In the AXA Star contest, altogether 22 AXA colleagues from headquarter and branches are entitled to awards of AXA Stars in Transformation, Customer First, Integrity, Courage, and One AXA. This special column was set up for them so we can all know their stories in living the AXA values and making their contribution in the company growth.
This month we will introduce the Customer First Star – Wei Junjie from Chengdu Call Center and One AXA/Transformation Star –Wang Ying, also from Chengdu Call Center.
Customer Star – Wei Junjie’s Story:
Wei Junjie joined AXA in 2013 and has overseen the Shanghai project in the Chengdu Call Center (Telemarketing Division 1). Deeply impressed by the corporate atmosphere and culture, he decided to put down his roots here.
Junjie embodies AXA’s values by upholding the four guidelines of “customer-centric”, “customer first”, “treating customers as friends”, and “maintaining regular customers”, which has earned him dazzling performance in 2021 H1. Apart from receiving zero complaints, he also outshone his peers in renewal sign-ups, Shanghai renewal and replacement sign-ups, non-motor insurance sign-up project, and health insurance sign-ups.
Q&A with Junjei:
Q: How do you feel on winning the AXA Star Award？
Junjie: It is an honor to receive the AXA Star Award and to attend the awards ceremony at the Shanghai headquarter. I am glad and thankful for the opportunity to meet the managers and colleagues across different teams.
The AXA Star Award not only recognizes my efforts but also guides me in my future development.
I would like to thank my Ms. Zhu for her Thank you letter to my family. It makes them more supportive and recognized of my work.
In the future, I will keep up my perseverance and give it my all no matter what.
Q: Do you have good habits to help you stay healthy?
Junjie: I fish to blow off steam and develop a calm, patient, and inquisitive personality.
Watching movies to broaden my horizons and be exposed to more local customs, personal experiences, and stories in movies.
Q: Any books or TV series you would like to share?
Junjei: Hello Mr. Billionaire
This movie inspires me to cherish the people around regardless of wealth.
Wang Ying is from the Chengdu Call Center (Telemarketing Division 1) in South Four Group 3. She brought in 2.13 million in premiums last year, making her the new insurance leader of the Chengdu branch in 2020.
Ying upholds the AXA work ethics — taking her work seriously and diligently with a strong sense of purpose, as well as treating his colleagues with enthusiasm and positive energy. She shares her successful experiences with his colleagues without reserve and helps others improve. As the company is transforming, she is highly cooperative with her initiative to improve health insurance, setting a role model and driving force for the team.
Ying is adept at coordinating the efforts of the team. In the first half of 2021, she led the team towards outstanding performances in motor insurance, accident insurance, and health insurance.
Q&A with Wang Ying：
Q: How do you feel winning the One AXA/Transformation?
Ying: I am grateful for the recognition and support from my managers and colleagues. I shall keep up the hard work as an agile One AXA/Transformation Star. Unity is a virtue. Unity is a strength. “Be grateful and work hard” is what I really want to say at this moment. I have learned a lot about the company culture, which filled me with more passion and expectation for the job. This honor encourages me to forge ahead and to devote my greatest effort to the company and team.
Q: Do you have good habits to help you stay healthy?
Ying: A positive mindset means a lot to our confidence, health, and happiness. Stay cheerful, complain less, and stop spreading negativity. Not only will you be more upbeat, but those around you will also be cheered up. Improve your efficiency and make your life more fulfilling, finish your daily tasks, get busy every day, and make interesting and meaningful plans.
Q: Any books or TV series you would like to share?
Ying: I would recommend the movie The Pursuit of Happiness. There is no hurdle to overcome in life. There is no suffering that you cannot bear, keep a good state of mind, act bravely, and believe in your unlimited potential. The road of life is not easy and don’t give up. Happiness might be late, but it will surely arrive.
In the just-announced 13th Tiger Roar Awards, AXA’s integrated marketing communication campaign “AXA Confident Family” won the 2022 Tiger Roar Award for Excellence in the category of finance and insurance. This prestigious award in the marketing industry once again demonstrates AXA’s comprehensive and advanced marketing concept, and is a testament to our breakthrough attitude that is customer-centric, continuously promotes digital transformation and pushes different types of insurance scenarios based on consumer needs. This attitude resonates with our customers at multiple emotional levels, and further translates into our sales.
“AXA Confident Family” was released at the “Forum of Health Protection Solution for Chinese Households” hosted by AXA last June, and then further advertised across outdoor digital screens in core districts of major cities. Inspired by the typical structure and lifestyle of middle-to-high-end income families, this series of advertisements centered on a family of six distinct members, and demonstrated the advantages of multiple levels of insurance through a number of humorous family shorts. In order to maximize the coverage and influence of the brand’s IP and to emphasize the “confidence” aspect, we also launched the “Finding 100 Confident AXA Families” social media campaign. World-class winter sports athlete Nina Li, along with other fashion bloggers and brand managers acted as spokespeople, helping the campaign to attract a variety of participants that best embody the true appearance of a confident family.
With 1.1 billion unique views and 610,000 counts of social media interactions, “AXA Confident Family” not only delivered beautifully in numbers, but also exhibited lasting impact in subsequent user surveys: first mention rate of the brand increased by 125%, brand awareness increased by 33% and consumer purchase intention increased by 35%. It was these thoughtful and creative ideas and efforts to combine quality and effectiveness that made “AXA Confident Family” stand out from more than 4,000 participating campaigns. The jury panel, composed of experienced professionals in advertising, research institutions, communications and media, filtered and selected “AXA Confident Family” to become one of 416 finalists, making us a contender in the industry’s top 20%.
As one of the most important and prestigious awards in the domestic marketing communications industry, the Tiger Roar Awards has always been known for its independent and rigorous judging, and for its huge jury composed of more than 600 well-known industry experts. Through rigorous and standardized review processes such as an initial online review, final offline review, and defense Q&As, annual high-quality industry campaigns are selected and recorded and cutting-edge trends in marketing are highlighted, demonstrating advanced concepts and viewpoints that will lead industries forward into the future.
Climate, environment, low carbon and sustainable development… these topics are relevant to all of us. The increasingly frequent extreme weather across the world urges us to seriously consider how to actively prevent and control the risks and challenges caused by climate change. This year, the newly upgraded AXA Climate Academy has come back, with its 1.5-hour course rich in content, and Chinese subtitles embedded to help each employee better understand AXA’s carbon neutrality goal.
The whole course is divided into three main modules: • Learn the science • Rethink the business perspective • Commit to change
I hope that every one of you can enjoy the learning and have a deeper understanding of AXA’s role in addressing climate change issues by the end of June, weaving “Acting for Human Progress by Protecting What Matters” in the very fabric of your life, into the genes of our corporate culture, and contributing to the promotion our ESG strategy.
AXA Group has always been committed to the development of China’s insurance market. Based on our in-depth understanding of the policies relating to supporting the development of Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area as a financial hub and our long-term commitment to China, AXA Tianping Sales Company officially set up office in Qianhai, Shenzhen on December 6, 2021.
Upholding AXA’s corporate vision of “from payer to partner”, the sales company operates with a customer-focused approach to provide comprehensive and high-quality insurance solutions to its customers. While leveraging the management advantages in Hong Kong and Macau and taking advantage of the financial development surge in the Greater Bay Area, it continues to improve its professional sales team, product diversity, and service quality. The sales company achieved exceptional results in this half year, exceeding 13 million RMB in insurance premiums, and registering more than 660 employees.
As one of the most open regions in China with strong economic vitality, the Greater Bay Area has rapidly iterated insurance needs, and insurance service quality has become increasingly important. This issue of the monthly newsletter will take you on a tour of AXA Tianping Sales Company in the heart of the Greater Bay Area to learn the story of this team of exceptional individuals.
“One AXA” is not only a core value of AXA Group, but is also a shared belief that has shaped the path of AXA Tianping Sales Company. AXA’s headquarters in France, AXA Greater China, and AXATP headquarters all established the sales company with great support and expectation, and have worked together to promote its rapid development.
As the heart of the sales company, agents lay the foundation for long-term development. They not only handle sales, policy services, and claims assistance, but they also act as the gateway for sales companies to reach customers Despite the fluctuation of agent availability due to current industry transformation, AXA has been able to defy odds through the establishment of clear agent recruitment and training processes.
The sales company adheres to AXA Group’s philosophy of sound management and is committed to cultivating its own professional team of agents. Firstly, the sales company leads with excellence by selecting senior individuals in the industry who are both incredibly efficient and experienced. Their wealth of industry experience and successful case background attracts more exceptional individuals to join the insurance industry. Secondly, it stimulates passion. The sales company offers clear progression paths for agents based on compensation policy. Thirdly, the sales company believes that product quality empowers sales. By integrating AXA’s high-quality products in China to build a comprehensive product line, agents are empowered, thereby enhancing sales competitiveness.
With the full support of AXATP headquarters, the sales company leveraged the nationwide distribution network of sales companies and created an “online + offline” closed training loop to conduct regular trainings for new recruits and new products. Our powerful IT system provides smooth learning and billing experiences with the support of the online training platform and online business development platform.
Eric Wen has stated that the sales company will follow in AXATP’s footsteps and “transform for success”. It will achieve compliant and steady developments to build superior markets for AXA products in all types of insurance.
放眼更广阔的的可持续发展议题，越来越频发的极端天气让我们不得不认真思考，如何积极应对和防范化解气候变化带来的一系列风险和挑战。今年安盛气候学院全新升级，我希望每一位同事都能够认真学习，完成集团学习目标的同时，更深入地了解安盛在应对气候变化议题中所扮演的角色，将“守护生命之本，践行人类进步”的品牌使命内化为企业文化的基因，进而影响我们的行为决策。在6月20-25日那一周，一年一度的“安盛筑爱在行动员工志愿者活动周”（AXA Week for Good）也将在全球同步举行，安盛天平将积极响应集团号召，传递可持续发展理念，期待各地同事的踊跃参与，共同绽放来自中国的环保光芒。
粽叶飘香，龙舟竞渡，祝各位同事及家人端午安康，同舟共济，力争上游。
CEO Message
Dear AXA colleagues,
With the blink of an eye, we are already halfway through 2022 and will soon review our semi-annual performance results. Those determined to face difficult goals will help our company succeed; and those who do not avoid obstacles allow the rest of us to progress. Despite the impact of the Covid-19, we showed a good momentum of development in April, the premium of all business lines reached a YOY increase of 4%, 11pts above budget. Motor increased by 3% YOY, 9pts above budget; Health got 15pts above the budget with very strong performance in UMC and new PPP programs; Commercial lines increased by +38% YOY, in line with the budget; Lifestyle achieved an overall YOY increase of +81%, 24pts above budget.
The economic activities are faced with numerous challenges at the moment, and the insurance industry continues to be affected by the ongoing pandemic, the industry transformation, and stricter regulations. Despite these hurdles, we have continued to uphold our customer-centric approach, deepen our understanding of the market and consumer changes, and upgrade our development models. We are actively preserving the momentum needed for when the market improves and awaiting the turnaround.
If we take advantage of our opportunities, we will be able to make noticeable progress. AXA’s strategic commitment to China’s future growth and to the local market’s continued development is also reflected in our decision to establish a sales office in Qianhai, Shenzhen. As one of the most open regions in China with the strongest economic vitality, the insurance needs of the Greater Bay Area are rapidly iterating, with the quality of insurance service becoming increasingly important. This monthly newsletter issue will take you into AXA Tianping Sales Company, in the heart of the Greater Bay Area, to hear the stories of this team of exceptional individuals who are chasing their dreams.
While pursuing business innovation, we have also explored incorporating the concept of public welfare into our work. On the one hand, we will enrich the diversity of insurance products and services to promote business development and further market exploration; and on the other hand, we will explore effective ways to fulfill our social responsibility and strongly encourage value chain partners to contribute to public welfare. On May 8, Mother’s Day, we held the “Protect the Mothers, Protect the Families” charity livestream event, which achieved outstanding results. More than 35,000 viewers tuned in to hear the opinions and experiences of a psychologist, a nutritional expert, and a fellow AXA colleague. They learned how important protecting a mother’s health and happiness is to a family’s development. The 130,000 likes and 12,000 comments we received motivates us to continue being the trusted “partner” that protects Chinese families. For International Children’s Day, Comprehensive IP+OP offers stand-alone policy for juvenile and joined hands with the Ai You Foundation to launch the “With Love and Protection” charity campaign. Anyone who enrolls in the insurance plan will have the opportunity to support sick children in need and receive a Certificate of Love from AXA and the Ai You Foundation.
With the broader topic of sustainable development in mind, the increasing frequency of extreme weather events has forced us to more seriously consider how we can actively address and prevent climate change. This year, the AXA Climate Academy received a brand new upgrade. I hope that each of you will take this opportunity to learn more about AXA’s role in addressing climate change and help us transform our mission of “act for human progress by protecting what matters” into our company’s DNA, which will in turn influence our decisions and behaviors. During the week of June 20-25, the annual AXA Week for Good will be held simultaneously worldwide, during which AXA Tianping will actively participate in advocating for sustainability. We hope that colleagues from all over the world can join in to shine light on environmental protection from China.
As the fragrance of zongzi leaves lingers in the air and dragon boat racing takes place, we wish you and your family a happy Dragon Boat Festival. May we progress together!
放眼更广阔的的可持续发展议题，越来越频发的极端天气让我们不得不认真思考，如何积极应对和防范化解气候变化带来的一系列风险和挑战。今年安盛气候学院全新升级，我希望每一位同事都能够认真学习，完成集团学习目标的同时，更深入地了解安盛在应对气候变化议题中所扮演的角色，将“守护生命之本，践行人类进步”的品牌使命内化为企业文化的基因，进而影响我们的行为决策。在6月20-25日那一周，一年一度的“安盛筑爱在行动员工志愿者活动周”（AXA Week for Good）也将在全球同步举行，安盛天平将积极响应集团号召，传递可持续发展理念，期待各地同事的踊跃参与，共同绽放来自中国的环保光芒。
粽叶飘香，龙舟竞渡，祝各位同事及家人端午安康，同舟共济，力争上游。
CEO Message
Dear AXA colleagues,
With the blink of an eye, we are already halfway through 2022 and will soon review our semi-annual performance results. Those determined to face difficult goals will help our company succeed; and those who do not avoid obstacles allow the rest of us to progress. Despite the impact of the Covid-19, we showed a good momentum of development in April, the premium of all business lines reached a YOY increase of 4%, 11pts above budget. Motor increased by 3% YOY, 9pts above budget; Health got 15pts above the budget with very strong performance in UMC and new PPP programs; Commercial lines increased by +38% YOY, in line with the budget; Lifestyle achieved an overall YOY increase of +81%, 24pts above budget.
The economic activities are faced with numerous challenges at the moment, and the insurance industry continues to be affected by the ongoing pandemic, the industry transformation, and stricter regulations. Despite these hurdles, we have continued to uphold our customer-centric approach, deepen our understanding of the market and consumer changes, and upgrade our development models. We are actively preserving the momentum needed for when the market improves and awaiting the turnaround.
If we take advantage of our opportunities, we will be able to make noticeable progress. AXA’s strategic commitment to China’s future growth and to the local market’s continued development is also reflected in our decision to establish a sales office in Qianhai, Shenzhen. As one of the most open regions in China with the strongest economic vitality, the insurance needs of the Greater Bay Area are rapidly iterating, with the quality of insurance service becoming increasingly important. This monthly newsletter issue will take you into AXA Tianping Sales Company, in the heart of the Greater Bay Area, to hear the stories of this team of exceptional individuals who are chasing their dreams.
While pursuing business innovation, we have also explored incorporating the concept of public welfare into our work. On the one hand, we will enrich the diversity of insurance products and services to promote business development and further market exploration; and on the other hand, we will explore effective ways to fulfill our social responsibility and strongly encourage value chain partners to contribute to public welfare. On May 8, Mother’s Day, we held the “Protect the Mothers, Protect the Families” charity livestream event, which achieved outstanding results. More than 35,000 viewers tuned in to hear the opinions and experiences of a psychologist, a nutritional expert, and a fellow AXA colleague. They learned how important protecting a mother’s health and happiness is to a family’s development. The 130,000 likes and 12,000 comments we received motivates us to continue being the trusted “partner” that protects Chinese families. For International Children’s Day, Comprehensive IP+OP offers stand-alone policy for juvenile and joined hands with the Ai You Foundation to launch the “With Love and Protection” charity campaign. Anyone who enrolls in the insurance plan will have the opportunity to support sick children in need and receive a Certificate of Love from AXA and the Ai You Foundation.
With the broader topic of sustainable development in mind, the increasing frequency of extreme weather events has forced us to more seriously consider how we can actively address and prevent climate change. This year, the AXA Climate Academy received a brand new upgrade. I hope that each of you will take this opportunity to learn more about AXA’s role in addressing climate change and help us transform our mission of “act for human progress by protecting what matters” into our company’s DNA, which will in turn influence our decisions and behaviors. During the week of June 20-25, the annual AXA Week for Good will be held simultaneously worldwide, during which AXA Tianping will actively participate in advocating for sustainability. We hope that colleagues from all over the world can join in to shine light on environmental protection from China.
As the fragrance of zongzi leaves lingers in the air and dragon boat racing takes place, we wish you and your family a happy Dragon Boat Festival. May we progress together!
2022 May, AXA Tianping and Akur8, an AI-driven insurance pricing technology company, are delighted to announce their collaboration to further enhance AXA Tianping’s pricing process with Akur8’s high-performing AI technologies. With this partnership, AXA Tianping’s actuaries and pricing team will officially deploy Akur8 to unlock new potential with unique analytical insights and advanced pricing automation. AXA Tianping will become the 13th AXA entity and the first insurer in China to use Akur8 – a testament to its commitment to continuous innovation and improvement to better serve its customers.
Thanks to Akur8’s Transparent Artificial Intelligence proprietary technology, AXA Tianping will be able to shorten the time-to-market by automating rate modeling with machine learning in the pricing process, as well as improve the performance of policies with robust AI-driven predictive power. Staying true to its customer-centric approach to products and services, AXA Tianping will leverage Akur8’s next-generation technologies to respond more promptly to dynamic risk environment. It will also roll out a diverse portfolio of well-priced products to meet evolving customer demands, while maintaining full transparency and strong control.
“Akur8 brings in cutting-edge technologies to our pricing process, which helps us continue to strive for technical sophistication and empowers us to deliver valuable insurance solutions to our customers more efficiently while ensuring utmost transparency and control. We believe Akur8 will not only be an important asset to our team’s work along the whole pricing value chain, but also of great value to our customers for providing increased personalization and targeted pricing in a dynamic marketplace. We look forward to working with Akur8 in unlocking the potential of our business,” stated Scott Yin, Chief Pricing Officer & Chief Actuary at AXA Tianping.
In the AXA Star contest, altogether 22 AXA colleagues from headquarter and branches are entitled to awards of AXA Stars in Transformation, Customer First, Integrity, Courage and One AXA. This special column was set up for them so we can all know their stories in living the AXA values and making their contribution in the company growth.
This month we will introduce the Integrity Star – Miao Lili from Shandong Branch and Collaboration Star – Li Hao from Shanghai Branch.
Integrity Star – Miao Lili:
Miao Lili joined AXA in 2011, as her first job after graduation. She has worked in a wide range of positions between the Jinan Central Branch and the Shandong Branch. She has worked in administration and underwriting management, as well as, having been deputy director of operation management and director of risk management.
Under the influence of a series of factors including auto insurance reform, the company’s cornerstone business of—auto insurance—came under severe pressure to control costs. In this context, she used her meticulous, responsible, and rigorous work attitude to sort out each business type, workstream, and risk dimension that exceeded costs. By searching for patterns and trends from the data, she helped increase the proportion of quality operations, and helped significantly lower business costs. In the first half of 2021, she collaborated with the general branch to make breakthroughs in establishing and optimizing pricing models and minivans and private cars. She also formulated regulation solutions for high-risk dimensions such as ride-sharing, connected external models including traffic violations, and helped drive the company’s auto insurance business to achieve more convenient and accurate measurements and predictions.
Q&A with Miao
Q: How do you feel on winning the AXA Star award？
Miao: I feel incredibly excited and proud to receive this honor. This not only represents the leadership’s recognition of my work, but is also a sign of their trust. It’s a heavy responsibility. In the new year, I will continue to follow the strategic transformation goals of the head office, pour more enthusiasm into my work, and help AXA thrive!
Q: Do you have good habits to help you stay healthy?
Miao: Going on walks and hikes.
Q: Any books or TV series you would like to share?
Miao: Ordinary World — it introduces you to this simple yet extraordinary world.
Li Hao joined AXA’s Shanghai branch in 2020 as an underwriting manager, devoted to upholding the core value of putting customers first. He provides underwriting and insurance consultations, and answers relevant questions, all while satisfying customer needs.
Li Hao upholds the One AXA philosophy that a good team requires working together. As part of the backline support staff, he is diligent, proactive, team-oriented, and enthusiastic about his job 24 hours a day. He does his best to provide timely and useful support for business development and assuages the worries of frontline partners. In 2021, with the help of a diversified team, he achieved a 7.91% increase in full term payout ratio for the auto insurance business, a 3.22% growth in the number of private vehicles, and a 7.72% growth in the non-vehicle overlay rate, with all indicators showing positive trends.
In the first half of 2021, Li Hao took the initiative to undertake the testing and launch of the new AXA Insurance PC and mobile systems. He led his team in collaboration with the front and backlines, provided timely feedback to IT on more than 400 issues, and offered pre-testing support for AXA’s national launch. Currently, AXA Insurance has opened its Shanghai branch, the first of its kind in the jurisdiction to use all functions.
Q&A with Li
Q: How do you feel on winning the AXA Star award？
Li: I am very grateful to the company for this award! Thank you to my managers and colleagues for their support and recognition! Looking back on the past year, my team and I achieved success through our collaborative hard work. This award is recognition for both my work and for the collaboration of our team. In the future, I will continue to work hard with my teammates to ensure the company’s success in the 3.0 AXA era!
Q: Do you have good habits to help you stay healthy?
Li: Cooking: By experimenting with dish combinations and studying cuisines, I can experience the beauty life that offers.
Traveling: Traveling helps you relax and learn about entirely different cultures.
Raising pets: Pets bring so much joy into our lives. They help you forget about trivial things and make your stress disappear.
Q: Any books or TV series you would like to share?
Li: To Live by Yu Hua. This book calmly tells us a story of suffering. It shares the truth of life that we all understand and conveys the most simple, yet useful, attitude for living. In our short lives, we will encounter hardships, but we must not give up or be disheartened, because these difficult moments will eventually pass. Carpe diem! Live well, as the character Fugui does in the novel.
How can we protect the physical and mental health of mothers during this ongoing pandemic? To celebrate the Mother’s Day on May 8th, AXATP held a special WeChat livestream event to honor all moms, to inspire and enable their wellness, and help them keep mental strength. The livestream achieved exceptional audience interaction with more than 35,000 viewers, 130,000 likes, and nearly 12,000 comments. The 2-hour session brought a line-up of speakers including AXATP CEO Yamin, relationship psychologist Hu Shenzhi, national senior public nutritionist Yangyang and AXATP Head of Health Cherry Wang, shared an exciting selection of physical and mental health advice for mothers.
The Inspiration Behind the Event
Why did AXA organize a charity livestream event for mothers, and what efforts were made to protect the health of Chinese families? Yamin Zhu shared AXA’s goals during the beginning of the livestream. “From payers to partners, AXA guards the health, confidence, and happiness of every Chinese family.”
Having been rooted in China for more than 20 years, AXA wants to be more than a simple policy “payer”. It wants to be a trusted “partner” that accompanies Chinese families on both their health journeys and in their everyday lives. Mothers are crucial to the emotional wellbeing of families. The livestream aimed to provide a sense of health protection for mothers and safeguard the health, confidence, and happiness of every Chinese family.
This spring, COVID-19 reemerged in multiple cities in China. For example, in Shanghai, many families have been forced to stay home for over a month already, leaving everyone both physically and mentally drained. The hardest working person in any family is undoubtedly the mother, who makes sure everyone eats well and rests enough. The mother impacts each family member’s spirit and confidence too. AXA stands by its brand value of “Protecting your passion and moving forward with confidence”. We encourage family members to support each other and move forward together, so as to establish closer emotional connections and allow the family unit to become a source from which everyone draws strength.
During the lockdown, a mother’s typical day is as such: She sets an early alarm to secure groceries on major food delivery apps; joins countless neighborhood group-buying group chats, and maybe even trades items to get a wider variety of ingredients. Working mothers have more to deal with because they have two “full-time jobs”—balancing career development and looking after a family can be extremely challenging. To top it all off, when it comes to their children’s schooling, they are worried about the quality of online classes. Mothers look after entire families, but they are many times also the ones who need health support and coverage the most.
Ensuring the Healthy Development of Mothers
Being selfless, dedicated, and giving have become the labels of working mothers, but they often forget to take care of themselves being so devoted to their families and careers. When they are constantly busy with their children, families and work, they do not notice their own discomforts and needs. Mental health is one of the most neglected aspects of life, yet it is vital to family, work, and self-management.
In an online Q&A session, relationship psychologist Hu Shenzhi shared advice on how to help mothers stay mentally healthy during a pandemic.
Q: What changes and stressors have the pandemic brought to family life?
A: The pandemic has changed three major aspects of family life: lifestyles, emotions, and relationships. When life goes from stable to unpredictable, we tend to become stressed. Changes in emotions such as anger, sadness, and despair can spread among family members and prolonged home confinement tends to antagonize partner relationships and parent-child relationships.
Q: From a psychological perspective, what roles do mothers play in families?
A: Mothers have three crucial roles in families. They are the centres of emotion, structure, and motivation. As the emotional centre of the family, when the mother is unhappy, the children and husband act more carefully. The more intimate the relationship, the more likely it is to affect other family members’ emotions. As the structural centre of the family, the mother keeps a family running. She is responsible for everything from financial decisions to the little things. As the motivational centre of the family, the mother guides the direction of the family. She decides on travel itineraries, meals, games, and other everyday activities.
Q: What are some psychological problems mothers of different ages may encounter?
A: Here are four real-life stories that explore potential psychological problems mothers have experienced during the pandemic.
1、“Big White”（大白） Mothers: After not going home for over half a month, I saw my young daughter at the nucleic acid testing station and was filled with worry and guilt.
Hu Shenzhi: This kind of emotional response is normal because of the conflict between work and family responsibilities. The daughter will understand that her mother’s work is significant, and this will help her grow up quickly and help more at home. Mothers should not lose themselves in sadness, grief, or anxiety. They need to see the good in the bad.
2、During the pandemic, new mothers caring for their children may face mental breakdowns if they feel to be bad mothers.
Hu Shenzhi: This is a common emotion when you first become a mother. Do not blame yourself or pressure yourself to be the “perfect” mother. Learn about the psychology of child development and know what kind of mother your child needs at each stage. Do not rely too much on your husband to replace you.
3、Retired Mothers: While at home during the pandemic, I wanted to help take care of my granddaughter, but we often had arguments that made my daughter and everyone unhappy.
Hu Shenzhi: When people retire, they lose a sense of accomplishment they would have gotten from work and need to seek more meaning in their lives. In these kinds of circumstances, it can benefit to create some distance between yourself and your family. Find a sense of control in other aspects of life with activities such as writing a memoir or finding a new hobby.
4、Working Mothers: Mothers who work from home and help their children with online courses at the same time find it hard to control their tempers.
Hu Shenzhi: When the mother also takes on the role of the teacher, the child does not know whether to behave as a child or as a student. This can lower learning productivity and cause mothers to become more stressed. Mothers need to learn to give the responsibility back to the child. Let the child be responsible for their homework and wait until there are problems before stepping in. This will allow them to become more independent.
Q: Given the above situations, what tips can you offer mothers?
A: Know how to enjoy life and have fun, and practice the “perfect ten breathing exercises”. Bring creativity into food. While locked down at home, mothers can cook more of their favorite dishes. Leave yourself some time to vent. Confide in your partner or call a psychological counselling hotline. Invest time in a hobby that you enjoy and leave yourself some space, even if it’s just to relax in your room. Find some entertainment – it can be family or parent-child games, or even working out.
The “perfect ten breathing exercise” is for when you are about to lose your temper. Find a private space and tell your family not to disturb you. Then, close your eyes and think of a beautiful scene. Breathe in for three seconds and hold it for another three. Then, breathe out for four seconds and slowly release all the negative emotions from your body.
Balanced Nutrition Guarantees Good Health
In addition to caring for the mental health of mothers, it is also important to help improve their own and their families’ physical health. National senior public nutritionist Yangyang offered detailed nutrition advice during the livestream, while paying special attention to the health needs of new and working mothers.
During this ongoing pandemic, families may face health risks and need to protect their mothers and family members through “good nutrition, work-life balance, physical exercise, and annual medical check-ups”. First, it is important to get the right amount of protein, carbohydrates, fat, vitamins, micronutrients, dietary fibre, and water on a daily basis. Second, try to maintain a balanced routine and keep a stable lifestyle. Third, keep exercising to strengthen your immune system and release stress. Finally, keep up the good habit of having a medical check-up once a year.
Pandemic prevention and control measures have made grocery shopping more difficult. Many mothers have very limited supplies, especially new mothers who need to ensure their own and their babies’ nutritional intakes. Dietitians recommend diversifying daily food intake because pregnant women and lactating mothers need a wider nutritional variety than the general population. Meals should include foods that are high in protein, easily digestible, and rich in calcium and iron. Make a grocery list in advance and stock up on the right ingredients to ensure both the mother and the baby have diverse and balanced diets.
Another group of people who need care is working mothers. They are responsible for three meals a day while working from home, which can be especially exhausting. Here are some healthy meal recipes recommended by nutritionists: 1. red beans and barley porridge can remove dampness and is great for working mothers who work seated all day; 2. Baked sweet potatoes are rich in dietary fiber and healthy for digestion; 3. Sautéed spinach and carrots; spinach is high in iron and the carotene in carrots helps protect your child’s eyesight.
Four Types of Health Protection From AXA
Armed with extensive information given by psychologists and nutritional experts, AXATP Head of Health Cherry Wang mentions four types of health protection for mothers.
Protection 1: Million IP （2022）
In April, the Million IP （2022） was upgraded to “More Peace of Mind, Million Plus”, which highlights its low premium, high leverage, comprehensive coverage, and high-cost performance features, making it a great choice for new mothers.
Protection 2: Mid-Range Medical Insurance for the New Middle Class
Premium choice protection includes 8 plans and is a product with considerable customization and flexibility to provide more comprehensive coverage for mothers. Its base version covers general departments at secondary public hospitals and above. The special needs version expands on the base version to include special needs, VIP, and international departments at secondary public hospitals and above. From May 1 to July 31, the base version of the hospitalization plan is open for separate enrollment for babies and children between 30 days to 17 years old.
Protection 3: Premium Senior Medical Insurance
There are only a few health insurance policies available on the market for seniors over 45 years old. AXA saw the pain point of senior mothers and launched the Premium Senior Comprehensive Medical Insurance. Individuals up to 80 years old can now be covered, and the plan can be upgraded from malignant tumour medical coverage to regular medical insurance, based on the results of a complimentary medical examination.
As mothers grow older, they may have difficulty moving around and become more likely to suffer from accidents than other age groups, as they are prone to falls, sprains, and other accidents. A high cost-effective accident insurance policy, such as AXA’s Accident Insurance for Seniors, is the first choice for many of those who want to buy insurance policies for their elderly mothers.
AXA Tianping has created an AXA Health Ecosystem with its “One-stop Health Solution + Emma by AXA + Mental Health + Customer Insight” and has worked with exceptional partners in the industry to provide Chinese families with trustworthy and comprehensive health protection.
Mothers are the pillar of the family. Protecting her is to protect the family. The livestream is over, but we will continue to protect mothers. AXA hopes to protect the happiness of families and grow with them in the future.
If you ask children, what gifts they want to receive, the answer is most likely related to happiness: a cool toy, a yummy snack, an adorable pet, or a fun trip to the amusement park. But the prerequisite to all these gifts is a healthy body and reliable insurance coverage. For International Children’s Day, Comprehensive IP+OP offers stand-alone policy for juvenile so you can safeguard your child’s future with a warm and thoughtful policy.
Comprehensive IP+OP is a mid-range medical insurance policy for the new middle class. From today until July 31, stand-alone policy for juvenile will be available for a limited time. Its numerous benefits include:
Optional zero-deductible hospitalization
Coverage for both critical and light illnesses
Coverage of up to 3 million RMB
As low as 1.24 RMB/day
Covers special drugs for CAR-T cell therapy and more
During this time, AXA will join hands with Ai You Foundation to hold the “With Love and Protection” charity campaign. Anyone who enrolls their child in Comprehensive IP+OP will receive a Certificate of Love, along with a donation to Ai You Foundation from AXA made on their behalf. All donations will go to help sick children as part of the Ai You-AXA Children’s Foundation.
“Protecting your passion and moving forward with confidence” – From our brand value proposition to offering stand-alone policy for juvenile, AXA has a deep understanding of the different protection needs of Chinese families. By providing an extensive range of insurance products and services, AXA hopes to protect families on their paths of exploration and growth as they move forward to l better lives.
