DESPITE GLOBAL PANDEMIC, AUSTRALIANS’ HAPPINESS REMARKABLY UNSCATHED ACCORDING TO NEW WHITEPAPER BY NOBLEOAK

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Families and happiness appear the winners from latest Whitepaper by independent Australian life insurer NobleOak, which highlighted some unexpected impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The survey research found that despite the impact of a once-in-a-lifetime global pandemic, Australians’ happiness levels remain virtually unchanged.  In 2019 Australians reported an average happiness score of 6.9 out of 10, but despite the complete upheaval of life in 2020 that score remains almost steady at 6.7, highlighting a significant level of resilience.

The report also found that spending more time with family (42%) has helped Australians recognise what’s important in life, with people in family situations or couples being significantly happier than singles.

“COVID-19’s had a significant impact on the lives of Australians in so many ways - financially and mentally. Given the current uncertain climate we anticipated the ‘save more, spend less’ strategy, but we did not expect Australians’ overall level of happiness to be unaffected,” said NobleOak CEO, Anthony Brown.  “As a company focused on protecting families, it’s so rewarding to see proof of the role that family plays in maintaining happiness, especially during times of stress and societal upheaval.”

Relationships Australia NSW CEO, Elisabeth Shaw, says that the findings of the report confirm that the relationships we have with family, friends and the broader community positively support our wellbeing.

“We are in the main relational beings and as the report indicates, spending more time with family has helped many of us get through difficult periods. Our happiest moments are shared moments and being in good relationships with others has a clear psychological, emotional and physical health benefit.”

Despite the massive focus on COVID-19, Australians correctly identify cancer as the biggest threat to their mortality, as they did in 2018 and 2019 as well. But in what appears to be a small silver living to the pandemic, there has been a significant increase in mental-health awareness, with Australians ranking it as the second most important risk for the first time.

Nearly half of Australians (46%) surveyed report having their working lives significantly affected by COVID-19, with nearly a third (32%) experiencing reduced income and a quarter forecasting reduced future income.  This correlates with the financial caution NobleOak is seeing with almost half of the respondents (45%) spending less and saving more (38%).

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Access a copy of the NobleOak Whitepaper, imagery, audio, and B-roll footage for broadcast here.

Case study: Family of four, Sydney – Amanda (41) and Rob Hodgson (38) and their two sons (6 and 8). 2020 was a year like no other – Rob tested positive for COVID-19 after returning from a US work trip and his wife, Amanda, also contracted the disease. It wasn’t until eight months later when Rob began to experience health problems, that he discovered he had an uncommon heart condition, which was likely triggered from contracting COVID. He now has an implantable cardioverter defibrillator inserted just under his skin to shock his heart to return to regular rhythm if it becomes irregular. As a result of their experience, Rob and Amanda have re-evaluated their life priorities and they both now work from home more to spend more time with family. Despite the events of 2020, they say they are just as happy as they were pre-COVID.

Case study 2: Female business owner, Orange – Before the pandemic, Nicole Farrell (46yo) was running a successful international travel business, specialising in tours to India and Morocco. In 2020 she was forced to close her business, and ended up working in a call centre. She decided to re-focus her energies to set up a business offering food and wine tours within the Central West region of NSW. Business is booming – and Nicole says she is just as happy as she was pre-pandemic.

For more information or to arrange interviews, please contact Mr Wolf PR:

Maria Crema – 0402 239 929 – maria@mrwolfinc.com.au

Sophie Blue - 0416 006 821, sophie@mrwolfinc.com.au

About NobleOak Life Limited: NobleOak is an independent Australian Life Insurer with over 140 years of history.  NobleOak’s fully underwritten life insurance offers quality no-surprises cover with lower premiums.  Go to nobleoak.com.au