Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Happiness and Socioeconomic Conditions: Differences Across Countries and Individuals' Personality Traits

Abstract

Individuals’ reactions to the impacts of Covid-19 on their lives and their happiness may be different. The differences in personality traits of those individuals can be affected by uncertainty, restrictions, quarantine, measures, etc. within the pandemic environment. We investigate the extent to which they tend to behave in situations and to what extent their happiness differs. We estimate that the pandemic affects people’s happiness and that such situations may differ on the personality traits of people. To this end, we explain both how happiness changes during the pandemic and how individuals with certain personality traits are affected by the pandemic both socioeconomically and in terms of happiness, along with certain studies conducted so far and some of the data obtained from the World Database of Happiness. Unhappiness has increased in many countries due to the conditions brought by the pandemic, and this is often related to economic policies. Changes in the way individuals do business during the pandemic process, closing their workplaces due to restrictions, being unemployed, or increasing their workload are the most important factors that affect happiness. In general, those who were most negatively affected by the pandemic are women, the unemployed, and the poor, whom we can specify as the disadvantaged group even before the pandemic. With this study, we advise policymakers to consider happiness and personality traits when determining pandemic policy.