a
                                                                      More than                                   day or two
treatment stays fairly static by income                               two days
level, apart from a slightly higher
number of low-income earners
                                                                              BY INCOME LEVEL
looking for immediate treatment.
                                                              Low                         Medium                    High
                                                            income                        income                  income

                                                            11%     14%                   11%   10%                8% 9%

                                                            $50K or                        $50,001                $100,001
                                                             under                         – $100K                or above
                                                      34%                           35%                     39%
                                                                                                      44%                    44%
                                                                      42%
Southern Cross Healthy Futures Report 2020 - A comprehensive look at New Zealand's health and wellbeing
Visiting the
                            When unwell…
                                                       doctor and                   With dental pain…

                                                       dentist
           General Practitioner (GP)             74%                                                             Dentist               73%
                                                       While almost three
     I didn’t seek medical treatment       13%         quarters of Kiwis see an         I didn’t seek medical treatment          19%
                                                       appropriate medical
                          Pharmacist      6%
                                                       specialist when feeling                General Practitioner (GP)     4%
                                Nurse     5%           unwell (74 per cent) or
                                                       experiencing dental pain         Accident and Emergency (A&E)        2%
     Accident and Emergency (A&E)         5%           (73 per cent), nearly one
                      Other specialist
                                                       in five do not seek any                                    Nurse     1%
(e.g. physio, chiropractor, podiatrist)   5%           medical treatment,
                    Medical specialist                 especially among those
    (e.g. cardiologist, dermatologist)    3%                                                                 Pharmacist     1%
                                                       with dental pain.
            Alternative Practitioners
    (e.g. naturopath, acupuncturist)      3%                                       Medical specialist (e.g. orthodontist)   1%
Barriers to
                                                        Cost / it’s too expensive                            38%

healthcare
                                            No one is available at the time I want                     18%

                                                              I can treat it myself                   16%
Cost is by far the main
barrier to Kiwis seeking      Usually passes quickly without need for the doctor                      16%
medical treatment when
                                                                          No time                13%
feeling unwell, followed by
a lack of convenience and                                   Wait time is too long               11%
choosing to self-treat.
                                             I can self-diagnose via the internet          6%
A high number of people
indicate they would wait it                              Too embarrassed to go         5%
out rather than seeing a
health professional.                        Not covered by my health insurance         4%

                                          Don’t trust the doctor / health system       4%

                                                        I don’t know who to go to     3%

                                            I have no way of getting to someone       2%

                                                     There is no one close to me      2%
What physical health                                                        There is an overall pattern to what New Zealanders strongly
                                                                                            associate with physical wellbeing. A number of these factors
                     means to Kiwis                                                         are emphasised especially strongly amongst older retirees.

                                                                                                                                                                     39%               34%
                                                                                                                                     47%           44%
                                                                                                    57%           53%
                                                              65%           63%         61%
                             71%                70%
          77%

                                                                                                                                                                                       56%
                                                                                                                                                   48%                   51%
                                                                                                                                     46%
                                                                                                                  42%
                                                                                        35%         40%
                                                               31%          35%
          16%               27%                 28%
                             2%                  2%                          2%                      3%                               7%            8%                   9%            10%
          7%                                                   4%                        4%                       5%
       Avoiding            Eating a            Getting      Absence of   Maintaining   Drinking   Physically   Having good        Longevity /     Limiting         Healthy           Physical
      smoking and         balanced           enough sleep    disease /    a healthy    enough        fit          teeth           living for a    alcohol        appearance          strength
       tobacco               diet                            avoiding      weight       water                                      long time
                                                              illness
                                                                                                                             Strongly associate     Slightly associate         Don’t associate

Southern Cross Healthy Futures Report 2020                                                                                                                                                       12
Physical health concerns
                                                        Not being as fit
                                                         as I should be      64%

                                                                                   Families with
Kiwis are most concerned about not being                Making sure my
                                                                             62%    young kids
                                                  kids eat healthy food                81%
as fit as they should be and whether they
are doing right by their children when it           Finding the time /
                                                                                   Families with
                                                                             60%    young kids
comes to diet and exercise – particularly        energy to get / stay fit              70%

those with young children at home.
                                            Experiencing or developing
                                                    an illness / disease    59%

                                              Not getting enough sleep      58%

                                                      Not being able to
                                                   afford to be healthy     54%

                                                   Dealing with ageing /
                                                          getting older     54%

                                                       Getting physical
                                                   injuries / conditions    54%

                                               Making sure my kids get
                                                     enough exercise        53%
Focus on fitness                      Getting enough exercise

Only a third of Kiwis feel they are
                                                                 37%                                    41%
getting enough exercise. On average                               YES
                                                                                                        YES
Kiwis are putting in three sessions
of 30 minutes of exercise a week.                     Pre-                                 During
                                                   lockdown                              lockdown
During lockdown, both of these                                                            (L4/L3)
measures improved.

                                         63%                                  59%
                                                                                NO
                                          NO

                                      Average times per week – minimum of 30 minutes (mean)

                                                3.22
                                                 Pre-lockdown
                                                                                      3.52
                                                                                      During lockdown
                                                                                          (L4/L3)
34%
Hurdles to
                                                           Not enough time

                                                              Not motivated                                  34%

staying active                                                      Too tired

                                                        Work commitments                               25%
                                                                                                             33%

Being time-poor, feeling                                        Bad weather                        23%
unmotivated and lack of                               Family commitments                         19%
energy are the biggest barriers
                                                               Health issues                 17%
to people being more active.
                                                              Too expensive                14%
Family commitments and                           I am already active enough                14%
time constraints pose more        Not confident enough to exercise in public           11%
of a challenge to families
                                                Don’t enjoy it / don’t want to         11%
with young children.
                                                         Physical disabilities         10%
                                    Shift work, especially nights or overtime     7%
                                                         Not encouraged to        7%
                                                 Lack of facilities in my area   5%
                                                       Study commitments         4%
                                         Not having a safe place to exercise     4%
                                                              None of these           8%
Moving                                  Moving more often 4%            14%                 27%               14%                          41%

more often                             Prioritising exercise 2%      12%                 32%                      20%                             34%

Despite these challenges,
many Kiwis are displaying      Setting health / fitness goals 2%         20%                      30%                   19%                        28%
positive attitudes and
behaviours towards their
                                Utilising fitness technology
physical health.                 (e.g. fitness tracker, apps)
                                                                7%                    39%                        18%            12%                     24%

Looking at their behaviour                                           Not applicable    Not              Considering      Have done in the               Already
                                                                     to me             considering it   doing this       past but not currently         doing this
regarding exercise in the
past six months, more
than 40 per cent of Kiwis
are moving more often
and a third are prioritising
exercise and setting health
and fitness goals.
Keeping active                                                                                                19%            17%
                                                                                        23%        22%
                                                                        25%

   with tidy homes
                                              Male
                                             (30%)     38%
                                                                                                    5%           13%            16%
                                                                                         11%
                                                                        14%
   Kiwis are using a number of ways to get   Female
                                                                                                   16%
                                              (47%)
   their exercise in. The most popular                                                  15%
                                                                                                                                14%
                                                        9%                                                       24%
   method is through 'energetic exercise',
   but there is a distinct difference                                   25%
                                                        17%
   between genders.                                                                                30%

   A quarter of Kiwis are considering
                                                                                                                                47%
   exercising with friends and family.                                                  45%
                                                                                                                 34%

                                                        31%             31%
          Already doing this
                                                                                                   27%
          Have done in the past
          but not currently                                                                                      10%
                                                        4%               5%              6%                                      6%

          Considering doing this                       Energetic       Exercising         Use a    Flexible      Planning      Being part
                                                      housework       with others        fitness    work      outdoor family    of a gym
                                                                   (friends / family)   tracking    hours       activities
          Not considering it                                                             device

          Not applicable to me

Southern Cross Healthy Futures Report 2020
A weighty issue
Kiwis are generally happy with the
weight of their children and partner               44 %
                                                      Own
but are more critical about their own.               weight

                                         69 %                   62 %
                                         Child’s                Partner’s
                                         weight                  weight

                                                   Happy   Unhappy
Relationships with food
The majority of Kiwis say they are knowledgeable
when it comes to understanding what is or isn’t
healthy food. Three quarters would like to lose
weight, however they find this difficult and
eating healthy food expensive. Stress also
contributes to less healthy eating for two
thirds of New Zealanders.

  89%
                    75%              72%              66%                  64%             60%
                                                                                                             50%
                                                                                                                                 41%              39%               31%
                                                                                                                                                                                     20%

     I am          I would like    Healthy eating   It is difficult to    I tend to eat      I always     I’m always looking   I still haven’t     Preparing      Healthy eating     I don’t know
knowledgeable     to lose weight    is expensive      lose weight        unhealthy food   plan meals in     for new ways to     found a diet      healthy food      is boring      how to prepare
  about what                                                             when stressed      advance           manage my          that works      takes too long                     healthy meals
healthy food is                                                                                                  weight            for me
Cooking more from scratch / going back to basics 2%         14%           21%          8%                      54%

Knowledge is power                                                 Reducing amount of processed food         4%      18%                      37%           7%                    33%

in the kitchen                                                  Reducing portion size / calorie counting 4%                29%                      29%          13%                    25%

                                                                               Reducing amount of meat       5%                  43%                      23%          5%               23%

New Zealanders are using their knowledge about                                                               5%                   50%                           25%               5%          16%
                                                                        Moving to a more plant-based diet
healthy food to make better nutrition choices.
                                                                                               Sugar free 4%                     46%                       26%                9%              15%
Over half are cooking more from scratch and going
back to basics, and a third are already reducing the                                  Intermittent fasting   7%                        54%                       17%              12%          11%
amount of processed food they are consuming.
                                                                        Reducing carbs (including Atkins)     9%                             60%                            15%          8%         7%
The global trends to reduce meat intake and move
to more plant-based diets is also apparent in                                                   Dairy free   6%                              69%                              11%        6%         8%

New Zealand. University students and younger               Not applicable
                                                           to me
                                                                                                              11%                              66%                                10%     6%        7%
singles / couples are significantly more likely to                                            Gluten free
                                                           Not
endorse plant-based diets.                                 considering it
                                                                                              Vegetarian     7%                          62%                                15%          8%         7%
                                                           Considering
                                                           doing this

                                                                                                     Keto     10%                              66%                                13%         7% 4%
                                                           Have done in
                                                           the past but
                                                           not currently
                                                                                                   Vegan      10%                                   75%                                  8% 4% 3%
                                                           Already
                                                           doing this

                                                                                           Raw food only     7%                                    76%                                  9%      5% 3%

                                                            Weight loss programs e.g. Weight Watchers         11%                              67%                                10%         10% 3%

                                                                                                    Paleo     11%                                   72%                                 9%      5% 2%
Those unhappy                                                                          Waiting more
                                                                                      than two days to

with their health                                                                      seek medical
                                                                                         treatment
Compared to those happy                                           Not getting
with their health, Kiwis who rate                                enough sleep
themselves as unhappy are…                                        AND are not
                                                                  prioritising it

                               Experiencing                                                 Indicating
                              poor work-life                                             they have been
                                 balance                                                 stressed in the
                                                                                           last month

                                                           Not getting
          More likely
                                                         enough exercise
    to consider nurturing/
                                           Less likely      AND not
   maintaining relationships                                                          Less likely
                                         to spend time    considering it
   and spending time with                                                           to keep their
   family, but are not doing               outdoors                                     brain
        these already                                                                stimulated
Role of mental and emotional
wellbeing in overall health
Kiwis strongly associate mental and emotional wellbeing with being healthy.
One in 10 New Zealanders is unhappy with their current mental state.

           12%
          Unhappy
                                          73%        Strongly associate   70%

 24%            Mental
Content        wellbeing
                                           25%       Slightly associate
                                                                          28%
                           64%               2%       Don’t associate     2%
                           Happy
                                               Mental               Emotional
                                              wellbeing             wellbeing
Emotional                                                 Concerns about money, children’s resilience
                                                                                      and global issues are personally affecting the
                     wellbeing worries                                                emotional health and wellbeing of Kiwis.

     57%                     55%                    50%                        50%                            49%                          49%                          47%
Not having enough            Whether                Our planet’s              Global events /               Not being happy                  My parents /               Missing out
money to support         my kids will cope       future e.g. climate              issues                   in myself / feeling             relatives getting            on the fun
myself / my family      with the pressures            change                                                  good enough                    elderly and                side of life
                               of life                                                                                                      needing care

46%                  45%                     41%                       41%                         40%                           38%                      36%                     29%

Not having           Feeling over            Whether I                  Being a                 Having a mental             Being alone                  Not getting           How I compare
a plan for            worked /               am a good                 burden to                 health issue               / loneliness                 a job / good            to other
the future            burnt out               parent                    others                   or condition                                            enough job               people
Looking at                                Feeling less stressed

stress levels                              NOT AT ALL STRESSED                            TOTALLY STRESSED OUT

A high proportion of people associate
low stress with being healthy.

Before COVID-19 a quarter of Kiwis had
felt stressed in the past month. During
the lockdown New Zealanders
reported feeling less stressed overall
despite uncertainty about the potential
                                                                   Pre-lockdown
impact of the pandemic with regard to
health, job security, family pressures                    46%                     31%              24%
and the economy.

                                                                  During lockdown
                                                                      (L4/L3)

                                                            48%                     31%             21%
Kiwis feeling stressed                             Less likely to
                                                    get enough
                                                                               Less likely to
                                                                             nurture / maintain

in the past month                                      sleep                   relationships

Compared to those who were not feeling
stressed in the past month before the
outbreak of COVID-19, people feeling
stressed were…

                                                                                      Less likely
                                                                                    to help others
                   Less likely to                                                  or give back to
                    get enough                                                     the community
                     exercise

                                     More likely
                                    to have poor           More likely to
  Taking longer                       work-life          seek professional
 to seek medical                      balance             support such as
    treatment                                               counselling
Sleep deprived Kiwis                                     67% of those
                                                            with young kids      54%
    Over half of Kiwis feel that                           say they don’t get      NO
                                                             enough sleep
    they are not getting enough                                                                 Get
    sleep. This is even higher                                                                enough
                                                                                               sleep
    among those with young kids.                                                                             46%
    A third of Kiwis are getting                                                                              YES
    below the recommended
    seven to nine hours                                                         6.97
                                                                                mean
    of sleep a night.
                                                                                   36%

                                                                         23%                 24%

                                                           8%                                      6%
                                                2%                                                            2%
                                             Less than 5     5             6           7      8        9   More than 9

                                                                          AVERAGE HOURS OF SLEEP
Southern Cross Healthy Futures Report 2020                                                                               26
Keeping Kiwis up at night
  The main reasons people aren’t getting sleep are
  having too much to think about, being anxious
  or stressed and going to bed too late.

                                                                   SINKS/                            SINKS/
                                                                   DINKS           Retirees          DINKS
                                                                    (32%)           (30%)             (25%)

   52%                                                            University      Living with      Living with
                                                                  students         disability      older kids                                 Living with

                    41%             40%                             (40%)            (44%)            (33%)                                   young kids
                                                                                                                                                 (38%)

                                                    24%            23%             20%               19%            17%           14%           11%
                                                                                                                                                                7%

 Having too     Being anxious /   Going to bed   Being a light    Being on a   Physical issues       Work        Other people    Working       Children     Shift work /
much to think      stressed         too late       sleeper         device /    e.g. restless leg   pressures       snoring      long hours   interrupting     no set
   about                                                         watching TV      syndrome                                                    your sleep     schedule
                                                                 before bed
Worries about                            General concerns of Kiwis: social health and wellbeing

keeping socially                          HIGHEST CONCERN                                                                                                   LOWEST CONCERN

connected
There are many factors affecting
people’s emotional wellbeing with
                                                                             61%
regards to being socially connected.      50% 51%                   50%                         49%
                                                                                                         44%       41%                       38%
As COVID-19 started impacting                                                                                             34%                       30%               29% 25%
New Zealanders personally, global
events and issues became the
biggest concern.                           Our planet’s           Global events /               My parents /      Being a burden            Being alone /                How I
                                            future e.g.               issues                  relatives getting     to others                loneliness               compare to
At the same time, despite people         climate change                                          elderly and                                                          other people
                                                                                                needing care
being isolated physically from friends
                                                                                                                                    University students concerned
and family, feelings of loneliness and                                                                                               about being lonely decreased
                                                                                                                                          from (58% to 42%)
being a burden on others decreased.                       University students (52% vs 41%) and people
                                                          living with an illness / disability (56% vs 67%)
                                                           were the most concerned about being a burden
                                                                on others before and during lockdown                Men and women reported            Retirees concerned about
                                                                                                                      similar concerns about           being lonely decreased
                                                                                                                      being alone / loneliness              (27% to 24%)
                                                                                                                    before lockdown (38%) but
                                                                                                                    men had a bigger decrease
                                                                                                                     during lockdown (down to
                                                                                                                     28% vs. 32% for women)

                                             Pre-lockdown                   During lockdown (L4/L3)
Value of personal                              10%

relationships
Most Kiwis are happy in their personal   29%
                                                Social life /
relationships with family, friends              friendships                             Happy
                                                                      61%               Content
and romantic partners.
                                                                                        Unhappy

          6%                                                          16%
 21%

                                                                              Romantic
                                                                            relationships
          Family life                                           25%
                        73%                                                                 58%
Connecting with                        Felt happier with connectedness in the community

communities
Fewer than half of Kiwis feel happy
about the connection they have to               14%                                         12%
their community although this
improved during lockdown.
                                                     Pre-
                                                                       44%                      During
Many people got behind widely                                                                 lockdown
                                                  lockdown
reported initiatives such as putting                                                           (L4/L3)
                                                                                                                  49%
teddy bears in windows for children                                            39%
to spot on neighbourhood walks,        42%
donating much-needed funds to
food banks and the launch of                                              SINKS/DINKS
                                                                           felt the least         Retirees felt the most
the support local / shop                                                 connected (41%)          connected during the
                                                                                                    lockdown (69%)
local campaign.

                                        Happy     Content    Unhappy
Lack of                                                        Would like to
quality                       Quality time
                              with children
                                                                spend…
family time                     per week
                                                                  3%   Less
                              6%    More than 40 hours
Two thirds of Kiwi            4%    31-40 hours

parents spend less than       9%    21-30 hours

11 quality hours with their
                              17%
children each week.
                                    11-20 hours
                                                         42%
                                                          Same
More than half want to                                   amount
spend more time with
their kids. This figure is
                                                                                 55%
                                                                              More time
even higher for parents       64% 0-10 hours

aged 30-39 and 40-49.
                                                                    …with them.
Getting in the                            What gets in the way of spending more time with them?

   way of family time
    Work, household tasks and other
    family responsibilities are the
    main reasons parents don’t spend         60%                  49%                         35%
    as much more time with their               Work             Household tasks                 Sport
                                                               (e.g. cooking, cleaning)      commitments
    children as they would like.

                                             13%                   10%                          3%
                                              Distance            Other family             They spend time
                                                                 responsibilities         with friends / doing
                                                                                           own things other
                                                                                           than with family

Southern Cross Healthy Futures Report 2020                                                                       32
Getting the balance right
Most Kiwis agree that finding a good work / life balance is
important, but over half feel that their current balance is only fair
(42 per cent), poor (12 per cent) or very poor (3 per cent).
                                                                          3%
                                                                        VERY POOR      10%

                      88%
                                                                                       EXCELLENT
                                                          12%
                                                          POOR

                       find work / life
                       balance important                                 Work / life
                                                                          balance
                                                                        satisfaction
                                                     42%                                      33%
                                                       FAIR                                   GOOD
Good work /
                                                                 Putting the                       Bad work /
                           life balance…                         right steps                       life balance…
                                                                 in place
                  I have flexible working hours            42%   Flexible working                           My workload is high                  63%
                                                                 hours and switching
                           I leave work at work /                off from work help                        Financial pressures             42%
           I switch off from work when I leave            39%
                                                                 with maintaining a
                                                                                             I don’t have flexible working hours           41%
                                                                 good work / life balance.
      I have set work hours and I stick to them           34%
                                                                 Conversely high                            Not enough energy            30%
      I prioritise making time for my personal                   workload, financial
wellbeing e.g. exercise, socialising, meditation      28%                                               Family responsibilities      22%
                                                                 pressures and a lack of
           My workplace promotes wellness /                      flexible working hours                              Shift work      21%
               encourages me to be healthy          18%          tend to add pressure
          I have specific activities with friends                on achieving a healthy       Work commute takes a long time        16%
                    and family that I never miss
             (e.g. kids’ sports on the weekend)
                                                    17%          work / life balance.
                                                                                                                  Health issues    11%

                                                                                                                                                   34
Pets are part                                                                        46%
of the family                                                                            NO

Kiwis have high rates of pet                                                                             Own a
ownership (especially cats)                                                                               pet
and the majority agree
that pets make great
companions and offer
health benefits.
                                                                                                                            54%
                                                                                                                               YES

                                  89%
                                                        87%                    87%
                                                                                                   86%
                                                                                                                         85%

                                A pet is great    Pets are good for the    Pets are members   Pets help you remain   Pets help relieve
                               companionship     health and wellbeing of     of the family         / be active            stress
                                                      their owners
Digital and device
 behaviour
 Most Kiwis recognise the
 benefits of technology, but
 there are concerns about
 time spent on devices.

   72%
                        65%                   62%                   61%                 57%                 51%
                                                                                                                                43%
                                                                                                                                                   36%              34%             33%               29%

Technology has      Computer games           Devices help        I worry about         I spend too      Technology helps     I worry about the      The time I     Social media    The internet      I compare
   brought me        and devices can       me connect with     the impact time       much time on my     me look after my      impact time on     spend online    has a negative   and apps add    myself to others
closer to distant   help children learn     others through    on devices is having    devices in my    health and wellness devices is having on     negatively    effect on how     to my daily    based on social
 family / friends    problem-solving         social media      on my children’s          free time        through online         my health         impacts my       I feel about    stress level        media
                      and connect to      and give me a sense        health                             programmes and                               real-life         myself
                          others            of community                                                apps (e.g. fitness /                      relationships
                                                                                                          diet tracking /
                                                                                                        meditation / brain
                                                                                                            exercises)
Holidays are
      important to health
      Holidays are viewed as expensive but
      worthwhile to save for, because most
      Kiwis feel less stressed after a trip.

         82%                     78%                77%               71%               67%                 67%                   53%               50%              49%                38%

     Holidays require            I feel less     Holidays are        Holidays      Holidays are about       I prefer to            Having a        Planning a     Having a pre-      I would enjoy
       a significant          stressed after   a way to connect     are about      getting away from     save money for          pre-existing      holiday is   existing illness /     a wellness
    financial sacrifice          a holiday     to other cultures   seeing family    the noise of the       holidays and      illness / condition    stressful       condition            retreat
                                                    I’m not         or friends      city and getting    experiences rather    excludes people                   excludes people        (e.g. yoga,
                                                  familiar with                      back to nature       than objects /         from travel                     from travelling      meditation)
                                                                                                               items              insurance                         overseas

Southern Cross Healthy Futures Report 2020                                                                                                                                                           37
Keeping your brain stimulated     1 6%              16%                 16%                                        61%

Investing in
future health
                                                               Spending time outdoors      2 4               17%                 17%                                        59%

                                                   Nurturing / maintaining relationships   4            9%           17%               16%                                    54%
Kiwis have a variety of ways to look
after their emotional health and                       Spending more time with family          5        9%           17%                15%                                   54%
wellbeing, which include both
physical and social activities.                                                                                    21%                 18%                                    53%
                                                            Taking time out for yourself   3        5

Many are keeping their brain
stimulated, spending time outdoors,                              Being physically active   2       5           22%                      19%                                   52%

nurturing relationships and making
time for themselves a priority.            Talking to someone (e.g. a friend or family)    4             15%               14%               19%                                  48%

During lockdown, people found
                                                                             Gardening     4                 20%                 14%          15%                                 48%
more time to focus on more positive
changes. These included minimising
                                                     Spending time with animals / pets         9%                   22%                12%          15%                             43%
things and decluttering, practicing
positive thinking, gardening,
                                                            Practicing positive thinking   4             14%                21%                    19%                              41%
practicing mindfulness and being
in the moment.
                                       Social/ Community
                                                                        Not applicable             Not                      Considering            Have done in the                 Already
                                       Emotional
                                                                        to me                      considering it           doing this             past but not currently           doing this
                                       Physical                                                                                                                                                  38
Methodology                                  A total of 3068 people
                                             from across New Zealand
Desktop and qualitative research gave us
an in-depth understanding of the current
situation in New Zealand regarding health,
lifestyle, activity levels and wellbeing.
                                             54 life-streaming discussions:            Seven in-home immersions: 2.5 hour
                                             four-day online forum with n=54           immersive / empathy discussion with
                                             people from across New Zealand all        New Zealanders at different life stages
                                             logging in for 30 minutes daily to join   to understand their world.
                                             discussion and complete tasks.
                                                                                       Due to the outbreak of COVID-19,
                                             Online survey of New Zealanders           a separate online survey was
                                             from across the country who               undertaken to measure the impact on
                                             completed a 25 minute survey about        behaviour and attitudes of the
                                             their attitudes and behaviours.           lockdown in New Zealand. Fieldwork
                                                                                       was completed during Alert Level 4
                                             • Wave 1 – fieldwork:
                                                                                       and the first few days of Alert Level 3.
                                               4 – 30 October 2019 (Spring)
                                               n=1000                                  • Wave 3 – fieldwork:
                                                                                         22 – 28 April 2020
                                             • Wave 2 – fieldwork:
                                                                                         (COVID-19 lockdown dip) n = 1000
                                               2 – 15 March 2020 (Autumn)
                                               n = 1007
For more information
about the Southern Cross
Healthy Futures Report visit:
www.southerncrosss.co.nz/healthy-futures
Southern Cross
Healthy Futures Report 2020
A comprehensive look at New Zealand’s
health and wellbeing
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