Corona continues to keep Germany under control. In January, one in five mothers had to reduce their working hours to look after children. There have only been so many since the outbreak of the pandemic, during the hard lockdown in April 2020. Explosive for the federal government, which is advising the federal states this Wednesday: Never before has their crisis management been so unpopular – and that reduces the willingness to vaccinate.
The pandemic has completely changed people’s lives. How exactly does it work? The Economic and Social Science Institute (WSI) has been asking this regularly since the coronavirus broke out two years ago. The responses of employees and the self-employed paint a precise picture of how the Germans are getting through this epochal affliction. The sixth series of surveys by the Süddeutsche Zeitung available: The pandemic is still a heavy burden for many citizens – despite economic stability, vaccination protection and milder courses of the disease.
Take mothers as an example: More female employees are currently reducing their working hours than at most times during the pandemic. And this despite the fact that schools and day-care centers are mostly open, unlike before. How can that be? Because there is a record number of infections from Omicron, many parents still have to take care of daughters and sons who have been infected or are in quarantine.
Loss of work is becoming a problem for the economy as a whole. Employees are missing because they look after children or are infected themselves or in quarantine. In January alone, the loss of work affected 40 percent of the companies. That was almost as many as suffered from understaffing in the entire first year of the pandemic combined, reports the institute for labor market and occupational research (IAB).
“The comparison shows the very tense personnel situation in the Omicron wave,” says IAB director Bernd Fitzenberger. Every second company affected reports major problems in the course of operations. This applies in particular to the education, health and social sectors, where personal contact is difficult to replace.
Traditional role models that were believed to have been overcome are returning
If children are not in school or daycare because of Corona, the mothers usually take care of them. Something has changed there. “During the first lockdown in spring 2020, many fathers also looked after the children,” reports WSI researcher Andreas Hövermann. “In the meantime, the mothers are more alone with it.”
Traditional role models that were believed to have been overcome are making a comeback. In January 2022, well over 60 percent of mothers stated that they took on most of the care – and not both parents together or the father. This means that more mothers have the main responsibility than before the pandemic. And those who work less to look after the offspring naturally earn less.
So it’s no surprise that more mothers are finding their life under Corona stressful again. But they are not the only ones. Overall, employees find the situation in the family, work or finances more difficult than in summer 2021, for example.
When it comes to money, there are big differences. Fewer employees are now worried about their job or the economic situation. The German economy is growing again, and the government spent many billions. “Aid packages and instruments such as short-time work benefits provide material security,” observes WSI Director Bettina Kohlrausch.
However, the financial worries in January were greater than last year. And one group is increasingly falling through the rust the longer the pandemic lasts: low-income earners. Almost every second person feels their financial situation is a burden. That’s more than ever since the Corona outbreak. In poorer households, tens of thousands of mini-jobs are noticeable. They are also hit harder by high inflation. And if you earn little anyway, the financial losses caused by short-time work, for example, are harder. After two years of the pandemic, the welfare state apparently does not go far enough here.
“No matter what the government does, it loses approval in one of the camps”
Constant corona worries and financial difficulties: It’s no wonder that so few poorer citizens are satisfied with the government’s crisis management than ever before. It is striking that this applies not only to them – but also to citizens who earn more. There are all the parents, especially mothers, who feel alone and drained. But also many other Germans. Initially, two-thirds were satisfied with the Corona policy. It has now fallen to an all-time low across all income groups.
This is also because people are suffering from the pandemic. “After two years of state of emergency, the respondents feel exhausted,” observes social researcher Hövermann. “Societal tensions, deprivations and disappointments are draining them.” Even those who are no longer afraid of losing their job or the economy collapsing feel burdened – and worried about increasing inequality and social cohesion.
Politically sensitive for the federal government is that it has come under criticism from two very different camps. That applies to anti-vaccination anyway. In addition, there are the citizens who have alienated themselves from official crisis policy during the course of the pandemic. “They are just tired and want the restrictions to end,” says Hövermann.
A second, completely different camp is also dissatisfied: citizens who do not feel sufficiently protected by politics. Their criticism has increased as infection rates have risen. More Germans are afraid again that they or their relatives could become infected. The most recent political barometer by the research group Wahlen measures more approval for corona policy (49 percent instead of 31 percent as at the WSI). But the two camps can also be seen there.
Does a step-by-step plan for openings, as it is emerging before the federal-state meeting, help against this split? Uncertain. “No matter what the government does, it loses approval in one of the camps,” Hövermann believes. Relaxation may only bring an ebbing of the omicron wave.
The data shows that discontent is not just a political issue. It also influences the success of the Corona policy. Vaccinated respondents who have lost their trust in crisis management in recent months are significantly less likely to receive boosters.