Bangkok--22 Feb--Ogilvy Public Relations
“Khon Thai Monitor”, Thailand’s largest national study revealed that Thais had less satisfaction in their quality of life in 2012 although the satisfaction of the country’s progress increased. Many pointed out serious national and social problems.
“Khon Thai Monitor” is Thailand’s largest national study initiated by Khon Thai Foundation, the non-profit organization. Conducted by Thailand Marketing Research Society (TMRS) according to the standards of ESOMAR World Research Organization, the study was conducted from July to September 2012 covering 100,000 people in 77 provinces in Thailand. With the large sampling size and internationally accepted study standard and method, the study clearly reflects the actual voice of the people while providing clear indication of their quality of life as well as reflecting the overall picture of the nation’s development. The study covers four areas including quality of life/well being, confidence and beliefs, national and local development and problems experienced. The study also provides insights of the actual voice of Thai people.
Mr. Vichien Pongsathorn, Chairman of Khon Thai Foundation, said, “The “Khon Thai Monitor” was initiated to be a systematic mechanism of listening to Thai people. We strongly believe that the better Thailand can be achieved only when we start to listen to Thais talking to Thais, think and take action to drive positive development and jointly create a happy and harmonious society.”
In the Khon Thai Monitor 2012, the study showed that factors that have high impact on Thais’ quality of life are income and finance related issues including higher cost of living, physical and emotional health, job stability, work environment, time spent with family members and overall lifestyle. Rights and social equality, environment, government, role of media and role of the private sector on the country’s development were analyzed as factors at a secondary level.
More satisfaction on finances, but less on quality of life
Thais’ satisfaction remains centralized in economic factors, the Khon Thai Monitor 2012 unveiled. This shows an alarming trend that Thailand is moving more towards a materialism society. This is quite clear when considering that most of the study respondents said their quality of life deteriorated although they were happier with other financial factors, such as income with satisfaction indicator rising from 68.0% to 68.29% yet the overall quality of life satisfaction index drops from 78.1% to 74.7%. The finding shows that economic factors are not the most important factors promoting the quality of life. Other factors, such as time spent with family, are also very crucial to creating balance in life. From this discovery, a new opportunity arises. By campaigning and encouraging Thais to embrace the “sufficiency” concept in their daily life, life balance can be achieved which will lead to better quality of life.
Family is Important to Quality of Life and Nurturing New Quality Generation
The study revealed that the strength of family relationships strongly reflects on the Thai peoples’ life satisfaction. They also viewed that Thailand has quite good family and social environment with the family satisfaction indicator at 82.86% dropping from 84.57%, which makes a very strong foundation for youth development.
They said that top five desired social values that must be instilled among young children are drug-free life, passion for learning, moral virtue, savings and integrity. These are important values that will lead to quality generation and quality society. In terms of education, Thais in general are satisfied with education or literacy but seem to be less aware of the importance and indicators of education quality.
Another interesting point is the qualities of Thais, which are conflicting in a way. The study showed that positive qualities that Thai people see are friendliness, care and warmth while negative qualities are selfishness, not listening to others or being self-centered and lack of discipline. Such discovery indicates that although Thais are friendly and caring, some of them do it for their own benefits and are not completely sincere. To drive the country’s progress, all concerned parties, especially family, need to cooperate in people development to ensure the desired qualities in the new generation.
More Satisfied with the Government and Private Sector; More Concerns over Rising Corruption
In terms of overall economic and political area, Khon Thai Monitor 2012 revealed that although Thais were more satisfied with the government (indicator rising from 58.43% to 64.43%) and private sector’s (indicator rising from 63.29% to 65.71%) efforts and roles, they also viewed that corruption continued to be a very important problem which became worse. Although the government and private sectors made corruption suppression and prevention as an urgent policy, limitations remain in execution.
More Concerns over the Environment
“Khon Thai Monitor 2012” discovered a list of issues Thais see as major problems. Apart from economic factors such as cost of living and rising good prices, narcotic drugs and imbalance of income and expense, a new issue sprang up. Environmental issues, such as the Global Warming, drought, flood and pollutions, have become a new concern among Thais especially among those living in Bangkok. Other chronic problems that remain serious in Thailand are low agricultural product prices, gambling and alcohol drinking, and crime.
Active Citizenship
The study also showed that most Thais were more concerned with their personal problems than social and national problems. This indicated that Thais care more about personal matters rather than public benefits. Political conflict was also cited as a major problem that causes people to refrain from political participation.
In terms of people’s participation, most Thais became more aware of and attempted to participate more in social development activities. The study showed that 82% of the respondents are more individually driven and passive about participation in social development. They mentioned such activities as exercising their voting right, refraining from causing social problems, behaving well and being ethical and moral. Meanwhile, only 46% are more societally driven and proactively participatory. This group participated more on social and community development, promoted social harmony and contributed to environment conservation. However, it is found that local and community’s efforts to participate in social development are limited by rigid rules and regulations. This reveals that there are opportunities to encourage public participation and promote active citizenship to drive positive social development.
Social Media Is In
In the 2012 study, it is the first time that Khon Thai Monitor covered issue about media and their roles in social development. Television, newspapers and radio were cited as the main media people consume. However, for the new generation aged between 15-29 years, new and social media become the major part of their lives. Social media have opened up a new public space for people to freely discuss public issues. The study team considered this as a very interesting activity that will incubate activity citizens. It is also a significant tool that all stakeholders should be responsible for creating useful content that adds value to the national development.
Mutual Cooperation to Make Healthy Society
It is quite clear that national development is not the sole responsibility of the government. The private sector also has the potential to be a significant mechanism to drive development progress. The private sector can play crucial role in setting work policy that promotes work-life balance that affects people’s satisfaction; operational transparency that enhances public confidence and trust; active citizenship promotion that drives powerful social development; the establishment of a central body to promote concrete and effective corporate social responsibility; and the proper use of and beneficial content for digital media in communicating with the public and promote self-learning as well as good character.
“In developing a happy, harmonious and sustainable society, it is important to listen to and understand the actual needs of Thais. This study will become a good beginning and a mechanism that inspires all stakeholders to do their best and cooperate in enhancing social development for the better Thailand,” said Vichien.