SynthesisSocial science & medicine (1982)2022
Mental and social wellbeing and the UK coronavirus job retention scheme: Evidence from nine longitudinal studies.
Synthesis in Social science & medicine (1982), 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 15 papers.
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Who cites it
15 citing papers in PubMed, 38 citations in OpenAlex.
- Stability and change in life satisfaction in Japan before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.Applied psychology. Health and well-being · 2025Article
- Alcohol use in Early Midlife: Findings from the Age 37 Follow-Up Assessment of the FinnTwin12 Cohort.Behavior genetics · 2025Article
- Article
- Predictors of psychological well-being during imposed prolonged absence from work.Discover public health · 2025Article
- Did trade unions protect employees' mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic? A mixed effects model using UK data from Understanding Society.BMJ public health · 2025Article
- Suicidal ideation and thoughts of self-harm during the COVID-19 pandemic among Swedish employees: a cohort study on the role of job instability and job insecurity.BMC psychology · 2024Article
- Evaluating the influence of taxation and social security policies on psychological distress: A microsimulation study of the UK during the COVID-19 economic crisis.Social science & medicine (1982) · 2024Article
- Examining the Interrelationships Between Social Isolation and Loneliness and Their Correlates Among Older British Adults Before and During the COVID-19 Lockdown: Evidence From Four British Longitudinal Studies.Innovation in aging · 2024Article
- Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on self-harm and self-harm/suicide ideation: population-wide data linkage study and time series analysis.The British journal of psychiatry : the journal of mental science · 2023Article
- Difference in the risk of discrimination on psychological distress experienced by early wave infected and late wave infected COVID-19 survivors in Japan.Scientific reports · 2023Article
- Understanding inequalities in mental health by family structure during COVID-19 lockdowns: evidence from the UK Household Longitudinal Study.Annals of general psychiatry · 2023Article
- Job loss and job instability during the COVID-19 pandemic and the risk of depression and anxiety among Swedish employees.SSM - population health · 2023Article
- Home working and social and mental wellbeing at different stages of the COVID-19 pandemic in the UK: Evidence from 7 longitudinal population surveys.PLoS medicine · 2023Article
- The gender dimensions of mental health during the Covid-19 pandemic: A path analysis.PloS one · 2023Article
- Occupational inequalities in the prevalence of COVID-19: A longitudinal observational study of England, August 2020 to January 2021.PloS one · 2023Observational
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Authors and funding
21 authors at 6 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic has led to major economic disruptions. In March 2020, the UK implemented the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme - known as furlough - to minimize the impact of job losses. We investigate associations between change in employment status and mental and social wellbeing during the early stages of the pandemic.
methodsData were from 25,670 respondents, aged 17-66, across nine UK longitudinal studies. Furlough and other employment changes were defined using employment status pre-pandemic and during the first lockdown (April-June 2020). Mental and social wellbeing outcomes included psychological distress, life satisfaction, self-rated health, social contact, and loneliness. Study-specific modified Poisson regression estimates, adjusting for socio-demographic characteristics and pre-pandemic mental and social wellbeing, were pooled using meta-analysis. Associations were also stratified by sex, age, education, and household composition.
resultsCompared to those who remained working, furloughed workers were at greater risk of psychological distress (adjusted risk ratio, ARR = 1.12; 95%CI: 0.97, 1.29), low life satisfaction (ARR = 1.14; 95%CI: 1.07, 1.22), loneliness (ARR = 1.12; 95%CI: 1.01, 1.23), and poor self-rated health (ARR = 1.26; 95%CI: 1.05, 1.50). Nevertheless, compared to furloughed workers, those who became unemployed had greater risk of psychological distress (ARR = 1.30; 95%CI: 1.12, 1.52), low life satisfaction (ARR = 1.16; 95%CI: 0.98, 1.38), and loneliness (ARR = 1.67; 95%CI: 1.08, 2.59). Effects were not uniform across all sub-groups.
conclusionsDuring the early stages of the pandemic, those furloughed had increased risk of poor mental and social wellbeing, but furloughed workers fared better than those who became unemployed, suggesting that furlough may have partly mitigated poorer outcomes.
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