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 is a senior research manager in the Social Policies unit at Eurofound. She has extensive experience in survey management, including questionnaire design and scripting, data preparation (processing, cleaning, weighting), and statistical analysis using R. She manages Eurofound’s e-survey (Living and working in the EU) and contributes to the preparation and management of the European Quality of Life Survey. Her research focuses on the quality of life of young people and families, including subjective well-being, mental well-being and living conditions.
Before joining Eurofound, she worked as an economic consultant in Scotland, specialising in economic impact assessments, evaluations, and input-output analysis. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from the Budapest University of Economics and Business and a Master’s degree in Economics and International Relations from Corvinus University of Budapest.
Daphne Ahrendt
Senior research managerDaphne Ahrendt is a senior research manager in the Social Policies unit at Eurofound. She is the coordinator of the survey management and development activity. In 2020, she initiated Eurofound’s Living and Working in the EU e-survey and now leads the 2026 European Quality of Life Survey, which she has worked on since the survey started in 2003. With over 30 years of experience in international survey research, she is also a member of the GESIS Scientific Advisory Board. Beyond surveys, her substantive research focuses on social cohesion, trust and the inclusion of persons with disabilities. Daphne started her career at the National Centre for Social Research in London where she worked on the International Social Survey Programme before moving to the Eurobarometer Unit at the European Commission. She holds a Master's degree in Criminal Justice Policies from the London School of Economics and a Bachelor's degree in Political Science from San Francisco State University.
