Financial stereotypes weigh on Singaporeans’ well-being: AIA

The study found 98% of respondents in Singapore said stereotypes negatively affect them socially.

Financial stereotypes are weighing on the well-being of Singaporeans, with many feeling pressured to link personal worth with wealth, according to AIA Group’s Rethink Healthy Asia Report.

The study found that 98% of respondents in Singapore said stereotypes negatively affect them socially, even though Singaporeans reported lower personal agreement with many traditional stereotypes than the rest of Asia.

AIA said Singapore is the only market in the study where financial status is explicitly tied to personal identity and masculinity as the leading stereotypes. These include beliefs that “wealth determines a person’s worth” and that “a man’s worth depends on his financial success.”

Irma Hadikusuma, chief marketing and healthcare officer at AIA Singapore, said that financial success becoming a measure of personal worth can create emotional pressure and affect how people see themselves, their relationships, and their place in society.

The report also found signs of “social self-censorship” among Singaporeans. About 71.1% said they are less likely to discuss issues with others, whilst 60.3% hide their struggles.

Meanwhile, 64.8% said they engage in health-damaging behaviours due to stereotype pressure, and 63.3% said they doubt the guidance of experts.

Despite this, Singaporeans showed lower agreement with some stereotypes than the regional average. Only 24% agreed that “men must not show vulnerability,” compared with the 37.5% average across Asia.

The study also found that Singaporeans are moving away from rigid physical health stereotypes. Agreement with the belief that “only intense workouts are effective” stood at 19.4%, below the 31% Asia average.

The agreement that “eating clean equals healthy” was also lower at 41.8%, compared with 52.9% across Asia.

AIA said the findings support its regional Rethink Healthy campaign, which aims to challenge narrow definitions of health and promote a broader view of wellbeing.

The report covered Mainland China, Hong Kong SAR, Singapore, Thailand, and Malaysia. It analysed more than 100 million pieces of online content and surveyed 2,100 respondents to study how wellbeing stereotypes are formed and how they affect emotions and behaviours.