How did you perceive the lifestyle changes caused by the COVID-19 pandemic?

Abstract

AbstractThis study did five surveys between April 2020 and March 2021 to look at how lifestyle changes during the pandemic affected well-being. These surveys covered all of Japan and were done both before and after the state of emergency was lifted. Applying the fixed-effects method to the panel data acquired in this manner, the analysis focused on subjective well-being and behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic. The results showed that teleworking during the pandemic may have increased life satisfaction, especially among young people. Although self-restraint behavior reduced well-being among young people, it tended to increase well-being among elderly individuals. On the other hand, self-restraint behavior by partners was found to lead to a decline in well-being among elderly individuals. In addition, it was observed that both the declaration of a state of emergency and the infection status had minimal impact on life satisfaction and happiness across all generational groups. Thus, the results show that lifestyle changes during the pandemic did not necessarily harm well-being, suggesting that the positive or negative impacts of factors differ from generation to generation.