This week, the growing consumer interest in wellness and Dame Sally Davies on how to prevent the next global health crisis. Plus, with Mother's Day around the corner for many of us, we hear from an expert on workplace challenges for senior-level women. |
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A wellness awakening. The concept of wellness is not new, though it has expanded beyond aerobic-workout tapes and fad diets to encompass overall physical and mental health. These days, consumers view personal wellness through a much broader and more sophisticated lens, and they have more choice in the types of products and services they buy and the way they buy them. |
Global growth. Our latest research shows that consumers care deeply about wellness—and that their interest is growing. In a survey of roughly 7,500 consumers in six countries, 79 percent of the respondents said they believe that wellness is important, and 42 percent consider it a top priority. In fact, consumers in every market we researched reported a substantial increase in the prioritization of wellness over the past two to three years. This $1.5 trillion market presents myriad opportunities for companies in categories ranging from health, fitness, and nutrition to appearance, sleep, and mindfulness. |
Rx for self-care. Scott Melville, a 30-year veteran of the healthcare industry and CEO of the Consumer Healthcare Products Association in Washington, DC, says it's no wonder consumers are paying more attention to wellness, given how the COVID-19 pandemic has emphasized the need to keep themselves and their loved ones healthy. In a recent interview, he said that in the US, wellness has shifted from an emphasis on treatment to an emphasis on prevention, as self-care, digital health, and e-commerce play a central role in the future of wellness. “Consumers have been empowered by technology, they're accessing more information than ever before, and they're able to make choices about their own healthcare, whereas in the past perhaps they would have relied upon their doctor to make those choices for them.” |
What about fitness? This year should look much better for the sporting-goods industry, with the possible return of large sports events, including, potentially, the Olympic and Paralympic Games. The popularity of outdoor and home-based sports is expected to continue; categories that did well in 2020, including outdoor individual sports, home exercise, yoga, esports, and virtual races, should remain popular. Executives are cautiously optimistic about growth opportunities: 64 percent of respondents to the WFSGI-McKinsey Sporting Goods Survey expect “better” or “much better” market conditions. |
Mindfulness matters. Of all wellness categories, mindfulness has gained mainstream consumer acceptance relatively recently, in the form of meditation-focused apps and relaxation- and meditation-oriented offerings. More than half of consumers in our wellness survey said they want to prioritize mindfulness more. Half said they wished that more mindfulness products and services were available, indicating an opportunity for companies. |
A crowded market. This trend and others have implications for industry players, from traditional consumer healthcare to fitness offerings and nutrition to beauty, apparel, and retail. At the same time, the wellness sector is getting more competitive, so companies should think critically now about strategies to engage consumers. If the pandemic has taught us one thing, it's that physical and mental health will remain a priority for millions of people across the globe for a long time to come. |
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OFF THE CHARTS |
Private markets 2021: A year of disruption |
After a second-quarter 2020 “COVID correction” comparable to that seen in public markets, private markets have experienced their own version of a K-shaped recovery: a vigorous rebound in private equity contrasting with malaise in real estate; a tailwind for private credit but a headwind for natural resources and infrastructure. Private equity has outperformed other asset classes in private markets and has experienced less volatility since 2008. |
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INTERVIEW |
How to prevent the next global health crisis |
Dame Sally Davies, England's former chief medical officer and the master of Trinity College Cambridge, talks about how data-driven efforts can help manage—and prevent—future global health emergencies. In an interview with McKinsey, Dame Sally discussed lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic and the crucial role that better use of data and digital technology can play in preventing and managing health crises. “We've learned about the interplay between behavior, the economy, and health in a way we haven't had to before, or at least not since 1918 and the flu pandemic that killed so many millions,” she said. |
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MORE ON MCKINSEY.COM |
The global machinery market goes Nordic | Our new research shows that Nordic machinery companies have been quietly gaining ground and now outperform German players on several important metrics, including profitability, resilience, and growth. |
New tools for labor-intensive factories | New digital and analytic solutions, applied diligently, can enable plants in labor-intensive industries to become best-in-class performers even as they continue to employ large numbers of people. |
Building better batteries: Insights on chemistry and design from China | We examine the Chinese battery market, taking a closer look at cell chemistry, cell design, and battery packs to help market players understand the recent developments and emerging opportunities. |
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THREE QUESTIONS FOR |
Joann S. Lublin |
In her new book, Power Moms: How Executive Mothers Navigate Work and Life Joann S. Lublin, former management news editor for the Wall Street Journal, draws on the experiences of two generations of successful women to measure the trade-offs mothers are forced to make between work and family.
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What problem were you trying to solve with this book? |
I was trying to determine to what extent the “motherhood penalty” still exists. It was initially documented back in 2007, when researchers found that if it was clear that a résumé was coming from a woman with children, she was much less likely to be called for an interview than either a man with children or men and women whose résumés made it clear that they had no children. |
And that motherhood penalty, from a hiring standpoint and employment standpoint, still persists. In fact, the wage gap between women with children under 18 and men with children under 18 is about 69 cents earned by the mother for every dollar earned by the dad—a much wider gap than exists between women and men [generally]. |
So the question that I was trying to explore was, has the motherhood penalty diminished at all as these younger executive mothers, women who were in their 30s and early 40s when I interviewed them, moved into executive roles? And what I found was that it has, to some extent, but that women still suffer from gendered role expectations. |
You say it's important to accept imperfections. Why is that? |
Accepting our imperfections doesn't mean that you stop trying to be the best you can be, especially if you're cognizant of the workplace in which you are operating. For individuals, that means you accept the fact that you're imperfect and that there are going to be cases in which you are held to a higher standard, but you may not be able to meet those standards. You just do your darned best. |
What it means for employers is that we need to be having mandatory and regular unconscious-bias training, so we understand the ways in which men and women alike put themselves in boxes. I think men are equally subject to stereotypical expectations—it's why we see a relatively low percentage of men take paid parental leave when it's available. |
How can companies help with the notion of ‘work-life sway’? |
The whole idea of work-life sway is that we accept as a given that when we need to be 110 percent there for our jobs, for our employers, we will do so, but if life interferes and we've got to do something that deals with our family, we will move out of work mode and into family mode. |
So how can this concept apply to employers? Now that we've had this successful natural experiment in working from home, I think employers can make a permanent commitment to letting individuals work from home, either part-time or full-time, and in so doing, they can trust those individuals, particularly those who have parenting responsibilities, to figure out what time of day works best for them to work, and to allow, for instance, protected periods of time during the day. |
The other thing is that you need to show empathy by checking in frequently. Even if you yourself have children, they may not be as young or as vulnerable as [the children of] some of the employees that are working for you, and you need to be asking those working dads and moms, “Am I doing everything that you need, from your point of view, that enables you to be as effective and efficient as you possibly can?” |
This is an excerpt from a recent edition of our new Author Talks series on McKinsey.com. Check out other interviews in the series, as well as our exclusive lists of business bestsellers on our McKinsey on Books page. |
— Edited by Barbara Tierney |
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BACKTALK |
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