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The Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Mental Health and Subjective Well-Being of Workers: An Event Study Based on High-Frequency Panel Data

Author

Listed:
  • Schmidtke, Julia

    (Institute for Employment Research (IAB), Nuremberg)

  • Hetschko, Clemens

    (University of Leeds)

  • Schöb, Ronnie

    (Free University of Berlin)

  • Stephan, Gesine

    (Institute for Employment Research (IAB), Nuremberg)

  • Eid, Michael

    (Freie Universität Berlin)

  • Lawes, Mario

    (Freie Universität Berlin)

Abstract

Using individual monthly panel data from December 2018 to December 2020, we estimate the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and two lockdowns on the mental health and subjective well-being of German workers. Employing an event-study design using individual-specific fixed effects, we find that the first and the second wave of the pandemic reduced workers' mental health substantially. Momentary happiness and life satisfaction also decline in response to Covid-19, but to a smaller extent. We observe adapation in our study outcomes between waves of the pandemic. This applies to a lesser extent to indicators of well-being in certain areas of life, such as satisfaction with the job and with leisure, which are negatively affected, too. Women do not seem to suffer greater well-being losses than men. However, workers in the German short-time work scheme are particularly negatively affected. Our results imply that increased anxiety about the future and restricted personal freedoms are among the drivers of the well-being impact of the pandemic.

Suggested Citation

  • Schmidtke, Julia & Hetschko, Clemens & Schöb, Ronnie & Stephan, Gesine & Eid, Michael & Lawes, Mario, 2021. "The Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Mental Health and Subjective Well-Being of Workers: An Event Study Based on High-Frequency Panel Data," IZA Discussion Papers 14638, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp14638
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    Cited by:

    1. Guillaume Gueguen & Claudia Senik, 2022. "Adopting Telework. The causal impact of working from home on subjective wellbeing," Working Papers halshs-03455306, HAL.
    2. Celestine Chijioke Onah & Francis Okechukwu Chikeleze, 2024. "Information and Communication Technology (ICT) as a Panacea for Overcoming the Challenges of COVID-19 Pandemic: A Study of Academic Staff Performance in Tertiary Institutions in Enugu State, Nigeria," SAGE Open, , vol. 14(2), pages 21582440241, June.
    3. Lina Anaya & Peter Howley & Muhammad Waqas & Gaston Yalonetzky, 2024. "Locked down in distress: A quasi‐experimental estimation of the mental‐health fallout from the COVID‐19 pandemic," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 62(1), pages 56-73, January.
    4. Gueguen, Guillaume & Senik, Claudia, 2022. "Adopting Telework. The causal impact of working from home on subjective well-being in 2020," CEPREMAP Working Papers (Docweb) 2201, CEPREMAP.
    5. Guillaume Gueguen & Claudia Senik, 2023. "Adopting telework: The causal impact of working from home on subjective well‐being," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 61(4), pages 832-868, December.
    6. Chaudhuri, Kausik & Howley, Peter, 2022. "The impact of COVID-19 vaccination for mental well-being," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 150(C).
    7. Jan Delhey & Stephanie Hess & Klaus Boehnke & Franziska Deutsch & Jan Eichhorn & Ulrich Kühnen & Christian Welzel, 2023. "Life Satisfaction During the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Role of Human, Economic, Social, and Psychological Capital," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 24(7), pages 2201-2222, October.
    8. Illing, Hannah & Oberfichtner, Michael & Pestel, Nico & Schmieder, Johannes F. & Trenkle, Simon, 2022. "Geschlechtsspezifische Arbeitsmarktwirkung der Covid-19-Pandemie," IZA Standpunkte 102, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    9. Guillaume Gueguen & Claudia Senik, 2022. "Adopting Telework. The causal impact of working from home on subjective wellbeing," PSE Working Papers halshs-03455306, HAL.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    app-based survey data; affective well-being; depression; life satisfaction; Covid-19; German Job Search Panel;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I31 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - General Welfare, Well-Being
    • I19 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Other

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