Theme: covid-19 and its influence on life Plan

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Anticipated impacts on people’s lives and well-being outcomes

The novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19, and the social, economic, and political fallout of the pandemic, will touch every aspect of people’s lives. Vulnerable and disadvantaged groups will be impacted more severely and therefore require particular attention in the policy response. For example, home schooling will have different long-term impacts on children and youth, depending on their socio-economic background and the support that communities and decision-makers are able to provide.
Vulnerable groups are not limited to those in poor physical health: those in precarious employment or financial conditions, those living in poor quality housing, the socially isolated and those already struggling with low subjective well-being or mental health conditions are at particular risk. Temporary measures taken to limit and delay COVID-19 infection rates through confinement and social distancing could – in addition to their immediate effects on health – have other unintended consequences; some of which are positive – such as reduced air pollution, greater time spent with immediate family, and (perhaps) greater social solidarity; others of which are not – such as job and income loss. The economic consequences of the novel coronavirus could be long-lasting, acting on well-established fragilities in the system. This in turn will pose another set of indirect risks to people’s health and well-being that will play out over a longer period of time, and have widespread impacts across the population, as already witnessed during the Great Recession (OECD, 2013[6]; OECD, 2015[7]; OECD, 2017[8]).
Immediate short-term government responses are needed to save lives and livelihoods today. Yet the crisis could provide useful lessons for longer-term change to build greater resilience in the systems that support well-being over time. This includes building social connections and social capital; opening up new ways of working and living; and reinforcing the capacity of public services and social safety nets to react in times of crisis. It also builds a case for redoubling efforts to reduce or mitigate sources of vulnerability associated with job insecurity, poor quality housing, poor environmental quality, mental and other health challenges and social isolation.
This note further looks at the different dimensions which are and will continue to be impacted by the COVID-19 crisis and its aftermath, by drawing on the OECD’s Well-Being Framework (Figure 1). In particular, it explores the impact of COVID-19 on income and wealth, work and job quality, housing, subjective well-being, social connections, work life balance, environmental quality and safety.