Since its launch in 2020, Eurofound's unique Living and Working in the EU e-survey has provided an overview of the ever-changing developments in living and working since the onset of the pandemic, through the recovery measures and during a time of constant change.
Living, working and COVID-19 e-survey - Spring 2020
Eurofound's first launched its unique e-survey at the outset of the pandemic in April 2020 under the name Living, working and COVID-19. Running from 9 April 2020 to 11 June 2020, it attracted a large number of respondents, allowing for a timely and truly informative picture of the implications of COVID-19 on the living and working conditions of respondents across the EU.
The survey examined quality of life and quality of society during the pandemic, with questions covering life satisfaction, happiness and optimism, health and levels of trust in institutions. It also focused on the work situation of respondents, their work–life balance and the widespread use of teleworking during the crisis.
Round 1: The e-survey aimed to investigate the impact on well-being, work and telework and on the financial situation of people living in Europe
Launched in April 2020, when most European countries were in lockdown
67,392 respondents aged 18+ across the 27 EU Member States + the UK
E-survey, advertised on social media and snowball sampling
Questionnaire comprised 53 questions, available in 22 EU official languages
To display this data, use the filters below to select a question. Refine the results by selecting a country (or group of countries), apply additional filters (which vary throughout the surveys) or change the visualisation by selecting a preferred chart type.
Dashboard
Life satisfaction, happiness and optimism are below usual levels
Young people and those not working have lowest mental well-being
Trust in healthcare and the police higher than trust in governments, the media and the EU
5% of respondents in EU27 reported losing their jobs permanently and 23% temporarily
Working time decreased for half of the working population
Almost 4 in 10 employees started teleworking
Work–life balance is challenging for workers with young children
Around 4 in 10 respondents are pessimistic about their financial situation
Over half of respondents have insufficient savings to cope without an income
Around half of all households report difficulties in making ends meet
This section provides further information targeted in particular at researchers.
6 May 2020
In the space of just a few weeks, the 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. Entitled Living, working and COVID-19, the aim of the survey is to investigate 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).
Methodology
The e-survey methodology is similar for all rounds of the survey.
Eurofound experts
You can contact the following experts for questions on the survey.
Eszter Sándor
Senior research managerEszter Sandor är forskningschef vid enheten för socialpolitik vid Eurofound. Hon har expertis inom undersökningsmetodik och statistisk analys, har arbetat med att förbereda och hantera den europeiska undersökningen om livskvalitet och nu senast e-undersökningen Leva, arbeta och covid-19, och ansvarar för kvaliteten på datamängderna. Hennes forskningsområden är ungdomars välbefinnande och livskvalitet i hushåll och familjer, inklusive subjektivt välbefinnande, balans mellan arbete och privatliv och levnadsvillkor. Hon har tidigare arbetat som ekonomisk konsult i Skottland med fokus på ekonomiska konsekvensbedömningar, utvärderingar och input–output-analys. Hon har en magisterexamen i ekonomi och internationella relationer från Corvinus University i Budapest.
Daphne Ahrendt
Senior research managerDaphne Ahrendt är forskningschef vid enheten för socialpolitik vid Eurofound. Sedan hon kom till Eurofound 2013 har hennes arbete omfattat ett brett spektrum av socialpolitiska områden. För närvarande samordnar hon Eurofounds verksamhet för förvaltning och utveckling av undersökningar och leder utarbetandet och analysen av e-undersökningarna om covid-19. Daphne har mer än 20 års erfarenhet som forskare inom internationella undersökningar, efter att tidigare ha arbetat på Eurobarometerenheten vid Europeiska kommissionen och vid National Centre for Social Research i London där hon arbetade med International Social Survey Programme. Daphne har en magisterexamen i straffrätt från London School of Economics och en kandidatexamen i statsvetenskap från San Francisco State University.
