S’poreans are still stressed! ‘Top stressor: Cost of Living’ — Stress levels significantly higher compared to global average

A recent survey has shown that stress levels in Singapore are still as high as they’ve ever been, if not higher, than the global average. A whopping 86 per cent of Singapore’s respondents to the Global Well-Being survey are stressed, with 15 per cent struggling to cope with stress.

The number one stressor of all is the high cost of living (50 per cent), followed by uncertainty about the future (38 per cent), personal finance (35 per cent) and family finance (24 per cent).

The results of the survey, released recently by insurance company Cigna Singapore, said this highlights “the severe burden that finances exert on people’s minds.”

The survey follows yearly changes in well-being in five categories, namely work, family, social, physical, and financial well-being. For this year, Singapore’s scores are lower across all categories, when compared to regional and global averages.

The survey showed that Singaporean respondents have the lowest score when it comes to financial well-being. Only 20 per cent or one in five said they are “confident about their current financial situation or ability to finance their own or their family’s medical needs.”

In Singapore, women, singles, and individuals who are currently unemployed have the lowest scores for financial well-being. Significantly, stress appears to be most prevalent among the youngest. Those belonging to Gen Z, individuals from the ages of 18 to 24, say they are most stressed (95 per cent).

Cigna Singapore also says it’s this demographic that has suffered the greatest emotional impact due to stress, with 51 per cent saying they’ve grown to be more emotional, and 50 per cent reporting they’ve been feeling depressed. Gen Z has also suffered a number of physical manifestations of stress, including loss of concentration and productivity.

“These impacts go beyond the individual, and can hurt families, friends, the organisations people work for and their colleagues. Importantly, prolonged stress can lead to burnout. More than 9 in 10 people (95 per cent) are burned out in Singapore. Gen Z are again the most likely to experience symptoms of burnout compared to other age groups, especially procrastination (44 per cent vs. 23 per cent) and experiencing self-doubt (37 per cent vs. 22 per cent),” Cigna Singapore noted in the survey results.

The survey results may be viewed in full here. /TISG

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