Image of man in protective suit and mask disinfecting warehouse full of food products

COVID-19

COVID-19 brought change to many aspects of our working and family lives and, likewise, all of Eurofound’s research areas have been marked by COVID-19. The Agency rolled out several rounds of the now landmark Living and Working in the EU online survey to analyse the rapid change that ensued after the outbreak of the pandemic. Simultaneously, the analyses in existing surveys and other research have specifically looked at the impacts of the pandemic across the board.

The long-term impacts of the pandemic on life and the world of work continues to be a part of upcoming research, looking at labour market change, how digitisation has changed the workplace, how COVID-19 has impacted business continuity and how crises impact equality and cohesion in Europe.
 

Topic

Recent updates

Eurofound research

Eurofound’s work on COVID-19 examines the far-reaching socioeconomic implications of the pandemic across Europe and their impact on living and working conditions. Drawing on its Network of Eurofound Correspondents, while also adapting the focus of its in-house resources, Eurofound monitors the critical changes the crisis has brought to the labour market, working conditions and quality of life across the EU and aims to map how different Member States have responded to the challenges that have emerged. In response to COVID-19, Eurofound adjusted its research to:

  • collect data regarding the impact of this unprecedented situation on the lives of Europeans via its unique online survey launched in April 2020, as well as monitor measures taken by policy actors to combat the effects of the pandemic on employment, working conditions and living conditions
  • provide an analysis of specific topics, such as employment effects, effects on specific sectors, effectiveness of specific measures (for example, short-time work schemes).

Explore more:

Other relevant resources

Data: Living and Working in the EU e-survey

Restructuring events database: impact of COVID-19 on the employment effects of large-scale restructuring events in Europe

European Jobs Monitor: the changing employment structure in Europe in view of the crisis

EU PolicyWatch: database on the responses of government and social partners to the crisis, based on research from the Network of Eurofound Correspondents

Restructuring support instruments - EU PolicyWatch: recording measures which support companies that are restructuring, as well as the employees affected, highlighting when a case is relevant to COVID-19

Platform economy initiatives - COVID-19: how the crisis impacts platform work and platform workers 

Infographic: Living, working and COVID-19

Covering rounds 1 to 3 of the e-survey

10% of respondents who had been employed before the pandemic were unemployed in spring 2021.

Two-thirds of those employees who have teleworked partially or exclusively during COVID-19 would prefer a regular hybrid working arrangement if there are no restrictions in place.

See full infographic

Key outputs

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Living, working and COVID-19

This report presents the findings of the Living, working and COVID-19 e-survey, carried out by Eurofound to capture the far-reaching implications of the pandemic for the way people live and...

28 September 2020
Publication
Research report
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COVID-19: Implications for employment and working life

Disclaimer - Please note that this report was updated with revised data (specifically for Bulgaria) on 23 March 2021.This report sets out to assess the initial impact of the COVID-19...

11 March 2021
Publication
Research report

EU context

Since 2020, national and EU authorities have launched a range of support measures to respond to the impact of the COVID-19 crisis, which has affected the regular life and work of people in the EU. Specific sectors, many self-employed people and SMEs have been particularly affected by the fallout of the pandemic. 

While the EU does not have direct legislative power over health matters (this being the responsibility of individual Member States), the response of the EU – and particularly the European Commission – has focused on stabilising the EU economy, putting in place border control measures, reinforcing our public health sectors, securing the production of vaccines for citizens, as well as supporting various business sectors. 

On 10 February 2021, the Commission welcomed the European Parliament’s approval of the €672.5 billion Recovery and Resilience Facility available to EU Member States to support reforms and investments under NextGenerationEU, the temporary instrument designed to boost recovery and help Europe emerge stronger from the crisis. The Facility runs until end of December 2026 and is closely linked with the Commission priorities for a greener, more digital and more resilient Europe.

 

European Industrial Relations Dictionary 

Eurofound expert(s)

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Eszter Sándor

Eszter Sandor is a senior research manager in the Social Policies unit at Eurofound. She has expertise in survey methodology and statistical analysis, has worked on the preparation...

Senior research manager,
Social policies research unit
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Daphne Ahrendt

Daphne Ahrendt is a senior research manager in the Social Policies unit at Eurofound. Since joining Eurofound in 2013, her work has covered a broad range of social policy areas. At...

Senior research manager,
Social policies research unit
Publications results (46)

Weathering the crisis: How job retention schemes preserved employment and incomes during the pandemic

This report describes the implementation and changing features of job retention schemes in the EU between 2020 and 2022. In response to the COVID-19 health emergency, EU governments swiftly deployed job retention schemes to preserve employment, support businesses and maintain individual incomes.

23 September 2024
Publication
Research report
Employment and labour markets
Employment status
Labour market policies
Pay and income
COVID-19

Regional employment change and the geography of telework in Europe

The fast and steady recovery in employment following the COVID-19 pandemic in the EU benefited from proactive policy responses to the crisis and from resilient labour markets. Almost 90% of regions across the EU had exceeded their pre-pandemic employment levels by 2022; however, significant regional

03 September 2024
Publication
Research report
Employment and labour markets
Employment structure
Digitalisation
Teleworking
COVID-19

Developments in income inequality and the middle class in the EU

This report examines trends in income inequality in the EU and explores whether the middle class is becoming smaller due to disparities in household disposable income.

12 July 2024
Publication
Research report
Pay and income
Promoting social cohesion and convergence
COVID-19
Inequality

The political dimension of social cohesion in Europe

This report investigates the political dimensions of social cohesion in Europe, offering a 20-year perspective derived from 10 rounds of the European Social Survey. It scrutinises trends and regional variations in political participation, examining correlations with levels of institutional distrust

26 April 2024
Publication
Research report
Promoting social cohesion and convergence
Trust
Quality of society
COVID-19

The changing structure of employment in the EU: Annual review 2023

Employment levels in the EU27 recovered from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020–2021 much faster than they did after the global financial crisis in 2008–2010. This was despite the immediate job loss effects of the two crises being of comparable scale. Demographic change is affecting labour

28 March 2024
Publication
Eurofound research paper
Employment and labour markets
Employment structure
Digitalisation
COVID-19
Gender equality

Intergenerational inequalities: How to close the gaps?

The various economic and social shocks of the past decade and a half – most recently the COVID-19 pandemic – have ongoing consequences for the living standards and prospects of Europeans, and sometimes these outcomes have been uneven across age groups. Social policies – such as those in the areas of

19 December 2023
Publication
Policy brief
Social policies
Youth
Health and well-being
Labour market participation
Living conditions and quality of life
Ageing workforce
Living conditions
COVID-19
Retirement

Psychosocial risks to workers' well-being: Lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic

Using data from the European Working Conditions Telephone Survey 2021 and building on a theoretical model that differentiates between job stressors and job resources, this report examines key psychosocial risks in the workplace and their impact on health.

23 November 2023
Publication
Research report
Psychosocial risks
Working conditions and sustainable work
Health and well-being
Teleworking
COVID-19
Working time
Discrimination at work

Job quality of COVID-19 pandemic essential workers

During the COVID-19 pandemic, a diverse collection of workers ensured the functioning of our societies. In a time of crisis, they maintained access to healthcare, long-term care and other essential goods and services, including food, water, electricity, the internet and waste treatment.

10 October 2023
Publication
Policy brief
Working conditions and sustainable work
Working conditions
Job quality
COVID-19
Front cover for Eurofound's publication entitled 'Social services in Europe: Adapting to a new reality'

Social services in Europe: Adapting to a new reality

This report addresses the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on social services in the EU. While the pandemic negatively affected social services, it nevertheless provided lessons on how to adapt them in response to new challenges and social risks. One lesson, for instance, is that policies should be dev

16 August 2023
Publication
Research report
Social policies
Public services
Care
COVID-19
Digitalisation
Living conditions and quality of life

Measures to tackle labour shortages: Lessons for future policy

As economies begin to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, labour shortages are becoming increasingly evident despite the impact of the war in Ukraine on energy and commodity prices. These include shortages exacerbated by the crisis in some sectors and professions where they had been endemic for some

28 March 2023
Publication
Research report
Skills and training
Unemployment
Employment structure
European Green Deal
Employment and labour markets
COVID-19
Digitalisation
Labour market policies
Just transition
Online resources results (23)
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Building resilience after COVID-19: EU measures to protect jobs and promote skills

Since 2011, the Restructuring support instruments database of the EU PolicyWatch has been collecting information on measures that assist companies and workers to anticipate and manage restructuring. This article looks at measures in the database aimed at supporting employees and employers during the

21 February 2023
Article
Skills and training
Restructuring
Social protection
Employment and labour markets
COVID-19

Eurofound presentation to the European Parliament Committee on Employment and Social Affairs (EMPL)

Eurofound presentation to the European Parliament Committee on Employment and Social Affairs (EMPL), Ivailo Kalfin, Executive Director, Eurofound, 24 January 2023.

23 January 2023
Presentation
Skills and training
Stand with Ukraine
Working conditions and sustainable work
European Pillar of Social Rights
Care
COVID-19

The rise in cost of living and energy poverty: Social impact and policy responses

The rise in cost of living and energy poverty: Social impact and policy responses. 14 October 2022, Informal Meeting of Employment and Social Affairs Ministers (EPSCO). Presentation by Ivailo Kalfin, Executive Director, Eurofound.

14 October 2022
Presentation
Pay and income
Working conditions and sustainable work
Working conditions
European Green Deal
COVID-19
Living conditions
Living conditions and quality of life
Just transition
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COVID-19 in the workplace: Employer’s responsibility to ensure a safe workplace

Throughout 2021, the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic, specific occupational health and safety rules were reintroduced due to increases in infection rates. Mandatory face masks, physical distancing and hygiene measures were enforced, and the recommendation to telework was largely re-instated in

16 June 2022
Article
Social partners
Working conditions and sustainable work
Teleworking
COVID-19
Industrial relations and social dialogue
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Collective bargaining and social dialogue – Back to normal in 2021?

Two years after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, social dialogue continues to make a significant contribution to helping economies recover. Managing the crisis led many governments to rely on tripartite social dialogue to develop the policies that would mitigate the negative impact of the

16 June 2022
Article
Social partners
Minimum wage
Agreements
Collective bargaining
COVID-19
Labour and social regulation
Industrial relations and social dialogue
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Back to work after COVID-19: Testing, vaccines and green certificates

In the second pandemic year 2021, access to one’s place of work was increasingly dependent on providing proof of either having been tested, vaccinated or recovered from COVID-19 in several countries. Specific professional groups – such as essential workers and workers in critical infrastructure –

16 June 2022
Article
Social partners
COVID-19
Labour and social regulation
Industrial relations and social dialogue
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Episode 4 – Gender equality

This podcast, launched on International Women’s Day this year in conjunction with the European Institute for Gender Equality, debates issues related to closing the gender gaps across pay, employment and caring, and explores innovative options to promote change.

7 March 2022
Podcast
Gender equality
COVID-19
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Episode 3 – The impact of COVID-19 on young people in the EU

New day, new data highlighting the devastating impact of COVID-19 on young people across the European Union – most recently Eurofound’s unique pan-European Living, working and COVID-19 e-survey. We know this has taken an unprecedented toll on young people particularly – their mental well-being, thei

16 December 2021
Podcast
Youth
COVID-19

Towards a strong Social Europe in the aftermath of the COVID-19 crisis: reducing disparities and addressing distributional impacts

21 October 2021
Presentation
Living and working in Europe
Psychosocial risks
Teleworking
Work-life balance
European Pillar of Social Rights
COVID-19
Female teleworker taking notes during video conference on her laptop

Workers want to telework but long working hours, isolation and inadequate equipment must be tackled

The COVID-19 pandemic prompted a surge in telework, with dramatic increases in the number of employees working from home (teleworking) in many European countries. What for many employees started out as a mandatory move seems to have transformed into a preference among the majority for part-time or

6 September 2021
Article
Working time
Working conditions and sustainable work
Working conditions
Teleworking
Work-life balance
European Pillar of Social Rights
Gender equality
COVID-19
Blogs results (35)
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2022 in review

The dawn of 2022 brought muted optimism to a Europe beginning to emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic, and the progress of vaccination programmes worldwide brought hope. Government and EU support during the pandemic had kept unemployment at bay, averting the widescale collapse of businesses. In step wi

19 December 2022
Ivailo Kalfin
Blog
Living and working in Europe
Stand with Ukraine
Platform work
Teleworking
European Green Deal
European Pillar of Social Rights
Gender equality
Care
COVID-19
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High risk of depression persists following COVID-19 pandemic: Data behind the mental health crisis

Lower levels of health, increasing financial pressure and a significant degree of unmet healthcare: these are the findings of the fifth round of the Living, working and COVID-19 e-survey: Living in a new era of uncertainty – a report that presents an overview of responses from over 200,000 people ac

6 October 2022
Eurofound
Blog
Living and working in Europe
Psychosocial risks
Health and well-being
COVID-19
Living conditions and quality of life
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Energy poverty looms as cost of living increases: Data behind the difficulties

Rising energy prices are putting more people under increased financial pressure and at greater risk of energy poverty. In this data story, we take a closer look at the data from the fifth round of the Living, working and COVID-19 e-survey to explore the extent of the issue and the threat of energy p

3 August 2022
Eurofound
Blog
Pay and income
European Green Deal
Anticipating and managing the impact of change
COVID-19
Living conditions
Living conditions and quality of life
Just transition
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Trust in national institutions is falling: Data behind the decline

Trust in national institutions has declined across the EU over the past two years. Driven by increasingly difficult economic circumstances and unreliable news sources, even people who previously expressed higher trust levels – such as those in financially secure positions – have become less trusting

25 July 2022
Eurofound
Blog
Trust
COVID-19
Living conditions and quality of life
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Europe Day: Europe’s future hangs in the balance

Today is Europe Day, and one hundred young people from Ireland and Ukraine will be marking the event at Eurofound, in peaceful south Dublin. Europe Day has traditionally been seen as a celebration of peace and unity in Europe, but, unfortunately, it must be marked differently this year. Europe Day 2

9 May 2022
Ivailo Kalfin
Blog
Living and working in Europe
Stand with Ukraine
Quality of society
Youth
European Pillar of Social Rights
COVID-19
Inequality
ef22052.png

Recovery and resilience in the EU – Back to the future? Some reflections on Foundation Forum 2022

When it comes to Europe’s COVID-19 recovery and its aspiration to build back a more resilient society, the so-called green and digital transitions have dominated EU policy discussions. And as Eurofound made preparations for the 2022 Foundation Forum – a unique occasion for high-level debate on the s

11 March 2022
Ivailo Kalfin
Blog
Promoting social cohesion and convergence
Social protection
Teleworking
European Green Deal
European Pillar of Social Rights
COVID-19
Digitalisation
Just transition
ef21087.png

Recovering from this pandemic means rebuilding hope for the future

We need to study and understand the blow Europe’s youth have suffered from the COVID-19 pandemic, in order to adjust recovery and resilience measures to their needs: without prioritising young people in the present, we have little hope for the future.

3 December 2021
Ivailo Kalfin
Blog
Youth
Subjective well-being
COVID-19
Labour market policies
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The pandemic aggravated labour shortages in some sectors; the problem is now emerging in others

Following the declines in employment rates and working hours across Europe in 2020, economies began to show signs of recovery during the first quarter of 2021. The gradual rekindling of economic activity has led to a surge in demand for workers and reawakened concerns over labour shortages. Difficul

20 July 2021
Dragoș Adăscăliței
Blog
Skills and training
Employment structure
European Pillar of Social Rights
Employment and labour markets
COVID-19
Labour market policies
ef21080.png

Vaccine acceptance hinges on transparent communication

Vaccine acceptance is key to the success of COVID-19 vaccination campaigns worldwide. Worryingly, over a quarter of people living in Europe are hesitant about taking a COVID-19 vaccine, and the level of hesitancy is especially high among heavy users of social media. The spread of misinformation on s

23 June 2021
Sanna Nivakoski
Blog
Living and working in Europe
Quality of society
COVID-19
Living conditions and quality of life
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COVID-19: Could businesses have done better?

COVID-19 has shown that some things can hit us out of the blue. The pandemic sent a shockwave through businesses all over the world and has brought massive changes to work organisation, internal communication and day-to-day operations for many companies. Doubtless, the depth of the pandemic’s impact

21 June 2021
Franz Ferdinand Eiffe
Blog
Participation at work
Working conditions and sustainable work
Teleworking
Work organisation
Anticipating and managing the impact of change
COVID-19
Job quality
Data results (30)

Housing security - COVIDR3

17 November 2023
Source:
Living, working and COVID-19 – 3rd round March 2021
Reference period:
2021

Housing security - COVIDR5

17 November 2023
Source:
Living, working and COVID-19 – 5th round May 2022
Reference period:
2022

Housing security - COVIDR1

17 November 2023
Source:
Living, working and COVID-19 – 1st round April 2020
Reference period:
2020

Housing security - COVIDR2

17 November 2023
Source:
Living, working and COVID-19 – 2nd round July 2020
Reference period:
2020

Living and Working in the EU e-survey

7 November 2023
Reference period:
2022

Trust in national government by ability to make ends meet (scale 1–10)

7 July 2022

Trust in national government by employment status (scale 1–10)

7 July 2022

Trust in the EU by ability to make ends meet and e-survey round (scale 1–10)

7 July 2022

Trust in institutions – spring 2021 questions – mean scores (scale 1–10), EU27

7 July 2022

Trust in the EU by country and e-survey round – mean scores (scale 1–10), EU27

7 July 2022

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