Social Europe

politics, economy and employment & labour

  • Projects
    • Corporate Taxation in a Globalised Era
    • US Election 2020
    • The Transformation of Work
    • The Coronavirus Crisis and the Welfare State
    • Just Transition
    • Artificial intelligence, work and society
    • What is inequality?
    • Europe 2025
    • The Crisis Of Globalisation
  • Audiovisual
    • Audio Podcast
    • Video Podcasts
    • Social Europe Talk Videos
  • Publications
    • Books
    • Dossiers
    • Occasional Papers
    • Research Essays
    • Brexit Paper Series
  • Shop
  • Membership
  • Ads
  • Newsletter

Europe’s leaders must stem falling trust

by Juan Menéndez-Valdés on 20th May 2020 @JuanMenendezEF

Share on TwitterShare on FacebookShare on LinkedIn

A mass online survey across the continent has found Europeans reeling from the coronavirus crisis—and losing trust in their leaders’ ability to manage it.

trust in EU
Juan Menendez-Valdes

The impact of Covid-19 continues to create chaos in people’s lives across Europe and the world. The economy is heading towards another major dip and a general insecurity pervades. The daunting challenges confronting health services and the anticipated long-term impacts of the crisis dominate the public sphere—and with good reason.

But how is the pandemic actually affecting us all? How are Europe’s citizens experiencing this crisis, beyond the drama of illness and death and the anxiety about the economy? Using a short online questionnaire, Eurofound has collected the experiences of more than 60,000 citizens across all European Union member states, weighting their replies to reflect the structure of the EU population.

The results show a Europe grappling to respond to the crisis, with many respondents reporting reduced wellbeing and optimism, growing insecurity and increasing financial difficulties, coupled with job loss and a dramatic decrease in working time. It’s a stark picture of stress and distress across the EU. But subtle transformations also emerge among the striking and shocking statistics.

Daily hike

The daily hike in unemployment is evident—and 6 per cent of our respondents have lost their jobs as a consequence of this crisis. But the survey highlights its much wider ramifications for the labour market: some 23 per cent report having lost contracts or jobs temporarily and 50 per cent say they are working reduced hours.

Telework has protected some from the worst possible eventualities and ICT-enabled working has allowed many to cope much better than they would have imagined. Of the respondents, 37 per cent report having started to telework as a response to this crisis, compared with around 17 per cent who did so at least occasionally before. This suggests a durable shift.

Join our growing community newsletter!

"Social Europe publishes thought-provoking articles on the big political and economic issues of our time analysed from a European viewpoint. Indispensable reading!"

Polly Toynbee

Columnist for The Guardian

Thank you very much for your interest! Now please check your email to confirm your subscription.

There was an error submitting your subscription. Please try again.

Powered by ConvertKit

But the toll this enforced homeworking can take should not be underestimated. Traditional shortcomings are becoming more evident, with work-life balance issues ratcheting upwards and one in five (22 per cent) who live with children under age 12 reporting difficulties in concentrating on their job, compared with just 5 per cent of households with no children and 7 per cent with children aged 12-17. The shift towards working from home is further eroding the ever-thinning boundary between work and home, exacerbating tensions around the ‘right to disconnect’.

Not all sectors or indeed occupations are suitable for this form of work. Nor are the situations of some individuals conducive—for whom such difficulties as housing quality, extra caring responsibilities or lack of a support network rule it out. Furthermore, not all workers, companies or regions can rely on the availability of appropriate equipment and infrastructure.

Particularly severe

The pandemic has hit households’ financial security: 38 per cent of respondents report that their financial situation has deteriorated and over half (56 per cent) say their savings are not sufficient to cover their needs beyond three months. This is particularly severe for self-employed and unemployed workers, who report much higher arrears than average on mortgage payments, rent and utility bills.

The implications are intensely personal and immediate. Average life satisfaction has dropped to 6.3 points (on a scale of 1 to 10) from 7.0 in 2016, when it was measured by Eurofound’s European Quality of Life Survey (EQLS). Happiness has fallen from 7.4 to 6.4 points. Optimism is also declining, while mental wellbeing has taken a sharp shock and is alarmingly low in some countries, such as France and Italy.


We need your help! Please join our mission to improve public policy debates.


As you may know, Social Europe is an independent publisher. We aren't backed by a large publishing house or big advertising partners. For the longevity of Social Europe we depend on our loyal readers - we depend on you. You can support us by becoming a Social Europe member for less than 5 Euro per month.

Thank you very much for your support!

Become a Social Europe Member

As in previous crises, young people are more affected in some areas: 20 per cent report having lost their jobs as a consequence of the crisis, compared with 6 per cent of all respondents. One in five reports feeling lonely, compared with just one in 20 when youth were surveyed in 2016 by the EQLS. Their psychological health is suffering too: they score lower on mental wellbeing than other age groups, and more report feeling downhearted and depressed.

Trust decline

Governments and institutions have raced to adapt and to assist the economy and the most vulnerable in different ways. The EU has been at pains to try to arrive at a coherent, co-ordinated response and follow-up plan of action. But trust is at a premium.

Unsurprisingly, respondents report highest trust in those on the front line of the crisis, such as healthcare services and the police. In contrast, trust in national governments and the EU appears to have declined—to 4.8 and 4.6, respectively, on a 1-10 scale—following a boost to trust in the aftermath of the recovery from the economic crisis. Trust in the media is equally low.

These figures should be of particular concern to the EU. Lower trust in the union than in national governments is unusual and probably unjustified in many ways. Large-scale, unprecedented measures have been implemented; rapid and far-reaching decisions have been taken in a very short time. But still, it appears that the EU has been found wanting in some quarters, perhaps fuelled by the perceived lack of unity among member states, as well as the slow pace of decision-making by the European Council on a supranational problem which requires rapid, united action.

Stark impact

Wherever the responsibility truly lies for the fall-off in trust, the impact on the individual is stark, particularly in some member states. The situation in France, for example, is of serious concern: reduced trust is accompanied by particularly low levels of life satisfaction, happiness, mental wellbeing and optimism, while close to 60 per cent of French respondents report insufficient savings to manage without an income for three months. Italy, another founding member of the European Communities, is not much better. Especially alarming perhaps is the slump in trust among the traditionally strong supporters of the EU project, such as Spain, which now appears in the bottom ranks—registering the fourth lowest level of trust, just above France, Czechia and Greece.

These findings reflect the initial response of Europeans reeling from yet another economic and existential shock. But the results are a timely alarm-bell for all of us, as we try to manage the recovery of a shell-shocked economy and to protect the most vulnerable in our societies. It is imperative that policy-makers join forces: working together in the face of a supranational calamity such as this is the only solution.

Europeans are telling us they can accept nothing else.

Share on TwitterShare on FacebookShare on LinkedIn
Home ・ Europe’s leaders must stem falling trust

Filed Under: Economy Tagged With: coronavirus

About Juan Menéndez-Valdés

Juan Menéndez-Valdés is the director of Eurofound, the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions. Prior to assuming the position in 2010, he was the head of employment, immigration, education and training policies at the Spanish Confederation of Employers’ Organisation (CEOE) and programme manager for guidance and training at the Spanish National Institute for Employment (INEM).

Partner Ads

Most Popular Posts

Thomas Piketty,capital Capital and ideology: interview with Thomas Piketty Thomas Piketty
sovereignty Brexit and the misunderstanding of sovereignty Peter Verovšek
China,cold war The first global event in the history of humankind Branko Milanovic
centre-left, Democratic Party The Biden victory and the future of the centre-left EJ Dionne Jr
Covid 19 vaccine Designing vaccines for people, not profits Mariana Mazzucato, Henry Lishi Li and Els Torreele

Most Recent Posts

Uber,drivers,gig UK gig drivers recognised as workers—what next? Jill Toh
women workers,services Covid-19: a tale of two service sectors John Hurley
European Pillar of Social Rights,social pillar EU credibility as a people’s union rests on the social pillar Liina Carr
vaccine nationalism,Big Pharma Vaccine nationalism won’t defeat the pandemic Sharan Burrow
Can we change the climate on climate change? Karin Pettersson

Other Social Europe Publications

US election 2020
Corporate taxation in a globalised era
The transformation of work
The coronavirus crisis and the welfare state
Whither Social Rights in (Post-)Brexit Europe?

Social Europe Publishing book

With a pandemic raging, for those countries most affected by Brexit the end of the transition could not come at a worse time. Yet, might the UK's withdrawal be a blessing in disguise? With its biggest veto player gone, might the European Pillar of Social Rights take centre stage? This book brings together leading experts in European politics and policy to examine social citizenship rights across the European continent in the wake of Brexit. Will member states see an enhanced social Europe or a race to the bottom?

'This book correctly emphasises the need to place the future of social rights in Europe front and centre in the post-Brexit debate, to move on from the economistic bias that has obscured our vision of a progressive social Europe.' Michael D Higgins, president of Ireland


MORE INFO

Hans Böckler Stiftung Advertisement

Renewing labour relations in the German meat industry: an end to 'organised irresponsibility'?

Over the course of 2020, repeated outbreaks of Covid-19 in a number of large German meat-processing plants led to renewed public concern about the longstanding labour abuses in this industry. New legislation providing for enhanced inspection on health and safety, together with a ban on contract work and limitations on the use of temporary agency employees, holds out the prospect of a profound change in employment practices and labour relations in the meat industry. Changes in the law are not sufficient, on their own, to ensure decent working conditions, however. There is also a need to re-establish the previously high level of collective-bargaining coverage in the industry, underpinned by an industry-wide collective agreement extended by law to cover the entire sector.


FREE DOWNLOAD

ETUI advertisement

ETUI/ETUC (online) conference Towards a new socio-ecological contract 3-5 February 2021

The need to effectively tackle global warming puts under pressure the existing industrial relations models in Europe. A viable world of labour requires a new sustainability paradigm: economic, social and environmental.

The required paradigm shift implies large-scale economic and societal change and serious deliberation. All workers need to be actively involved and nobody should be left behind. Massive societal coalitions will have to be built for a shared vision to emerge and for a just transition, with fairly distributed costs, to be supported. But this is also an opportunity to redefine our societal goals and how they relate to the current focus on (green) growth.


REPLAY ALL SESSIONS

To access the videos, click on the chosen day then click on the ‘video’ button of your chosen session (plenary or panel). It will bring you immediately to the corresponding video. To access the available presentations, click on the chosen day then click on the ‘information’ button. Check the links to the available presentations.

Eurofound advertisement

Industrial relations: developments 2015-2019

Eurofound has monitored and analysed developments in industrial relations systems at EU level and in EU member states for over 40 years. This new flagship report provides an overview of developments in industrial relations and social dialogue in the years immediately prior to the Covid-19 outbreak. Findings are placed in the context of the key developments in EU policy affecting employment, working conditions and social policy, and linked to the work done by social partners—as well as public authorities—at European and national levels.


CLICK FOR MORE INFO

Foundation for European Progressive Studies Advertisement

FEPS Progressive Yearbook

Twenty-twenty has been an extraordinary year. The Covid-19 pandemic and the multidimensional crisis that it triggered have boosted existing trends and put forward new challenges. But they have also created unexpected opportunities to set a new course of action for the European Union and—hopefully—make a remarkable leap forward in European integration.

The second edition of the Progressive Yearbook, the yearly publication of the Foundation for European Progressive studies, revolves around the exceptional events of 2020 and looks at the social, economic and political impact they will have in 2021. It is a unique publication, which aims to be an instrument for the progressive family to reflect on the recent past and look ahead to our next future.


CLICK HERE

About Social Europe

Our Mission

Article Submission

Legal Disclosure

Privacy Policy

Copyright

Social Europe ISSN 2628-7641

Find Social Europe Content

Search Social Europe

Project Archive

Politics Archive

Economy Archive

Society Archive

Ecology Archive

.EU Web Awards