Londoners and croissants actually have quite a lot in common, if you think about it. I mean, neither of them are ever too far away from a cup of coffee, they both spend an outrageous amount of time on social media, and they’re both frustratingly flaky.
A recent study conducted by FREENOW and TV life coach, Anna Williamson, has discovered that Londoners are, in fact, the flakiest people in the country. And are we surprised? Not really…
We Londoners are pretty notorious for jam-packing our social calendars in the same that way we pack our Ryanair hang luggage bags. So many things; so little capacity. And now we’ve officially been called out for it.
Why are Londoners the flakiest people in the UK?
The study took a deep-dive into the reasons why Londoners are more likely to cancel plans last minute, as well as the impact that dodging social plans has on our mental health. The research revealed that 49% of Londoners admit to cancelling plans last minute or just not showing up to them. A whopping 73% of Londoners admit that they make up untrue excuses to get out of social situations (compared to 63% in the rest of the UK).
Apparently the top excuses that Londoners use for bailing on plans are working late (‘cos I’m a singer Londoner) and the health of a pet. So, if these are the excuses you repeatedly use to get out of going out; it might be worth having a little refresh. On the other hand, the study also revealed that Londoners are more likely to feel upset when someone bails on them, compared to elsewhere in the UK. Flaky friends, I hope you’re starting to feel a little bit guilty.
That being said, we London-folk do tend to squeeze the life out of our social batteries; and sometimes they do run out of charge and need to be plugged in for a bit. The occasional social-dodging is necessary in this over-stimulating city of ours. Constant social-dodging, however, doesn’t have great effects on our long-term wellbeing.
TV life coach, Anna Williamson comments “As a life coach, I urge people to get out of work on time and seize those precious hours in the evening to do something that makes them feel good. There will always be barriers and easy-to-make excuses but the more we overcome these, the better.”
Nour Rasamny, Head of Operations at FREENOW UK, who commissioned the study, said: “You can sometimes get into a rut of saying no to things. However, socialising and maintaining connections are essential for mental health and overall well-being.”