Wellness of Men / Wellness for Men Part 1

WELLNESS OF MEN

WELLNESS FOR MEN

An Exploratory Intelligence – Part 1 //

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This is the final report of the exploratory study Wellness of Men / Wellness For

Men, a pioneering initiative of HTWWLife enjoying support from 26 global experts representing the healthcare, wellness, hospitality, leisure and travel industries.

Men from 45 countries shared their wellness insights and practices.

We thank everyone for their time, inputs and dedication.

László Puczkó Melanie Smith CEO & Co-founder Co-founder

Photo by Jazper Ong on Scopio

WHY MEN?

We felt that men's voice appears to be under-represented in the discussions about wellness. Wellness services, products, communication, etc. tend to pay moderate attention to explore how men may translate wellness, or what men may want from wellness. We, therefore, decided to ask men all about this!

This explorative intelligence did not intend to be representative but does want to trigger and catalyse discussions. In the upcoming Part 2 our international expert panel members will share their views on what these findings mean to them and how these may influence their field, their decisions.

We have not forgotten about women! Our Wellness of Women / Wellness for Women survey can be accessed here.

László

Puczkó & Melanie Smith

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OUR DISTINGUISHED

XPERT PARTNERS:

Michael Altewischer / Wellness Hotels & Resort International / Managing Partner / Germany

Alberto Apostoli / Studio Apostoli / Architect & Spa Designer / Italy

Nils Behrens / Lanserhof Group / CMO / Germany

Emlyn Brown / ACCOR / Global Vice-president of Well-being / France

Blair Russell Campbell / FIT Summit / CCO / Singapore

Wilfried Dreckmann / spa-project / General Manager / Germany

David Edwards / Vacayou Wellness Travel / VP of Business Development / USA

Sammy Gharieny / Gharieny Group / CEO & Founder / Belgium

Andrew Gibson / Advisor / Sweden

Todd Hewitt / KOOL for Men, Women, Kids and Pets / Co-founder / Hong Kong

Jesper Hougaard / Dilettio Lifestyle & Hospitality / Founder & CEO / India

Andrew Jacka / Asia-Pacific Spa and Wellness Coalition / Chairman / Singapore

Fran Lugo / GoWell / Advisor / Mexico

Thomas Klein / Vistage Peer Advisory Group / Chair / USA

Thorsten Lipfert / EMAAR Hospitality / Head of Medical Wellness / Dubai

Photo by Jubert Valmores on Scopio

OUR DISTINGUISHED

EXPERT PARTNERS:

Franz Linser / Linser Hospitality / CEO & Founder / Austria

Stavros Mavridis / Soul Tailors / General Manager / Greece

Jeremy McCarthy / Mandarin Oriental /Group Director of Spa & Wellness / Hong Kong

John T Nielsen / Fivelements / General Manager / Bali

Hans Pfister / Cayuga Collection / CEO & Founder / Costa Rica

Cesar Tejedor / Massage Around the World / CEO & Founder / Spain

Ingo Schweder / GOCO / Founder & CEO / Thailand

Richard Shisia / Kenya SWAA Chapter / Chair / Kenya

Vishal Patel / Sensei / President & Chief Medical Officer / USA

Mike Roizen / Cleveland Clinic / Chief Wellness Officer Emeritus at Cleveland Clinic / USA

Stephan Wagner / Red Sea Global / Wellness Director /KSA

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Men Are Well

Photo by Francisco Javier Martinez Navio

I suffer from a chronical illness

MEN ARE WELL

Being well and being healthy may not necessarily fully overlap, but the data here show parallel responses since men reported having a good health status and being well most of the time. Most exercise regularly and observe a healthy diet.

Although most do not suffer from any chronic illnesses, there are answers that indicate that being well may be influenced from time-to-time by certain factors. Men shared their concerns about their health and also stated that there is a significant amount of stress in their lives.

I am taking supplements/vitamins on a regular basis I feel stressed

I have a balanced diet

I am concerned with my wellness on a regular basis

I sleep well

I exercise regularly

I am taking care of my health (e.g. having health check up at least…

I feel well most of the time

I am in good health

MEN ARE WELL

The younger they are, the healthier they believe they are. Less than 30% of Baby Boomers stated that they are in good health. Almost every third Baby Boomer reported to be suffering from some chronic illness and this segment’s supplement and vitamin intake is the highest (43% taking regularly).

GenZ and gay men seem to be the most concerned about their health, but GenZ does not seem to link the worry about health with regular check ups. There is no segment in which more than 50% of respondents say that they sleep well!

Every second GenX-er exercises regularly, whereas the all-across segments’ average is around 44%.

Work Means Stress

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Friends

WORK IS NO 1

SOURCE OF STRESS

Work and work-related concerns are the number one source of stress for men. Over 50% of men reported work as the most important stress factor, only 4% stated that work is not a stress factor at all. The high impact of work on their stress level was almost as high for the Baby Boomers as well.

Financial matters closely follow with every third man indicating it as critical source of stress.

Every other potential stress factor plays a smaller role, i.e. not more than 15% of men mentioned these as source of stress.

Medical/health status

Relationship issues

Family

Finances

Work

Music Means Relaxation

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MUSIC MEANS RELAXATION

The TOP 5 activities to relax represent a wide range of options. In most subsegments listening to music achieved the No 1 position, with a highest popularity among GenZ.

Online gaming has relatively low popularity as a form of relaxation and older men are the least likely to choose this activity to relax.

The high position of socialising as a form of relaxation is surprising considering that socialising was a relatively low motivating factor in the search for wellness.

It therefore seems that socialising is seen as a relaxing rather than a wellness activity.

Listening to Music

Fitness/Physical Excercise

Watching Films/Series at Home

Eating out

Socialising

Reading

Drinking/Alcohol

Meditation Playing Music

Taking Part in Creative Arts

Volunteer Work (Online) Gaming

Dancing/Clubbing

Taking recreational drugs

Dancing/clubbing

(Online) Gaming

Volunteer work

Taking part in creative arts

Playing music

Meditation

Drinking/Alcohol

Deep breathing

Cooking

Reading

Socialising

Eating out

Watching films/series at home

Fitness/physical excercise

Listening to music

MUSIC MEANS RELAXATION

Single men take part in the highest number of different activities when searching for relaxation, whereas GenZ takes part in the least.

For GenX it is physical exercise, whereas for Baby Boomers the No1 most often practiced relaxation form is meeting friends and family, i.e. socialising. This is closely followed by reading.

There are other ways that well men seek relaxation such as walking, journaling or sunbathing!

Wellness = Body & Mind

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THE MEANING OF WELLNESS

Wellness has several interpretations and definitions. It may have different meanings for different people.

The general assumption has always been that men have a strong interest in the physical aspects of their being. As a free definition of wellness the most common associations are:

• Health & Healthy

• Mental & Mind

• Physical & Body

Looking at the details we can see that gay men look at wellness in a somewhat different way. Apart from the health and mental aspects they also mention the emotional aspects as well.

THE MEANING OF WELLNESS

Men with no kids add that wellness may be described using the concept of ‚wellbeing’. Lifestyle choices’ are also important in their understanding of wellness. Single men associate physical aspects with wellness the most, whereas gay men also associate a strong relationship between wellness and ‚wellbeing’.

Photo by Paola Lopez on Scopio

Wellness Is Physical

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WELLNESS IS PHYSICAL

Creating greater understanding of universe & oneself

Ability to understand feelings, etc.

Meaning and purpose of life

Creating and maintaining social relationships

Lifestyle choices related to work, e.g. job selection, satisfaction

Physical state of the person including nutrition, fitness, vitality

Emotional Pillar Intellectual Pillar

Social Pillar Occupational Pillar Physical Pillar Spiritual Pillar

Many studies identified the six pillars of wellness. One’s wellness may be influenced by any or all of these pillars at any moment of time.

The most likely scenario is that a certain mix of the six pillars define the wellness state of the individual. This mix may change from time to time.

There is overwhelming agreement among men that the most influential pillar of the six is the physical.

WELLNESS IS PHYSICAL

Men believe that the most important way they can improve their state of wellness is engaging in physical activities. This is especially true of the Baby Boomer generation.

Spirituality is not rated in the TOP 3 most important pillars but there are two subsegments, i.e. men with no kids, and single men who attached significantly higher importance to spirituality. This was also true of Gen Z and Gen X men which may be related to age or lifestage.

Gen Z and Gen X show the most balanced report on the role of the six wellness pillars. Every pillar is rated with significant importance, with the exception of spirituality for Gen Z.

Occupational wellness is especially important for single men.

Emotions are almost as important for gay men as the physical attributes.

Wellness is Emotional (for Women)

Photo by Alexey Vladimir on Scopio

WELLNESS IS EMOTIONAL (

FOR WOMEN)

Creating greater understanding of universe & oneself

Lifestyle choices related to work, e.g. job selection & satisfaction

Meaning and purpose of life

Creating and maintaining social relationships

Physical state of the person including nutrition, fitness, vitality

Ability to understand feelings, etc.

Intellectual Pillar

Occupational Pillar

Spiritual Pillar

Social Pillar

Physical Pillar

Emotional Pillar

As a comparison, men were requested to think of what women may say about the very same question, i.e. the importance of the six wellness pillars in their lives.

The anticipated importance of the wellness pillars appears to be quite different.

WELLNESS IS EMOTIONAL

(FOR WOMEN)

Men assume that women seek wellness via the Emotional and the Social pillars in addition to the Physical one.

According to men, women attach relatively high importance to the Physical pillar but not as high as men do.

Single men believe that women just like them would turn to the Physical and the Occupational Pillars when they want to improve their state of wellness. Men with no kids suggest that women first engage in physical activities, then seek wellness via Spiritual and then Occupational activities.

Baby Boomers, Gen Y and Gen Z men believe that women find the Physical Pillar the most important closely followed by the Emotional Pillar.

Quest for De-stress

Photo by Eva Ozkoidi on Scopio

QUEST FOR DE-STRESS

Four of the TOP 5 motivations for men that triggers them to look for wellness services are related to their energy level: being stressed and lacking energy seem to be the most important reasons why they start to search for wellness.

It is somewhat stereotypical that men would not seek beauty treatments, pampering and spirituality in their quest for wellness.

The rather low associated position of ‚Socialising’ may be surprising since social networks are rated to be the key components of most of the happiness systems and foundation of longevity for people living in the so called Blue Zones.

It also emerged as the most important factor in the World’s Longest Study on Happiness. It seems that socialising as an act could be practiced without labelling it as wellness.

De-stress

Replenishing energy

Recharging

Prevention of illnesses

Relaxation

Self-development/improvement

Self-healing

Rejuvenation

Fitness

Learning

Reward self

Weight management/loss

Socialising

Escapism

Anti/Fit-Ageing

Spirituality

Pampering

Beauty/Grooming

QUEST FOR DE-STRESS

For Gen Z, relaxation, weight management and weight loss are key motivations in searching for wellness, whereas Gen X, Baby Boomers and men with kids are motivated by preventing potential illnesses. Gen X men are especially interested in self-improvement and development.

Single men are the most stressed (81% of them are stressed or very stressed), whereas gay men seek re-charging options the most (93%).

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Is Grooming Wellness ?

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Fitness/Working out at Home

Fitness/Working out in Gym/Fitness/Wellness Centre

Mind-body Activities at Home (e.g. yoga)

Body Treatment/Massage in Spa/Wellness Centre

Saunas/Steam Rooms

Mind-body Activities at Gym/Fitness/Wellness Centre

Manicure/Pedicure

Bathing at Hot Spring/Thermal Spas

Nutritional & Detox Programmes

Workplace Wellness Provisions

Facial Treatment in Spa/Wellness Centre

Traditional Healing Approaches (e.g. Ayurveda, TCM)

Psychological Therapies (e.g. Life Coaching)

Alternative Therapies (e.g. Colour, Sound)

Wellness Festivals Unusual Wellness Programmes (e.g. Beer Yoga)

GROOMING IS WELLNESS ?

Comparing the popularity of Grooming/barber services with the activities men participate in whilst seeking wellness suggests that Grooming/barber services are part of everyday life and are not considered to be wellnessrelated.

Men seem to be consistent with what they stated earlier about the most important wellness pillar, i.e. the Physical pillar. Some 40% practice fitness or work out on a regular basis. Gen Z is the most likely to take part in fitness at a fitness/wellness centre (56%), whereas those with kids are the least likely (17%).

In spite of the growing popularity of workplace wellness programmes, it seems that these are not (yet) so widespread, since this is one of the least likely forms of wellness activity men would engage in, although single men reported the highest participation rate.

Workplace wellness provisions

Facial treatment in spa/wellness center

Nutritional & detox programmes

Bathing at hot spring/thermal spas

Traditional healing approaches (e.g. Ayurveda, TCM)

Wellness festivals

Psychological therapies (e.g. life coaching)

Unusual wellness programmes (e.g. beer yoga)

Alternative therapies (e.g. colour, sound)

IS GROOMING WELLNESS ?

Some 30% of men all across the various segments take body treatments, massages and also visit thermal baths and saunas when they have the opportunity. Gen Z adds to that the Body-mind activities they may engage in at home.

The least often practiced activities belong to the holistic/spiritual wellness category which is in line with the low importance men associated with the Spiritual wellness pillar.

It is interesting to see which activities, treatments or programmes men may try for the first time. The most likely choice is to take part in Alternative Therapies and Unusual Wellness Programmes, and gay men would consider Psychological therapies.

Single men appear to be the most open to new things, especially Wellness Festivals and Bathing in Hot Springs.

Partner is the Source

PARTNER IS THE SOURCE FOR WELLNESS

One’s partner was named as the No 1 source who may influence men’s attitude to wellness. Almost every second man named his partner as someone he would listen to about wellness matters.

Men appear to be critical about adverts, brand(s) they follow and government policy when they look for trustable sources about wellness. The bottom 5 sources that are the least trusted are not at all relevant sources for some 2/3rd of the panel.

PARTNER IS THE SOURCE FOR WELLNESS

For single men the No 1 source for wellness is Family and their Community.

Men do not trust adverts, brands and persons they follow, government and corporate initiatives when they may look for information about wellness matters. Government policies are the least trusted sources when we look at the ones which they do not trust at all especially for Gen Z, whereas Baby Boomers are most likely to listen to what the government has to say about wellness matters.

Famous Persons(s) / Influencers I Follow Brand(s) I Follow Adverts

My Colleagues/Workplace Corporate Initiatives Government Policy

Friends/Community

My Partner My Family My Kids

Age Changes Approach

Photo by Jun Pinzon on Scopio

Age Changes Approach

Men observe a constant change in their understanding of wellness over time (some 80% agree with this statement on average). This is a critical confirmation since wellness is not supposed to be seen as a constant construct but more like a personal interpretation of a holistic concept.

87% of Baby Boomers compared to 67% of Gen Z agree that wellness changes over time, i.e. the older men get the more likely they are to observe changes in their understanding of wellness.

Post-COVID Men

Looking after Themselves

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I am looking after myself more

I explore healthier lifestyle options

I aim for better harmony with myself

LOOKING AFTER HIMSELF

I am living more sustainably

Stays as it used to be

I am more physically active

I am taking more supplements/vitamins

I experience mental health imbalances

In the wake of COVID19, 34% of men state that they most definitely look after themselves more then they used to pre-pandemic.

Only 27% stated that their lifestyle remains unchanged, but this rises to 44% among Gen Z.

Some 16% reported experiencing mental health imbalances as a consequence.

Looking after their health may not include taking more supplements since men did not report significant change in this field.

I experience mental health imbalances

LOOKING AFTER

HIMSELF

The stronger interest in looking after themselves more is especially relevant for Baby Boomers and for single men, i.e. almost every second man in these segments stated so.

These two segments showed the most changes in their lives, i.e. at least every 5th man in these groups agreed that their lifestyle has gone through multiple changes.

Those living with partners are the most interested in exploring healthier lifestyle options, whereas gay men aim for better harmony with themselves in the highest percentage (52%).

I am taking more supplements/vitamins

I am more physically active

Stays as it used to be

I am living more sustainably

I aim for better harmony with myself

I explore healthier lifestlye options

I am looking after myself more

The Firsttimers?

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TRYING FOR THE FIRST TIME

In the Post-COVID19 era, it is anticipated that wellness may become an important component of travel for a wider range of consumers.

Every 4th man suggested that it is very likely that he would book a wellness-focused trip and only every 5th man disagreed strongly.

Almost 40% stated that they will actively take part in wellness activities during their upcoming trips.

I will try wellness services for the first time

I will book wellness-focused trips

I will look for wellness options

I will actively take part in wellness activities

I will actively take part in wellness activities

I will look for wellness options

I will try wellness services for the first time

I will book

focused trips

TRYING FOR THE FIRST TIME

Apart from actively taking part in wellness activities, every 3rd man suggested that he would actually look for wellness options during his travels. This proactive approach is no doubt the manifestation of the increased interest in their own health post-COVID19.

It is worth noting that more and more men indicate interest in getting engaged in wellness services during travel for the very first time.

The Bottom Line

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THE BOTTOM LINE

This explorative survey highlights some insightful details about how men think of wellness and the wide range of activities that make them well :

➢ Men are interested in the actual benefits of doing something for wellness rather than just the labels

➢ One-size-does-not-fit all: men represent very different understandings and practices of wellness segment-by-segment

➢ Men are open to learn about and try new ideas that can make them feel better – at home as well as during travel

➢ Market Intelligence & Value Mapping

➢ Concept Development & Destination Planning

➢ Wellbeing Intelligence & Feasibility

➢ Wellnessificiation & Marketing

➢ Skills Development & Mentoring

➢ Impact Assessment & Monitoring

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