Since the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) hit Europe, many of the response measures necessary to deal with the pandemic, from working from home to social distancing, became part of our everyday lives. Almost every aspect of our working and family lives has changed and, likewise, all of Eurofound’s research areas have been marked by COVID-19. Not only did we roll out five rounds of the now landmark Living, working and COVID-19 online survey to analyse the rapid change that is ongoing, but the analyses in our existing surveys and flagship reports have specifically looked at the impacts of the pandemic across the board.The wide-ranging impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the lives of people across Europe is increasingly apparent and enduring. The fifth round of Eurofound’s e-survey ran from 29 March to 2 May 2022 and final results are now available. It charts the latest developments, looking at how life has changed in Europe since the pandemic began, and providing the most up-to-date picture for policymakers as they respond to the challenges of Living, working and COVID-19. It also sheds light on a new reality: one of uncertainty caused by the war in Ukraine, record high inflation and sharp rises in the cost of living. Unfortunately, findings paint a bleak picture. In spring 2021, mental well-being reached its lowest level across all age groups since the onset of the pandemic and young people were particularly affected, trust in institutions plummeted and across Europe citizens felt the divisive social and economic fallouts with a dwindling number viewing crisis support measures as fair and efficient. However, Eurofound’s role is not to simply establish what has taken place, but to also provide evidence-based analysis that can assist with policy formulation. We have highlighted that COVID-19 could be a catalyst for fundamental change that will define the future of Europe, and that rather than ‘recovering’ from a crisis like we did a decade ago, we can instead reset our expectations for our lives and reshape our understanding of what we can achieve in cooperation.The long-term impacts of the pandemic on life and the world of work will be explored in our upcoming research, with an immediate focus on how the lockdowns have changed the labour market, how digitisation has changed the workplace, how COVID-19 has impacted business continuity and how crises impact equality and cohesion in Europe. The outbreak of COVID-19 in Europe may be moving gradually into history, but the long-term impacts of the pandemic on our work and lives is just beginning.Read the latest factsheet, infographic and commentary on how COVID-19 is impacting the EU, and tune in to our Eurofound Talks podcast series on topics linked with the impact of the pandemic:Eurofound-ETF joint factsheet: Living, working and COVID-19 in the European Union and 10 EU neighbouring countries (7 December 2022)Infographic: Living, working and COVID-19Podcast series: Eurofound TalksSee the Eurofound experts section at the bottom of the page for the most recent publications, articles, blogs and data from our researchers, defining the labour market, quality of life and working conditions trends that we are currently researching, as well as the possible policy pathways for the future.

Digitalisation is the ongoing integration of digital technologies and digitised data across the economy and society. The twin green and digital transitions accelerate the pace of change affecting all aspects of our lives and will have many consequences for the future of work.

The principle of equal treatment requires that all people, and in the context of the workplace all workers, have the right to receive the same treatment, and will not be discriminated against on the basis of criteria such as gender, racial or ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation.