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Reduced well‐being during the COVID‐19 pandemic – The role of working conditions

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  • Gundula Zoch
  • Ann‐Christin Bächmann
  • Basha Vicari
Abstract
The COVID‐19 pandemic has had diverse impacts on the employment conditions and family responsibilities of men and women. Thus, women and men were exposed to very different roles and associated challenges, which may have affected their well‐being very differently. Using data from the National Educational Panel Study and its supplementary COVID‐19 web survey for Germany (May–June 2020), we investigate gender differences in the relationship between working conditions and within‐changes in subjective well‐being. We systematically consider the household context by distinguishing between adults with and without younger children in the household. The results from multivariate change‐score regressions reveal a decline in all respondents' life satisfaction, particularly among women with and without younger children. However, the greater reduction in women's well‐being cannot be linked to systematic differences in working conditions throughout the pandemic. Kitagawa–Oaxaca–Blinder counterfactual decompositions confirm this conclusion. Further analyses suggest that women's caregiving role, societal concerns, and greater loneliness partly explain the remaining gender differences in altered satisfaction. From a general perspective, our results suggest important gender differences in social life and psychological distress at the beginning of the pandemic, which are likely to become more pronounced as the crisis has unfolded.

Suggested Citation

  • Gundula Zoch & Ann‐Christin Bächmann & Basha Vicari, 2022. "Reduced well‐being during the COVID‐19 pandemic – The role of working conditions," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(6), pages 1969-1990, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:gender:v:29:y:2022:i:6:p:1969-1990
    DOI: 10.1111/gwao.12777
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Lidia Farré & Yarine Fawaz & Libertad González Luna & Jennifer Graves, 2020. "How the covid-19 lockdown affected gender Inequality in paid and unpaid work in Spain," Economics Working Papers 1728, Department of Economics and Business, Universitat Pompeu Fabra.
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    4. Bruce Headey & Jonathan Kelley & Alex Wearing, 1993. "Dimensions of mental health: Life satisfaction, positive affect, anxiety and depression," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 29(1), pages 63-82, May.
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    Cited by:

    1. Lepinteur, Anthony & Clark, Andrew E. & Ferrer-i-Carbonell, Ada & Piper, Alan & Schröder, Carsten & D'Ambrosio, Conchita, 2022. "Gender, loneliness and happiness during COVID-19," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 101(C).

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