AXA Study: 1 out of 5 people in Hong Kong feel they are flourishing

AXA Hong Kong and Macau ("AXA") has announced the findings of the annual AXA Study of Mind Health and Wellbeing 2023 (the Study) which assessed the state of mind health across the globe.

The Study indicates a slight improvement in mind health in Hong Kong with 20% of the respondents claiming that they are flourishing, an increase of 3 percentage points year-on-year, from 17% in 2022.

The global AXA Mind Health Study is part of AXA's continued efforts to promote holistic health and combat the stigma surrounding mental illness. By measuring the mental welling of people across the globe, the Study aims to identify people's mind health and wellness issues and what can be done to help them improve the conditions.

Among the 2,336 people surveyed in Hong Kong, 72% has experienced moderate to extremely severe stress in the past 12 months. However, majority (61%) chose to self manage the stress symptoms or not manage them, while only 39% sought professional or other help. There is room for improvement in stress management, as only 38% of the respondents said their conditions were well-managed.

Sally Wan, Chief Executive Officer, AXA Greater China, said, "The COVID pandemic has been a wake-up call to all of us to pay more attention not only to our physical but also to our mental health. As we are adapting to the post-pandemic life, it is more important than ever to rebuild and strengthen our mind health and pursue holistic wellness."

Six factors that increase the likelihood of flourishing and productivity in workplace

The Study revealed that 70% of the respondents are employed, but only 17% of those are flourishing at workplace.

Having long working hours and experiencing work stress are common in Hong Kong. Only 53% of the respondents felt that they have control over their workload and 37% were able to strike a work-life balance. There is clearly room for improvement in workplace wellbeing.

With an aim to understand how to better support the working population, the Study has identified six factors that are key to promote mental wellbeing in the workplace:

• Mental health support by employers: employers are uniquely placed to promote mind health among their staff. Employees who work at companies that provide mental health support are more productive and are 3.5 times more likely to be flourishing than those without access to support.
• Hybrid work mode: 43% of respondents said that there is no difference in productivity between working home and the office, while 24% is likely to be flourishing if they are working in hybrid mode, compared to those who work exclusively from office (17%). The ability to be flexible in work location would provide employees with a sense of belonging and inclusion.
• Control over workload: If employees feel they have sufficient control over their workload, their likelihood of flourishing would increase from 4% to 26%.
• Strong skill or job matching: Employees' likelihood of flourishing increases from 3% to 26% if their skills match the work they are being asked to do.
• Clear goals and expectations: If employers set clear goals and expectations, the likelihood of employees flourishing increases from 6% to 25%.
• Skill development support: Employees working for companies which support employees to develop skills and to support career progression are 7.5 times more likely to be flourishing.

If all these six workplace factors are implemented, the likelihood of flourishing for Hong Kong employees would increase from 17% to 52%, indicating that employees are 3 times more likely to be flourishing.

A strong and positive correlation between mental wellbeing, productivity and job retention

While talent retention remains a challenge for most employers, the study shows that over 80% of employees who are flourishing do not intend to leave their jobs in the near future, or even do not have intention to leave at all.

It is clear that there is a close link between employees' mind health, productivity and job retention.

Sally Wan, Chief Executive Officer, AXA Greater China, said, "As a strong advocate of mind health, our annual Study provides us with valuable insights into what we can do to help individuals as well as the community as a whole to flourish. At AXA, we have been playing a leading and active role in bringing a wide range of mind health programmes and services to empower people to live a better life."

AXA is the first insurer in Hong Kong to include mental wellness in its Employee Benefits plans and introduce "Mind Health" programme - an employee mental health care scheme for its corporate customers. The company has also launched a series of mind health initiatives in Hong Kong including the annual AXA BetterMe event, and the Mind Healer and the Mind Charger services on the "EMMA by AXA" mobile app, supporting customers in building up resilience and practicing mindfulness.

About AXA Study of Mind Health and Wellbeing (AXA Mind Health Study)

AXA Mind Health Study is an annual study of mind health and wellbeing to assess the current state of mind health across the globe, and to provide individuals and businesses with the insights and advice needed to foster positive mind health.

AXA Mind Health Study 2023 was conducted in collaboration with IPSOS between September and October 2022 by means of online survey and online interviews among a total of 30,000 respondents aged between 18 to 74 years old across 16 European, American and Asian regions, namely France, the UK, Germany, Spain, Italy, Ireland, Belgium, Switzerland, Turkey, US, Mexico, mainland China and Hong Kong, Japan, Thailand and Philippines.

In Hong Kong, a total of 2,336 respondents aged between 18 and 74 were surveyed.