According to the report “The well-being of Polish women and men”, prepared in June 2024 by the Infuture Institute on behalf of Benefit Systems, today’s 30- and 40-year-olds are not satisfied with their lives. The authors of the study even say that current generations (not only millennials) live in the era of “polycrisis”. From the press materials sent to the editors of Głos.gazeta.pl, we can learn, among other things, that many factors influence general well-being.
The very definition of this term varies, depending on different social contexts. “(…) For 51 percent it is something permanent, and for 49 percent – fleeting. Almost half of Poles (47 percent) assess their well-being as average, 31 percent as high and 14 percent as low” – we read in the press release.
The study used the Wellbeing Score indicator, a new analytical tool from Benefit Systems. This tool was supposed to assess the well-being of Polish women and men on 6 key levels: mental and physical health, comfort of life, inner peace, interpersonal relationships and contact with nature.
Poles are not satisfied with life. This is shown by research results
What is the general level of well-being in Poland? According to the study, it is 4.9 points out of 10. We also learn that many things influence the general well-being of Poles, but in the last few years their number has significantly increased.
The authors of the study mean, among others: economic situation (e.g. the overwhelming inflation), armed conflicts around the world, pandemic. As a whole, we live in “anxious times.” Hence the mentioned polycrisis. This is a situation in which different types of crises coexist. “They mutually enhance each other and influence us with greater force through various sources of information, constantly present in our everyday life,” we read.
Today’s 40- and 30-year-olds often feel overloaded with responsibilities – research shows/Illustrative photo Today’s 40- and 30-year-olds often feel overloaded with responsibilities – research shows/Illustrative photo/ Photo. Shutterstock/Gladskikh Tatiana
The study shows that we are overwhelmed by the reality around us. “As many as 32 percent of us feel isolated or isolated to a high degree. This leads to a deepening crisis in relationships, an increase in loneliness and, as a consequence, atomization of society consisting in the loss of the sense of agency and responsibility for social life,” the authors of the report say.
The phenomenon of loneliness can have a destructive impact on various aspects of our lives, both physical and mental. In the context of physical health, loneliness can lead to an increase in cardiovascular diseases and a weakening of the immune system. Tolerance to physical pain also increases, which may lead to greater trauma
– comments Marta Niedźwiecka, a psychologist quoted in the report.
Millennials are in the most difficult situation. “The Sandwich Generation”
However, well-being does not depend on external factors alone. It is also a number of personal factors that influence our well-being. An interesting fact is that they differ from each other in terms of gender. According to the report, everyday stress, for example, has a greater impact on women’s well-being.
What about the sense of well-being among individual generations? It turns out that representatives of the “Z” generation feel it the most (44 percent of responses). But, interestingly, they are echoed by older people from the baby boomer generation (46% of responses for people aged 55–64 and 43% of responses for people aged 65 and over).
This result may be a reflection of the growing awareness of healthy aging. We are dealing with a paradigm shift in the perception of old age. We stop treating it as a passive stage of life full of limitations, and start seeing it as another stage of mature life, full of opportunities and development.
– we read. Worse news? The least satisfied with life are representatives of the “Y” generation, also known as millennials. These are precisely respondents aged 35 to 44. They are the ones who most often experience low and very low well-being (21 percent of responses).
Representatives of this group are sometimes called the sandwich generation. These are middle-aged people who are professionally active, have children to look after, and often also take care of their sick parents. This combination of responsibilities may lead to increased stress and burden, which negatively affects their well-being. This result also emphasizes the need to create a new type of benefits addressed to representatives of this group that is active on many levels
– note researchers from the Infuture Institute. Scientists note that millennials often feel double pressure on the labor market. Their age and professional experience mean that they often hold managerial positions. They are exposed to pressure from older colleagues from Generation X and “Zets” who value comfort, assertiveness and convenience.
According to researchers, today’s 30- and 40-year-olds are in a much more difficult situation than their older colleagues. This is related to the above-mentioned polycrisis, which also includes instability in employment and the development of artificial intelligence.
Young Poles do not feel happy. How to take care of yourself in times of polycrisis?
How to take care of your health, both physically and mentally, so that it translates into better well-being? What is necessary here is a holistic approach to the problem and taking various actions that affect individual aspects of our lives. These aspects create “system of communicating vessels.
They can be divided into two groups – those that make up our internal world: physical and mental health and inner peace resulting from a sense of fulfillment – they are subjective and reflect a person’s view of the elements related to him as an individual. The second group are the factors that create the external world: interpersonal relationships, proximity to nature and the comfort of everyday life
– according to the conclusions of the study.
Source: Gazeta
Bruce is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment . He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the industry.
