COVID-19 and Well-being
Life in the Pandemic
COVID-19 and Well-being: Life in the Pandemic explores the immediate implications of the pandemic for people’s lives and livelihoods in OECD countries. The report charts the course of well-being – from jobs and incomes through to social connections, health, work-life balance, safety and more – using data collected during the first 12-15 months of the pandemic. It also takes stock of what has happened to human, economic, social and natural capital that, beyond their effects on people’s lives today, shape living conditions for years to come. It shows how COVID-19 has had far-reaching consequences for how we live, work and connect with one another, and how experiences of the pandemic varied widely, depending on whether and where people work, their gender, age, race and ethnicity, education and income levels. The report also examines the role that well-being evidence can play in supporting governments’ pandemic recovery efforts. It argues that a well-being lens can prompt policy-makers to refocus on the outcomes that matter the most to people, to redesign policy content from a more multidimensional perspective, to realign policy practice across government silos, and to reconnect people with the public institutions that serve them.
Also available in: French
Inclusion, quality of life and COVID‑19
The impacts of COVID-19 on quality of life have not been distributed evenly across the populations of OECD countries. While men and the elderly were more likely to die from the virus, women and young people have been more likely to suffer a deterioration in mental health and life satisfaction. People on lower incomes or without employment and/or members of racial and ethnic minority groups are more likely to experience worse physical and mental health outcomes. Children from disadvantaged households are at risk of being left behind as schools shift to remote learning, widening existing gaps in knowledge and skills. Inequalities in access to green space, which helps bolster mental well-being, further disadvantage low socio-economic and racial and ethnic minority groups during lockdowns.
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