For most metrics measuring human progress (ranging from GDP-per-capita to life expectancy), we’ve never had a better life; yet a surprising number of individuals in high-income countries (most notably in the Anglo-Saxon world) feel miserable at work (where we spend a third of our adult life). The reasons are manifold and hard to address for traditional companies: purposeless jobs, punitive hours, dreadful commutes, “always-on” culture,…
MONTHLY BAROMETER – WELLNESS EDITION “Brexeternity”—At the eleventh hour, all options are back on the table, from May’s deal to a no-deal, from a softer Brexit to a second referendum. But irrespective of the actual outcome, Brexit won’t be over any time soon. For years to come, the British economy, society and politics will be consumed by wrangling and negotiations with the EU (and the…
Last week, at the Arabian Travel Market in Dubai, GWI’s CEO Susie Ellis presented the latest research and trends for MENA wellness tourism markets at the GWI’s annual Wellness Symposium, this year focused on the opportunities in both medical tourism and wellness tourism. Key findings: In terms of recent growth percentages, no world wellness tourism market is growing faster than MENA’s: 13.4 percent annually and…
This recent article in Quartz looks at what may prove one of the most unexpected but exceedingly societal and investment-relevant global trends in the coming decades: A growing movement of people around the world are hesitating about having children due to deep concerns about climate change. It looks at BirthStrike: an online community founded in England whose members have decided “not to bear children due…
A large Swedish study, comparing 136,637 people diagnosed with a stress disorder to 170,000+ unaffected siblings and over 1.3 million in the general population (over 27 years), found that someone with a stress disorder is 37 percent more likely to develop cardiovascular disease than the average person and 29 percent more likely than their unaffected siblings. ACCESS THE STUDY
Here is a developing trend worth pondering (with significant investment implications): the slow death of the family and the emergence of a #MeOnly society. Consumption, travel, housing, etc. are increasingly centered on the individual. Do you doubt it? This is backed by data (the number of young and middle-aged people living alone is soaring) and surprising new trends, such as “solomoons” replacing honeymoons (you celebrate…
