Canadian employees are facing challenges with sleep and physical activity, with these issues driving lower wellness scores compared to pre-pandemic levels.

Summary: A new report reveals that Canadians are struggling with sleep and physical activity, which is impacting their overall well-being. The Well-Being Report uses the WHO-5 Well-Being Index to assess mental health and lifestyle dimensions monthly. Findings indicate particularly low scores in sleep and exercise, exacerbated by stress from work, family, and financial pressures. The report emphasizes the importance of small, manageable daily changes to improve health.

Key Takeaways:

Canadians are experiencing notably low well-being scores, particularly in the areas of sleep and physical activity.
The report utilizes the WHO-5 Well-Being Index and shows younger adults (20-29 years old) are the most affected group.
According to the report, access to wellness programs motivates 71% of participants to start new, healthy habits.

Cana dians’ overall well-being is at a low point as they struggle with lifestyle challenges around sleep and physical activity, according to a new report published by virtual care platform Dialogue Health Technologies Inc.

The Well-Being Report: A Benchmark for Canadian Health uncovers insights across five dimensions of mental health and well-being, including mood, stress, sleep, activeness, and sense of purpose. Results show that Canadians scored lower on sleep and physical activity compared to any other dimension.

Insights and Impact of Lifestyle Challenges

These insights are assessed through Dialogue’s Well-Being Score, benchmarking thousands of people across the country every month. The Well-Being Score leverages the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Well-Being Index (WHO-5), one of the most widely used questionnaires to measure wellness in research.

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Proper sleep and maintaining an active lifestyle can be impacted 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. Small, attainable daily habits can make a big impact; the challenge is equipping Canadians to implement them, says Marc Robin, MD, medical director at Dialogue.

Strategies for Enhancing Well-being

“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 well-being through small, measurable changes to daily habits,” says Robin in a release. “By leveraging the WHO-5 self-assessment, individuals are guided to recognize 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 well-being 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 looking at overall well-being, Canadians are scoring 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, consistent with increased rates of mental health diagnoses for people of similar age.

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However, when presented with options to improve well-being, 71% of employees with access to Dialogue’s wellness program who benchmarked their well-being were motivated to start a small, easily measurable, and attainable new habit.

Employer Role in Health Promotion

“When an employee’s well-being is low, benchmarking can additionally help direct employees to the best next step,” says Robin in a release. “This could mean implementing a healthy habit or leveraging existing benefits such as employee assistance programs which are traditionally offered across most organizations, but more than half of Canadians report they never use.”

As employees face barriers to improving well-being, they increasingly expect their employers to support them in living healthier lives. Employers should consider how workplace benefits can proactively address health concerns across the wellness-illness continuum, not just once or twice a year when employees are already sick or struggling.

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“The Well-Being Score provides employers with clear insights, allowing them to stay on the pulse of their workplace and provide appropriate resources,” says Jean-Nicolas Guillemette, COO of Dialogue, in a release. “This, in turn, helps them understand where to better invest in their employees’ wellness and create a healthier, happier workforce.”

Employers can help improve Canadians’ well-being by providing evidence-based, accessible, and integrated tools and strategies spanning all aspects of health and well-being, putting employees at the center of their health journey. This, in turn, helps reduce instances of presenteeism and absenteeism in the workplace as they can address health and lifestyle concerns more proactively.