How can TIPs maximise the wellbeing of those most affected by COVID-19?
COVID-19 has affected many aspects of our wellbeing - our health, our work, our homes, and the quality of our relationships - in ways that have been felt by some much more than others.
Joanne Smithson, The What Works Centre for Wellbeing’s Local Government and Health Lead, talks about the work they are doing to support policy makers quantify the differing impacts - and respond effectively.
If a policy helps people to thrive, it’s a success. At this pivotal time for recovery planning in the UK, policy development needs to take into account its consequences on national, local, and individual wellbeing. Decision makers should be asking - what is necessary to protect the wellbeing of those most affected? And what does ‘good’ look like for the UK’s future?
Putting wellbeing at the heart of Town Investment Plans
The OECD has already identified three ways in which wellbeing can inform recovery planning:
Identify pre-existing vulnerabilities to target support, especially socioeconomic disadvantage;
Highlight areas not previously on the radar;
Build resilience in systems, including social capital and trust.
As well as ensuring the main drivers of wellbeing, shown below, underpin Town Investment Plans, it is also important to understand how and why these might have been compounded or improved for some people as a result of Covid-19.
Summary of wellbeing factors that matter - The What Works Centre for Wellbeing
Wellbeing inequalities
At the What Works Centre for Wellbeing, we have been collecting and analysing evidence on how different individuals and groups have been affected, and changes that have occurred in all areas of our wellbeing as a result of the pandemic.
Insights and associated policy responses so far include:
Having a job is really good for our wellbeing. Having a good job, one that gives us a sense of purpose, security, autonomy and where relationships and skills are fostered and developed, is even better for us.
There were an estimated 695,000 fewer paid employees in the UK in August 2020 compared with March 2020, in particular, the number of people under 25 years old in employment has fallen.
Nearly two in three (65%) of those employed prior to the Covid-19 crisis who were in deep poverty, have experienced some kind of negative labour change.
Workers who earn more tend to work in jobs with more scope for home working, whilst front line workers were the least likely to be able to work from home.
People who are lonely also share many characteristics associated with low wellbeing. We identify three ways to ensure recovery activity targets loneliness reduction:
Invest in supporting relationships.
Provide the means and opportunity for people to leave damaging or toxic relationships.
Target the most at-risk groups.
The social and economic impacts of Covid-19 have had a disproportionate impact on people from Black, Asian and minority ethnic communities. In addition to the increased risk from the virus itself, people from ethnic minorities have been more affected by job losses and associated financial impacts. Where the economic gap widens, our wellbeing is affected even more.
People most at risk of worsening mental health are likely to have a similar profile to those at risk of the physical health impacts from catching the virus and the economic and social impacts from job losses and social distancing measures. A wellbeing based recovery can focus on:
Supporting and restoring access to mental health services.
Nurturing the positive impacts on mental health that have resulted from changes to our way of life, such as the increase in exercise, sleep and visits to green spaces.
Building connective infrastructure.
In preparing Town Investment Plans, there is an opportunity now to draw on this growing body of evidence of what works to improve our wellbeing. We can use this evidence to respond to the challenges that lie ahead, while being clear about what a good life looks like, for us all.
The What Works Centre for Wellbeing have put their research into an email that can help you construct a wellbeing approach to COVID-19 recovery policies and practices. To get the evidence in your inbox each week sign up here