MONTHLY BAROMETER – WELLNESS EDITION Nobody quite knows why the 21st-century workplace seems to be so conducive to overwork, burnout and depression, but the global issue of mental health at work is reaching such proportions that it’s now dubbed the “trillion-dollar taboo.” Is it the high-pressure culture of today’s marketplace? The prevailing social norms that make it shameful to show vulnerability? The “always-on” digital culture?…
Let them eat junk – Foreign Affairs, July 31, 2019 Since the late 1990s, junk food sales have precipitously declined in the US and Europe, but they’ve burgeoned in emerging markets where soda and snack food companies have now turned their attention, doing everything they can to keep their new markets pliable. In particular, they are building political and social alliances that can help them deflect…
A large, new meta-analysis of 33 studies (21,000 people) from the very stringent Cochrane Reviews found that paying people to stop smoking is very effective. Not only were people receiving financial rewards for kicking the habit more likely to quit, they were also more likely to remain smoke-free. The amount was irrelevant: It was just as effective to pay $100 as more than $700. ACCESS…
This month, GWI’s The Wellness Moonshot™ Calendar: A Year of Inspiration focuses on ideas to shape healthy children who become happy adults and responsible citizens. Lack of good nutrition; too much screen time; and loneliness, anxiety, depression and violence are negatively impacting our kids and those who raise them. Use the ideas in August’s Wellness Moonshot Calendar to create wellness for your family—and for kids everywhere.
A July 17 story in Quartz explored the recent, tragic deaths of at least nine American tourists (as of June 30) in the Dominican Republic. It has created a media frenzy, the FBI and Dominican authorities are investigating, and one strong theory is that fake or adulterated alcohol was the cause. Beware! READ STORY
MONTHLY BAROMETER – WELLNESS EDITION In this lower growth, uncertain and ever-more unequal world, an issue is gaining prominence: that of a wealth tax. For instance, a group of American billionaires has just been calling publicly for a “wealth tax,” and our own little survey at the Wellness Barometer (very limited and hence with no real scientific validity) shows that ultra-high-net-worth families are surprisingly receptive…
