Sam Gilbert, Mark Fabian, and Roberto Foa draw on data from the first UK lockdown to illustrate how well-being levels improved, contrary to what may have been expected. They nevertheless explain that such improvements were not evenly distributed among the population and discuss the policy implications of their findings

Fabian, Mark

Foa, Roberto

Gilbert, Sam

English

LSE Research Online

Well-being	increased	during	the	first	UK	lockdown	–but	not	for	everyoneSam	Gilbert,	Mark	Fabian,	and	Roberto	Foa	draw	on	data	from	the	first	UK	lockdown	to	illustrate	how	well-beinglevels	improved,	contrary	to	what	may	have	been	expected.	They	nevertheless	explain	that	such	improvementswere	not	evenly	distributed	among	the	population	and	discuss	the	policy	implications	of	their	findings.In	the	second	quarter	of	2020,	the	period	of	the	UK’s	first	COVID-19	lockdown,	suicides	were	down	36%	year-on-year.	In	fact,	according	to	provisional	data	released	by	the	Office	for	National	Statistics	(ONS),	the	suicide	rate	wasthe	lowest	for	any	quarter	since	the	ONS	started	publishing	data	on	suicides	in	2001.	What	can	explain	this	sharpfall?	The	ONS	cautions	that	it	probably	reflects	disruption	to	the	coroner’s	service	during	the	pandemic,	rather	thana	genuine	reduction	in	suicides.	But	our	research	raises	a	surprising	alternative	possibility:	people	are	happierunder	lockdown.At	first	this	claim	seems	counterintuitive	–	provocative,	even.	However,	it’s	supported	by	analysis	of	twocomplementary	datasets:	YouGov’s	weekly	mood	tracker	and	Google	Trends.	Since	June	2019,	YouGov	hassurveyed	a	representative	sample	of	2,000	Brits	each	week,	asking	them	to	report	on	a	range	of	mood	states.	Thisdata	shows	that	while	the	onset	of	the	pandemic	had	a	very	negative	effect	on	mood,	the	implementation	oflockdown	quickly	restored	people’s	subjective	well-being	to	its	pre-pandemic	baseline.	Sadness,	fear,	and	stress	allfell	during	lockdown;	and	although	boredom,	loneliness,	frustration,	and	apathy	increased,	so	did	happiness,optimism,	inspiration,	and	contentment.The	remarkable	recovery	of	people’s	subjective	well-being	under	lockdown	seems	not	to	have	been	confined	to	theUK.	Google	searches	for	negative	emotions	turn	out	to	be	highly	correlated	with	the	YouGov	mood	tracker,meaning	that	so-called	‘negative	affect’	in	different	countries	can	be	compared	using	Google	Trends.	In	NewZealand,	Australia,	India,	South	Africa,	Ireland,	the	USA	and	Canada,	Google	data	suggests	that	negative	affectspiked	as	the	pandemic	took	hold,	but	began	to	fall	as	soon	as	lockdowns	and	shelter-in-place	orders	wereimplemented.British Politics and Policy at LSE: Well-being increased during the first UK lockdown – but not for everyone Page 1 of 5		Date originally posted: 2020-12-22Permalink: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandpolicy/first-lockdown-wellbeing/Blog homepage: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandpolicy/British Politics and Policy at LSE: Well-being increased during the first UK lockdown – but not for everyone Page 2 of 5		Date originally posted: 2020-12-22Permalink: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandpolicy/first-lockdown-wellbeing/Blog homepage: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandpolicy/Of	course,	saying	that	people	were	happier	under	lockdown	does	not	imply	that	everyone	was	happier.	In	fact,improvements	in	well-being	during	the	period	of	the	first	UK	national	lockdown	were	not	evenly	distributed.	TheYouGov	data	shows	things	were	markedly	worse	for	the	elderly	and	women	living	alone,	and	somewhat	worse	forprofessionals.	On	the	other	hand,	things	were	significantly	better	for	low	socioeconomic	status	men,	whose	overalllife	satisfaction	increased	more	than	any	other	group.British Politics and Policy at LSE: Well-being increased during the first UK lockdown – but not for everyone Page 3 of 5		Date originally posted: 2020-12-22Permalink: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandpolicy/first-lockdown-wellbeing/Blog homepage: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandpolicy/As	men	of	low	socioeconomic	status	are	one	of	the	highest	risk	groups	for	completed	suicide	attempts,	the	relativeimprovement	in	their	mental	health	during	lockdown	may	help	explain	the	unexpected	reduction	in	suicide	ratesduring	Q2.We	suspect	that	the	exceptional	welfare	support	measures	put	in	place	during	the	UK’s	first	national	lockdownalleviated	many	of	the	conditions	which	can	prompt	individuals	to	act	on	suicidal	feelings	–	including	eviction	andhomelessness,	workplace	bullying	and	stress,	and	problems	keeping	up	with	debt	repayments.	Internationalcomparisons	seem	to	support	this	view.	When	we	looked	at	suicide-related	Google	searches	by	country,	India	andSouth	Africa	were	the	outliers.	Both	countries	implemented	lockdowns	with	minimal	social	support	mechanisms	andsaw	a	steep	rise	in	suicide-related	search	rates.	Elsewhere,	suicide-related	search	during	lockdown	was	flat	orfalling	relative	to	its	pre-pandemic	baseline.The	immediate	policy	implications	in	terms	of	the	pandemic	response	are	clear.	Despite	widespread	concerns,mental	health	costs	are	not	a	reason	to	avoid	implementing	local	or	national	lockdowns	–	provided	that	incomesupport	measures	such	as	furlough	schemes	remain	in	place.	Meanwhile,	policy	interventions	aimed	at	mitigatingthe	negative	effects	of	lockdown	on	well-being	should	prioritise	the	needs	of	women	living	alone	and	the	elderly.With	this	is	mind,	support	bubbles	and	revisions	to	the	guidance	on	shielding	are	to	be	welcomed.British Politics and Policy at LSE: Well-being increased during the first UK lockdown – but not for everyone Page 4 of 5		Date originally posted: 2020-12-22Permalink: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandpolicy/first-lockdown-wellbeing/Blog homepage: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandpolicy/But	there	are	also	longer-term	implications	of	the	findings	from	this	natural	experiment.	They	hint	both	at	thedamage	stressful	working	environments,	housing	insecurity,	and	indebtedness	may	be	doing	to	well-being,	and	atthe	opportunity	for	policy	innovations	which	strengthen	the	social	safety	net	to	deliver	real	improvements	to	people’shappiness.___________________About	the	AuthorsSam	Gilbert	is	an	Affiliated	Researcher	with	the	Bennett	Institute	for	Public	Policy,	University	of	Cambridge.Mark	Fabian	is	a	welfare	economist	working	on	the	Measuring	Well-Being	project	at	the	Bennett	Institute	for	PublicPolicy,	University	of	Cambridge.Roberto	Foa	is	a	University	Lecturer	in	politics	and	public	policy	at	POLIS,	University	of	Cambridge.	Photo	by	chaitanya	pillala	on	Unsplash.British Politics and Policy at LSE: Well-being increased during the first UK lockdown – but not for everyone Page 5 of 5		Date originally posted: 2020-12-22Permalink: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandpolicy/first-lockdown-wellbeing/Blog homepage: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandpolicy/

Well-being increased during the first UK lockdown – but not for everyone

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Well-being increased during the first UK lockdown – but not for everyone

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