Life in the “Lucky Country”

| March 11, 2016

Australia regularly ranks highly in providing opportunities for a healthy, safe and prosperous life. But do Australians know how lucky they are? Dean Pearson and his team at NAB have asked them.

By most international measures (both social and economic) Australia stacks up remarkably well. Australia is ranked very highly in measures such as the Economists’ “Where to be Born Index” which attempts to rate which countries provide the best opportunities for a healthy, safe and prosperous life. Our cities also feature prominently among the so called “world’s most liveable”, with Melbourne topping one list for five consecutive years.

Measures such as these often prompt journalists to question whether Australians know how lucky we really are. So we asked them. NAB recently polled over 1,000 Australians to find out whether they thought Australia was a great place to live – and 99% said yes! But what is it that we value most? Not surprisingly, our open spaces, climate and natural environment are highly prized.  But this did not come out on top. Relative safety and security, general lifestyle and friendliness, and access to quality healthcare were considered key drawcards.

So we recognise that we live in the “lucky country”. But that doesn’t mean we are not anxious!

Since 2013, NAB has been running a quarterly survey on Australia’s wellbeing. Why would a bank report on wellbeing? Understanding what makes Australians tick – particularly what makes them happy and improves their overall wellbeing – should be at the heart of any business. As a bank, the better we understand our customers, the better we are able to help them realise their personal and business goals. It also helps us better align our corporate responsibilities with areas of greatest need.

Understanding wellbeing also provides important insights into people’s behaviour, helping to explain their underlying emotional state and motives. It helps businesses get to know what people value and to find some rationale about why they’re acting the way they are. It is then that they can better respond to them – whether they’re a consumer, an employee or anyone for that matter.

So what does it show?

Australia’s wellbeing has fallen, driven by heightened levels of anxiety – around 40% of Australians are feeling “highly” anxious – the highest reading since the survey began!

Why do we feel this way?

As part of this research we ask people what contributes most or detracts most from their wellbeing.  As you might expect, wellbeing is most positively influenced by our family and personal relationships. But our local community is also very important, particularly in regards to our feelings of safety, but also providing access to good local shops, parks and gardens.

Conversely, events such as physical and mental abuse, alcohol and drugs and a “lack of time” detract most. Feeling overwhelmed by simply not having enough hours in the day is a growing concern for many Australians, particularly young women, where it is now the single biggest detractor of wellbeing. This is definitely something that all businesses need to be aware of – customers are very time poor!

There is a danger in just looking at the “average” results from the Wellbeing Index as it can mask big variations by things such as age, location, income levels, etc.

Our survey reveals that some groups of Australians typically report much lower levels of wellbeing –  single people, young women (18-29), middle aged men (30-49) and low income earners (earning less than $35,000 per annum). On average, these Australians typically rate their personal wellbeing lowest for each wellbeing measure – life satisfaction, life worth, happiness and anxiety.

It may be no surprise to learn that money features very prominently in all cases as a barrier to higher wellbeing.

But we also know through our research on consumer behaviour that people are very clear about what aspect of their finances they are most worried about. Not having enough to finance retirement remains the biggest single cause of concern among Australian consumers in relation to their household financial position. More than 50% of Australians believe they will “not have enough to retire” or “far from enough to retire”.

Other key issues that keep us awake at night include not being able to meet the costs of medical and healthcare bills and not being able to provide for the family’s future. Also, and somewhat alarming, the fourth biggest cause of financial concern remains an inability to raise $2,000 if an unexpected need arose.

None of this suggests that Australia is not indeed a great place to live and overwhelmingly, most Australians agree. But there is a clear problem in regards to anxiety in this country. And while “money doesn’t buy happiness”, for many Australians it’s a major cause of their underlying stress. Of course when thinking of wellbeing there are many other factors to consider, but there is no doubt that programs to improve financial literacy and empowering people to take better control of their finances would certainly help.

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