The early impacts of the COVID-19 on employment, time-allocation, and well-being among Japanese employees: Evidence from real time longitudinal survey before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.
This article analyzed inequality in the impact of the COVID-19 on employment, time-allocation, and well-being among Japanese employees, with focusing on the differences by the individual characteristics, such as age, gender, educational level, employment status, occupation, and region. Using “JHPS-COVID-19 special survey” which was conducted in May 2021, we clarified that those who were usually vulnerable to a recession, such as the elderly, female, less educated, non-regular, and employees in small to medium enterprises, were more likely to be affected by this crisis. Those workers had high risk of unemployment, lay-off and reduction, and they were less likely to work from home. As for the impact on time-allocation, many people increased their time for housework, childcare, learning activity and sleeping from February to late May, and men in some groups were more likely to increase their time for childcare, rather than housework. In addition, workers who experienced lay off or decreasing working hours were more likely to increase their time for learning activity. As for the impact of well-being, people whose working situations were negatively affected by the crisis were more likely to worsen their mental health condition, degree of happiness, and work engagement, and more likely to desire to change their jobs. We also conducted the Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition to clarify which characteristics are the main cause for generating inequality in the impact of the crisis. As for the impact on employment, difference of employment status and the size of enterprise were the main causes to generate inequality of the impact, but, on the other hand, as for the impact on well-being, gender difference was the main cause to generate inequality of the impact of the crisis.
