When to Release the Lockdown? A Wellbeing Framework for Analysing Costs and Benefits

Layard, Richard; Clark, Andrew E.; Neve, Jan‐Emmanuel De; Krekel, Christian; Fancourt, Daisy; Hey, Nancy; O’Donnell, Gus

doi:10.2139/ssrn.3590884

Cited by 69 publications

(49 citation statements)

References 4 publications

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“…In Japan, the mental health of mothers with school-aged children was predicted to deteriorate more than fathers' due to school closure caused by the COVID-19 1 Existing studies consider the effect of COVID-19 on mental health and subjective view (e.g. Fetzer et al 2020a, Layard et al 2020). 2 There were studies that considered the differences in the effects of COVID-19 between genders (Adams 2020;Alon et al 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The impact of closing schools on working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic: evidence using panel data from Japan

Yamamura

Tsustsui

2021

Rev Econ Household

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COVID-19 has led to the closure of various schools in Japan to cope with the pandemic. This study explores how school closure influences parents’ work style based on short panel data for the period of school closure from mid-March to mid-April 2020. Specifically, we analyze how the presence of their children influences parents’ work at home and examine how the effect differs by the parent’s gender. After controlling for various factors, we find that in cases where parents are full-time employees and the children are: (1) in primary school, mothers are more likely to work remotely, while fathers are less likely to do so and (2) in junior high school, the parents’ work styles are hardly affected. This shows that mothers shoulder the burden of working remotely and caring for small children at home, while fathers tend to work in the office and spend less time with their childcare at home. Inevitably, COVID-19 has increased the inequality in the burden of child care.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The impact of closing schools on working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic: evidence using panel data from Japan

Yamamura

Tsustsui

2021

Rev Econ Household

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“…Unifying public discourse, such as "we are all in it together", obscured the structural and systemic inequities differentially affecting Australian society (Duckett, 2020). The end of the moratorium on rental evictions, for example, threw new people into financial and housing difficulty, while sporadic lockdown measures continued to have a significant economic and psychological impact (Foster and Hickey, 2020;Layard et al, 2020). As the pandemic continues to unfold social inequities persist.…”

Section: Background: Australia's Response To Covid-19mentioning

confidence: 99%

A Shock to the System: What the COVID-19 Pandemic Reveals About Australia's Food Systems and Their Resilience

Jones¹,

Bellamy²,

Bellotti³

et al. 2022

Front. Sustain. Food Syst.

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Australia has managed well through the COVID-19 pandemic, compared to many other developed nations. Through its first and second waves it was relatively successful in terms of control of outbreaks. Nevertheless, like everywhere, the shock to national systems has been profound, and adjustment remains complex and volatile. Food is a critical human need, and the food industry is recognised as a vital economic sector. We present an examination of some of the adaptive responses of Australia's food systems during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, from January 2020 to October 2020, with a focus on three case studies (seafood exports, consumer behaviour and food sector employment). These case studies provide observations of specific stresses experienced, as well as insights into the adaptation strategies carried out by various actors within the nation's food systems. The shock was experienced differently in different parts of given food systems, and the opportunities for adaptation varied. Some supply chains lost business, others had to adapt to rapidly increased demands, and surges. Our analysis reveals features of Australia's food systems, and their relationships to other systems, that have facilitated resilience, and features that have impeded it. We found that international supply chains are highly vulnerable to global shocks, that insecure employment conditions throughout the food system reduce the resilience of the system overall, and that consumers are not fully confident in supply chains. We observed the importance of agency and adaptive behaviour throughout the food systems as actors worked to build their own resilience, with consequences for other parts of the system. Our findings suggest that food system resilience can be enhanced by ensuring that the goals and priorities of those most vulnerable in society are recognised and addressed within decision making processes throughout the system.

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“…Decisions around appropriate pandemic responses require high-quality information on the potential psychological and emotional cost for society ( Layard et al, 2020 ). Thus, this study has important implications for governments and employers.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“… 14 Average life satisfaction in the United Kingdom is 7.7 versus a baseline level of 6.6 in this sample. Layard et al (2020) also report a substantial decrease in life satisfaction in their United Kingdom sample prior to lockdown. Hudson et al (2019) report average global positive and negative affect of approximately 4 and 2.5, respectively, versus our baseline levels of 2.5 and 1.5.…”

mentioning

confidence: 94%

Worker Stress, Burnout, and Wellbeing Before and During the COVID-19 Restrictions in the United Kingdom

et al. 2022

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COVID-19 created a transformational shift in the working environment for much of the labour force, yet its impact on workers is unclear. This study uses longitudinal data to examine the wellbeing of 621 full-time workers assessed before (November 2019–February 2020) and during (May–June 2020) the first lockdown in the United Kingdom. We employ fixed effects analyses to investigate the impact of the restrictions and mandatory homeworking on cognitive, emotional, and psychological wellbeing. Within the sample, the rate of full-time homeworking increased from 2 to 74% between waves. We identify significant changes in 9 of the 15 measures assessed, with a general pattern of improvements in wellbeing during lockdown. Overall levels of stress, self-rated mental health, positive emotions and life and job satisfaction are not adversely affected by the restrictions. There is a reduction in the burnout symptoms of disengagement (−0.13 sd) and exhaustion (−0.20 sd) and in the frequency with which negative emotions are experienced at work (−0.15 sd). Workers feel more autonomous (+0.09 sd), closer to their co-workers (+0.10 sd), and more attached to their organisations (+0.19 sd). However, homelife satisfaction declines (−0.11 sd). These findings highlight the possibility that the COVID-19 pandemic and large-scale transition to homeworking was associated with unchanged or improved worker wellbeing. This study has important implications for governments and employers regarding a global shift to homeworking.

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When to Release the Lockdown? A Wellbeing Framework for Analysing Costs and Benefits

Cited by 69 publications

References 4 publications

The impact of closing schools on working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic: evidence using panel data from Japan

The impact of closing schools on working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic: evidence using panel data from Japan

A Shock to the System: What the COVID-19 Pandemic Reveals About Australia's Food Systems and Their Resilience

Worker Stress, Burnout, and Wellbeing Before and During the COVID-19 Restrictions in the United Kingdom

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