A massive nationwide study of Americans’ overall well-being reveals that while daily life for most U.S. residents has not gotten better in recent years, Alabamians’ well-being has improved faster than citizens of any other state in the country.
According to the latest Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index, Alabama has gone from ranking 46th in 2014, to 28th this year.
So what exactly does that mean?
The Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index ranks states in what it identifies as the five essential elements of well-being:
Purpose: liking what you do each day and being motivated to achieve your goals
Social: having supportive relationships and love in your life
Financial: managing your economic life to reduce stress and increase security
Community: liking where you live, feeling safe and having pride in your community
Physical: having good health and enough energy to get things done daily
Hawaii led the overall rankings with a Well-Being Index score of 64.8, while West Virginia ranked last with an overall score of 58.5. The 6.3-point gap between the two states may seem small, but researchers say even a fraction-of-a-point difference can prove to be significant in terms of overall happiness. Alabama’s Well-Being Index score was 61.8.
Here’s how the Yellowhammer State ranked in each category:
Purpose: 13th (Last year: 38th)
Social: 12th (43rd)
Financial: 42nd (45th)
Community: 21st (31st)
Physical: 41st (47th)
Alabama saw year-over-year improvement in every well-being category, with the purpose, social and community metrics jumping significantly. The state is still mired near the bottom of the pack, however, when it comes to financial and physical health.
Alabamians’ well-being suffers significantly because a large portion of the population has high blood pressure (state rank: 46th), high cholesterol (47th), diabetes (47th), depression (39th) and/or obesity (45th).
These physical issues have wide-ranging implications, dragging down the overall well-being of individual Alabamians; hurting the labor force and thereby inhibiting economic growth; and even exacerbating the state government’s budgeting woes by contributing to skyrocketing Medicaid costs.
But there are bright spots as well.
Alabama is now home to one of the country’s fastest growing fitness franchises, Iron Tribe Fitness.
Healthy Eating Active Living (HEAL), an Alabama-based non-profit, is revolutionizing physical education in the state’s public schools.
And the state legislature passed healthcare reforms that proponents say will place more of a focus on preventative care, rather than after-the-fact treatment.
Additionally, many companies are realizing that implementing wellness programs can not only improve their employees’ lives, but also boost their bottom line.
“Leading employers are beginning to step up as champions, investing to help their employees live and work better, and cultivate the behaviors that keep us well and better manage illness,” said Healthways CEO Donato J. Tramuto. “These leaders know that investments in employee well-being have a measurable and sustainable impact on business performance, as well as far-reaching benefits that impact the health of our nation.”
“Recent research demonstrates a compelling correlation between companies that deliver strong financial returns and those that have documented, best practice wellness programs,” added Dr. Paul Terry, President and CEO of the Health Enhancement Research Organization (HERO). “This knowledge can benefit business leaders looking for a competitive edge, and investors looking for a sound investment.”
On the financial front, another category in which Alabama continues to struggle, the state has had some recent success in attracting large manufacturers like Airbus, Remington, Polaris, and more. And partnerships between leaders in government, business and education — like the Alabama Workforce Council, and others — have produced positive results.
But the state’s public education system and overall tax and regulatory structure still leave much room for improvement.
(Related: These issues and more will be discussed at Yellowhammer’s upcoming Alabama Economic Growth Summit)
The bottom line:
Alabamians are happier and better off today than they have been at any time since Gallup and Healthways began measuring overall well-being in 2008, and the state continues to improve at a faster rate than any other area of the country.
Details on the Well-Being Index study’s methodology:
The Well-Being Index includes more than 2.3 million surveys, capturing how people feel about and experience their daily lives. Levels of wellbeing correlate with healthcare utilization and cost, and productivity measures such as absenteeism, presenteeism and job performance—all critical to organizational and economic competitiveness.
Results are based on telephone interviews conducted Jan. 2-Dec. 30, 2015, as a part of the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index, with a random sample of 177,281 adults, aged 18 and older, living in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia.
