Financial Impact of the Large-Scale Social Restriction Policy on Employees During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

The Indonesian Government established a large-scale social restriction (LSSR) policy to prevent transmission of the COVID-19 virus. The impact of this policy was felt by employees where LSSR decreased working time, work activities and company output, which led to cuts in employee salaries or termination of employment. This study aimed to analyze the financial impact of the LSSR policy on employees during the COVID-19 pandemic. This research was conducted using an observational non-experimental study with a cross-sectional approach. We used accidental sampling for a period of one month while distributing an electronic questionnaire. The criteria for the respondents were employees aged 17-64 years old and there were 176 respondents in total, consisting of 85 males and 91 females. The majority of respondents were aged 17-25 years. The financial impact analysis showed that the average income before undergoing LSRR was IDR 5,964,702 ± 330,699; the average income during LSSR was IDR 5,354,588 ± 298,882; the average expenditure before undergoing LSRR was IDR 3,337,216 ± 180,370; and the average expenditure during LSRR was IDR 3,176,989 ± 168,672. The average decrease in income was IDR 610,114 ± 93,647 (p < 0.001) and the average decrease in expenditure was IDR 160,227 ± 67,223 (p = 0.068). The conclusion is that employees in Indonesia during the COVID-19 pandemic experienced a significant decrease in income and also a non-significant decrease in expenditure.
 Keywords: employee, COVID-19 pandemic, LSSR, financial impact