In the space of just a few weeks, the [Coronavirus Disease 2019] COVID-19 pandemic caused by the novel coronavirus has radically transformed the lives of people around the globe. Apart from the devastating health consequences on people directly affected by the virus, the COVID-19 pandemic has had major implications for the way people live and work, affecting their physical and mental well-being in a profound way. To capture the immediate economic and social effects of this crisis, Eurofound launched a large-scale online survey across the European Union and beyond on 9 April with the aim of inv
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In the space of just a few weeks, the [Coronavirus Disease 2019] COVID-19 pandemic caused by the novel coronavirus has radically transformed the lives of people around the globe. Apart from the devastating health consequences on people directly affected by the virus, the COVID-19 pandemic has had major implications for the way people live and work, affecting their physical and mental well-being in a profound way. To capture the immediate economic and social effects of this crisis, Eurofound launched a large-scale online survey across the European Union and beyond on 9 April with the aim of investigating the impact on well-being, work and telework and on the financial situation of people living in Europe. It includes a range of questions relevant to people across various age groups and life situations. Most of the questions are based on Eurofound's European Quality of Life Survey (EQLS) and European Working Conditions Survey (EWCS), while other questions are new or were adapted from other sources, such as the EU Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC).
Key findings are that: (1) countries hardest hit by the pandemic see most significant impact on their well-being; results from some countries are particularly striking, with life satisfaction in France now at its lowest compared to surveys carried out before the crisis; (2) over half of EU respondents are concerned about their future as a result of the COVID-19 crisis, with only 45 per cent feeling optimistic; in contrast to surveys carried out before the pandemic, countries like France, Belgium, Italy and Greece are seeing optimism drop below the EU average; (3) people across the EU are reporting dramatically low levels of trust in the EU and in their national governments, particularly in several traditionally pro-EU Member States such as France, Italy and Spain, raising fundamental questions about perceived EU action during the crisis; (4) more than one-quarter of respondents across the EU at this stage report losing their job either temporarily (23 per cent) or permanently (5 per cent), with young men most affected; half of those in work are also seeing their working hours reduced, especially in Romania, Italy, France, Cyprus and Greece while the Nordic countries have reported fewest reductions in working time; (5) almost 40 per cent of people in Europe report their financial situation as worse than before the pandemic - double the numbers reported in surveys before the crisis; close to half are indicating their households cannot make ends meet and over half report they cannot maintain their standard of living for more than three months without an income; and the situation is even more dramatic for three-quarters of those unemployed who cannot get by for more than three months with 82 per cent reporting their household has difficulty making ends meet.
Edited excerpts from publisher's website.
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