The research, published in a new policy briefing, also found that:
- The fluctuations in life satisfaction during Covid mirror the waves of the pandemic: rising at the end of the first lockdown, and at their lowest in January 2021, when Covid deaths were highest.
- Both men and women experienced a decline in life satisfaction, but in January 2021 women seemed to suffer more.
- All educational groups experienced a decline in satisfaction, but graduates still had higher life satisfaction than non-graduates.
- Those living with a partner had higher life satisfaction than those who were unpartnered before and during the pandemic.
- Employed people reported a decline in life satisfaction during lockdown, but were still happier than those not working before and during the lockdown.
The work was carried out by Shih-Yi Chao, Ann Berrington and Brienna Perelli-Harris from the Centre for Population Change at the University of Southampton, using Understanding Society data from our Covid survey compared to life satisfaction statistics from Wave 10 of our Main Survey.
They also found that furloughed people experienced a decline in life satisfaction, but the furlough scheme did seem to protect them from experiencing the lowest level of life satisfaction suffered by those not working.
The authors say in their conclusion: “Those who are usually the least happy – the lowest-educated, unpartnered, and people out of work – experienced the lowest life satisfaction during the pandemic. However, the more advantaged also became less happy.”
They add that policymakers need to “recognise these challenges to ensure that the most vulnerable are not left behind as society reopens”.
Covid 19
