Member Article

Tictrac reveals employee health habits during the national lockdowns

Tictrac, a global employee wellbeing company, has revealed data to show how the imposed national lockdowns due to COVID-19, have led to an increase in employees engaging with physical activity, as well as focusing on mental wellbeing and improving their nutrition. The data was gathered based on the content employees engaged with on Tictrac’s Employee Wellbeing Platform. The platform is used by over a thousand employers and in turn, hundreds of thousands of employees globally.

During the first lockdown, the data found that from the 23rd March 2020 and six weeks onwards, employees in the UK were focusing on their physical health. The stats showed that the content individuals viewed the most was around improving physical activity, with 35.9 per cent engaging with content about how to stay healthy through COVID-19. With home workouts becoming popular during this period, 29.8 per cent of users watched videos on how to perfect specific exercises at home, with compound moves such as glute bridges being particularly popular. This focus on physical activity could be down to the Joe Wicks effect, with individuals feeling inspired and motivated to get active, using it as a coping mechanism to deal with the stresses caused by the pandemic.

The data also found that in 2020, users were running a lot more (38.7 per cent), but in 2021 that has decreased significantly, with only 6.26 per cent choosing to run, and others switching to walking, as the step count increased significantly, from 25.81 per cent in 2020 and 62.85 per cent this year.

From the first six weeks from the 4th January 2021, there was a stark difference. Employees experienced fitness fatigue and as the pandemic continued, they chose to focus on their mental wellbeing. 29.8 per cent of employees read about coping, control and connection, and during that period, there was a 17 per cent surge in users learning about boosting their motivation, compared to just 5 per cent in March 2020.

With many disappointed by the news that they could not mix households during the festive season, employees saw Christmas as an opportunity to indulge but took the new year as an opportunity to kickstart new eating habits. 27.6 per cent of employees took on the app’s 90-day eat well plan, and 20 per cent learnt how to make a protein-rich breakfast. Interestingly, 10.1 per cent of employees have also looked to reduce their alcohol intake since January 2021, making the decision to take on a new habit of having a couple of alcohol-free days, this was the case for men in particular.

The content on the app has been specially created by well-known health and fitness experts. It includes fitness and yoga videos, meditation and mindfulness podcasts, as well as easy to follow recipes and practical strategies that provide users with constant inspiration and advice on how to improve their lifestyle.

Commenting on the findings, Martin Blinder, CEO and co-founder, Tictrac, said: “The COVID-19 pandemic has brought unparalleled upheaval to our lives, but the data is encouraging. Both physical and mental health has been high on people’s agenda, and with so many employees affected by the spread of Coronavirus, it’s extremely positive to see that this has been the catalyst for change, with an increase in individuals using this time to focus on their wellbeing.

Blinder continued: “As a nation, we all need to take far better care of ourselves. We hope these indicators are representative of a long-lasting trend in self-care and that employers continue to keep wellbeing high on the agenda for the long-term”.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Company .