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Islanders are not getting their five a day, think its ok for women to breastfeed in public, would be more likely to vote if they could do it online and want their organs to be used to treat others when they die.
All of those findings about islanders thoughts, feelings and habits – and more – come as part of the 2017 Opinions and Lifestyle Survey.
Published today by the Statistics Unit, the survey rounds up the views of more than 1,300 islanders aged 16 and over.
At 65 pages long, it’s a hefty read and provides an insight into the mind of an ever-changing island population, covering everything from money matters to mental and physical health, the environment, employment and how we feel about voting.
Express brings you some of the top tidbits…
When it came to money matters, the survey painted a fairly bleak picture of the population – one in five households are struggling to cope financially, and 44% of single parent families. One in seven were materially deprived, with one in 10 severely so.
One in every three islanders had trouble saving just £10 a month. Those issues appeared to be reflected in the fact that 36% of people had difficulty replacing or repairing electrical items in their homes, while a nearly quarter of families had gone without buying their children new clothes over the last year. 10% of island homes also went without fresh fruit and vegetables over the last year.
But it wasn’t all bad news – nearly one fifth of the population did say that their financial situation had improved. Unfortunately, even more – 28% - felt that it had got worse.
A strong majority of islanders are fit as a fiddle according to the survey – eight in ten rated their health as good or very good.
That was despite their habits – one in six had eaten less than five portions of fruit and veg in the 24 hours before the survey, and 70% said that they wanted to exercise more. One in six adults are smokers, but e-cigarettes appeared to be on the up: 56% of smokers have given them a go.
More islanders are also turning to pharmacies for health advice. Half of adults had done so in the last 12 months, compared with just a third eight years ago.
On the subject of keeping our insides healthy… Three quarters of those surveyed said they’d want an organ transplant if necessary, but far fewer – 55% - said that they would be willing to give their own away to treat others when they die.
Only 14% were already on the NHS organ donation register, and those that said they would like to be had either not got round to it (40%) or weren’t sure how to register (21%). Just over half of islanders said they would be in favour of another solution – a ‘presumed consent’ system whereby islanders ‘opt out’ of donating their organs instead.
A huge majority of 82% of islanders had no issue with women breastfeeding in public places – just 16% said they would be uncomfortable if a mother did so near them. Nonetheless, three in five would prefer if mothers were discreet.
Three quarters of people said they were satisfied with their lives, but just over a quarter reported themselves as being on a ‘high’ anxiety level. This may have been linked with an apparent issue with the island’s work-life balance. Nearly half of respondents claimed that they were spending too much time at work and 69% felt they had too little time to spend on their hobbies and interests.
Sadly, nearly a quarter of adults in Jersey said that they had suffered discrimination in the last year – a third of those said it occurred at work.
But life in Jersey otherwise seems pretty swell in residents’ eyes. Nine out of ten people were satisfied with Jersey as a place to live. Three quarters of people living in rural parishes were satisfied with their local neighbourhood, while the picture for St Helier was starkly different: only 35% felt the same level of contentment with their home zone.
Most adults are still travelling to work by car, just under a third are walking, while 7% choose to cycle. 2% opt for the bus.
Published just six months before the election, the survey also tackled the topic of voting.
Two out of three of those surveyed said they were likely to vote in the May election – 40% of non-voters also claimed they’d be willing to change that in 2018.
Improving turnout seemed to largely revolve around online voting – 63% said they’d be more likely to vote if they could do so on a computer. That rose to over three quarters of those aged 16-34 years. But one fifth of Jersey people said that nothing would change their mind and make them more likely to vote next year.
We’re using smartphones nearly 20% more than four years ago, but home computers and laptops are still our favourite way to access the internet (83%). Others turned to tablets (64%) and internet-enabled games and TV consoles (26%).
Just 7% of adults do not access the internet.
Island households are apparently pretty keen recyclers – above all, with glass bottles and jars (82%). That was followed by batteries, clothes, electrical goods and newspapers and magazines, which were all recycled by 60% of survey respondents. Around half said they recycled plastic bottles and metal packaging too.
The survey brought good news for the La Collette recycling centre – it was used by two in three households. Islanders said they’d be keen to be even more green if there were increased kerbside collections (51%) or closer recycling facilities (34%).
Workers are working around three hours more than they are contracted to do each week, while senior managers are pushing this to eight. One in seven said they would actually like to work longer hours.
One in 20 are on zero hours contracts, with men taking on more hours than women per week – 39 versus 23.
Graphics: States of Jersey Statistics Unit
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