Survey on Living, working and COVID19

Abstract

Eurofound's e-survey, Living, working and COVID-19, provides a snapshot of the impact of the pandemic on people's lives. Two rounds of the survey were carried out in 2020, allowing for comparison between the situation in April 2020, when most Member States were in their first lockdown, and in July 2020, when society and economies were slowly re-opening. Eurofound completed a third round of the e-survey on 30 March 2021, as countries are still dealing with various levels of lockdown, while vaccine rollout programmes are underway. The findings of the e-survey in April 2020 reflected widespread emotional distress, financial concern and low levels of trust in institutions. Levels of concern abated somewhat in the July round, particularly among groups of respondents who were benefiting from support measures implemented during the pandemic. At the same time, the results underline stark differences between countries and between socioeconomic groups. Young people are emerging as some of lockdown's biggest losers who report the lowest levels of well-being in the 2020 rounds. Women also faced a disproportionate impact and remained less optimistic about their future than men - this gap widening further between April and July 2020. The survey results confirm the upsurge in teleworking across all countries during the COVID-19 pandemic, and show what this means for work-life balance and elements of job quality. Also in this respect the pandemic affected women more than men. In particular, the burden of care responsibilities increased during the pandemic for women. The third round of the survey will show whether life satisfaction, happiness and optimism, and trust in institutions have improved or deteriorated and whether inequalities continue to grow as the pandemic impacts differently on different groups. First insights from the European Working Conditions Survey - extraordinary edition 2021 will show how workers perceived their work situation in spring 2021.