How to restore Europeans’ morale
By Flaminia Bonanni, Research Executive Assistant, and Julien Zalc, Consulting Director - Kantar Public, France
After months of isolation and restrictions on their daily routines, asking the question “how are you doing?” to European citizens in 2021 has unsurprisingly elicited drastically different responses to those given at the start of the pandemic.
While the restrictive measures put in place by public authorities were essential to fight the spread of the virus, their nature and prolonged duration have had damaging side-effects on the psychological wellbeing of Europeans.
Indeed, against the backdrop of a crisis where personal liberties and social interactions have been so dramatically reduced, many people have experienced feelings of uncertainty, loneliness and frustration. Disruption to the familiar work-life balance and the shutdown of fast-paced lives for many, have triggered mixed emotions throughout the successive waves of the pandemic.
The constant threat of the disease, with its most dramatic consequence that is the ever-increasing death toll, has undoubtedly weighed heavily on EU citizens and increased the prevailing feeling of gloom.
In the Special Eurobarometer conducted for the European Parliament in spring 2021 , Europeans reported contrasting emotions. ‘Uncertainty’ (45%) is the dominant feeling, followed by ‘hope’ (37%) and ‘frustration’ (34%). 2 The geographical distribution shows that uncertainty prevails in most Eastern and Southern European countries, notably in Greece and Malta.
The remaining countries are split between those such as Ireland and Finland where the feeling of frustration comes first, and those where it’s hope, as in Estonia, Denmark and the Netherlands.
Feelings that best describe Europeans' emotional status (up to 4 answers)
Source: Special Eurobarometer, spring 2021
The same question on emotional status was asked on three occasions throughout 2020. In comparison to previous answers at different points of the pandemic, the most recent results reveal a significant increase in feelings of frustration and anger. 3
Similarly, an increasing proportion of Europeans are struggling to cope with the restrictive measures in place within their country (from 32% in summer 2020, to 40% in winter 2020-2021 ). 4 Again, answers vary on a national basis: citizens of Nordic countries find it easier to comply with such measures than those in Mediterranean countries, such as Greece, Italy and Portugal.
How easy / difficult Europeans are finding it to cope with measures taken to fight the coronavirus pandemic
There are some important variations in people’s emotional status across different socio-demographic groups: women in general, younger age groups (15 - 34 years old), the unemployed and those struggling to make ends meet, are all more likely to report negative emotions and to find it more difficult to cope with restrictions, compared to men, managers, or those who never face difficulties in paying their bills.
This confirms the existence of a disparate European population when it comes to the impact of the pandemic on their lives, distinguished by gender, age, and socio-economic status.
Feelings that best describe Europeans' emotional status by socio-demographic groups
Source: European Parliament’s Eurobarometer, spring 2021
A long trend analysis of Europeans’ level of satisfaction with their life demonstrates how strongly the coronavirus pandemic has impacted personal lives: in winter 2020-21 , just 19% of European citizens were ‘very satisfied’ with their life. 5
This five-point drop versus the previous wave conducted in summer 2020, is the most significant decrease ever recorded for an indicator that is traditionally very stable. In comparison, the decrease in satisfaction reported during the 2008-2009 economic and financial crisis was much less dramatic (from 21% to 18% in one year).
Evolution of Europeans' level of satisfaction with the life they lead
Source: Standard Barometer studies, 2000 - 2021
Several factors can explain the intensity of this gloomy feeling amongst Europeans: firstly, the long-lasting crisis and the uncertain prospects of economic recovery. The three successive waves of the pandemic, and the detection of new variants constantly calling into question a potential end to the crisis, have made it very difficult for Europeans to envisage a brighter future: in February-March 2021, 61% of Europeans reported that they thought their country’s economy would not recover from the impact of COVID-19 until 2023 or later.
Our analysis shows a link between this pessimism regarding the timing of the recovery, and Europeans’ current state of mind.
While just 15% of those who expect their country’s economy to recover this year or next (2021 or 2022) aren’t satisfied with their current life, we’ve found that 21% feel this way among those who expect a recovery in 2023 or later. This proportion rises to 40% for those who say that the economy will never recover.
Secondly and unsurprisingly, the economic impact of the pandemic at a personal level affects the level of satisfaction with one’s life. Overall, this analysis reveals that citizens whose income has been negatively impacted by the pandemic are more likely to feel negative emotions such as uncertainty, frustration, or anger.
Finally, it is clear that the magnitude of the impact is greater amongst some of the more vulnerable population groups - youngsters, students, the unemployed, and those who have difficulties paying their bills - who may have struggled even more than others in complying with the restrictive measures.
In short, it seems that COVID-19 has exacerbated social and economic inequalities, making the most vulnerable categories even more fragile and insecure.
Public authorities (at the local, national and European level) have taken unprecedented action in responding to the pandemic, addressing both the virus itself – with tremendous efforts in the vaccination campaign – and its economic consequences, with recovery plans such as the Next Generation EU Fund 6, a unique recovery instrument of unprecedented magnitude and methods.
Undoubtedly, the adoption of economic recovery packages, together with plans for massive investments in innovative sectors, are important signals for European citizens that the EU institutions are taking action to overcome economic and financial hardship. 7 In parallel, the different restrictive measures implemented to combat COVID-19 have shown that public authorities are determined to protect all citizens – including those most at risk – from being severely impacted by the virus.
But a question naturally emerges at this point: have these actions sufficiently taken into account the significant impact of the COVID-19 crisis on the psychological wellbeing of European citizens?
At this stage, the vaccination campaigns across the European Union are already having a positive impact, with the spread of the virus showing real signs of abating. As a main consequence, in many EU countries, restrictive measures have been relaxed – an immense relief for all citizens, especially for those who have been struggling to cope with these restrictions.
Hence, should the emergency measures to support public health now be reined in? Arguably, they should now be increased – with a particular focus on the population groups that have suffered the most, silently and invisibly.
Public authorities should promote, further develop and invest in all actions and health measures aimed at helping those most in need to recover from these long months of crisis – in particular women, younger generations, single parents, the unemployed, students, and people struggling to make ends meet.
Moreover, the authorities should ensure that these different actions and health measures are not only aimed at healing the physical consequences of the pandemic, but also at addressing the less visible psychological impact, for example by strengthening infrastructures, activities and projects dedicated to mental health and wellbeing support.
Beyond the impact on an individual level, mental health also has a collective dimension. There is a risk that the perception of a "sacrificed generation" will negatively impact the intergenerational solidarity which underpins social wellbeing. Public authorities should focus on developing a positive narrative in the journey out of the crisis, by offering hope, reasons to believe, and new paths towards a brighter future for all.
The state of mind of today’s younger generation will impact the quality of life for the EU of tomorrow. It is time for Europeans to start replacing uncertainty and frustration, with restored trust and hope for the future.
1. Launched in 1974, the Eurobarometer is the polling instrument used by European institutions to monitor on a regular basis the state of public opinion across all EU Member States. Kantar Public has been in charge of conducting the Standard Eurobarometer (face-to-face interviews among the general population) since 2004:
2. Special Eurobarometer for the European Parliament, Spring 2021 (March-April 2021)
3 & 5. Wave 1, April-May 2020 (during the first lockdown); Wave 2, June 2020, when the restriction measures were relaxed in most EU Member States; Wave 3, September-October, at the start of the second wave. Note that the list of answers was slightly different.
4. Standard Eurobarometer 94 February-March 2021.
6. EU Vaccines strategy.
7. In the EU’s 2021-2027 long-term Budget and NextGenerationEU, 149,5 trillion euros are for single market, innovation and digital.
8. Health, Demographic Change and Wellbeing.
