What is essential for a "well-being" lifestyle? Health? Money? Work?

In recent years, "well-being" (a state of fulfillment in all aspects: mental, physical, and social) has become a hot topic.

It has gained global momentum, and in Japan, it has become a frequently seen keyword, even featuring in special editions of women's fashion magazines.

Therefore, we analyzed the "Wellness 10,000 Survey," a large-scale annual survey conducted by the Dentsu Inc. Healthcare Team, to understand how well this term and concept have reached consumers and how widely it is accepted ( survey overview here ). We present the findings from the September 2022 survey.

*About the Wellness 10,000 Survey: A large-scale quantitative survey aimed at understanding healthcare insights from consumers' health awareness and behaviors, and clarifying market needs/trends from the consumer perspective. Launched in 2007, it is conducted annually with 10,000 men and women aged 20 to 60.
 

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▼Lower than expected!? Only about 20% recognize and understand the term "well-being"!

▼Working moms feel happier when they find fulfillment in their jobs!?

Lower than expected!? Only about 20% recognize and understand the term "well-being"!

When asked about the actual penetration of the term "well-being" itself, only 4.6% of respondents understood its meaning upon hearing the word. Even when including those who had merely heard or seen it, the figure reached only 20.8%.

Among both genders, awareness and understanding were higher among those in their 20s compared to other age groups, yet it still fell short of 30%. Given that "well-being" has been a frequently discussed theme and buzzword in the healthcare market in recent years, this result may be lower than expected for those involved in healthcare business.

Conversely, when we presented not just the term "well-being" but also part of its underlying concept – "I want to prioritize a lifestyle that maintains mental satisfaction and happiness" – and asked how much this applied to their own views, 19.8% of the total responded "applies very much," and 39.4% responded "applies somewhat." Compared to awareness of the term itself, the level of resonance with the concept appears significantly higher. Trends by gender and age group showed the opposite pattern to awareness: resonance was highest among the older age group, those in their 60s.

Working moms: Does finding fulfillment in work increase happiness?

So, what factors increase this "happiness"? In this survey, respondents self-rated their "happiness level" over the past year on a 100-point scale. We then asked what factors were necessary to increase that score.

Overall, "good physical health/no physical ailments" – meaning "physical health" – was the highest at 46.9%, followed by stable income (43.8%), increased income (42.5%), and mental health (41.3%).

While we anticipated health and income factors ranking highly, work-related factors—which inevitably occupy a large portion of life—scored lower than expected. Job satisfaction/fulfillment was only 18.6%, and job performance/achievement was just 6.8%. This highlights the reality that factors more important than work are increasingly essential for enhancing life fulfillment and happiness.

Since the above scores include students and seniors not currently working, a more detailed breakdown by gender and age group shows that women in their 30s reported the highest level of happiness increase from job satisfaction and fulfillment at 25.5%. This represents a 7.6-point difference compared to men in the same age group (17.9%).

Analyzing by life stage, the results were even higher: 26.0% for women working while raising children (youngest child up to high school age + working full-time) and 30.4% for pregnant women. This suggests a particularly strong awareness among these groups that they must also establish the position of "work" within their own lives. The results reflect the current social climate, where attention is focused on women's participation in society and balancing it with their personal lives.

What makes people happy and what they prioritize in building their ideal life and lifestyle seems to have diversified even more after the pandemic. While this quantitative survey allowed us to observe trends by comparing gender, age, and life stage, each individual inherently has diverse elements of happiness.

Working long in the healthcare market, one can easily become fixated on health benefits (maintaining normal blood pressure, achieving a healthy physique, getting quality sleep, etc.), forgetting that these are not the "goal" itself, but rather "means" to live with well-being. We must keep in mind that the very state of "well-being"—the purpose behind health actions—itself is diversifying. This underscores the need to navigate the increasingly complex planning within the healthcare domain.

*Percentage composition is rounded to the second decimal place, so totals may not always add up to 100%.

[Survey Overview]
Survey Name: "The 16th Wellness 10,000-Person Survey 2022"
Conducted: September 2022
Survey Method: Online survey
Survey Population: Men and women aged 20 to 60 nationwide (10,000 samples)

Research Company: Dentsu Macromill Insight, Inc.

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