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Publication - Research and analysis

Coronavirus (COVID-19): public attitudes and behaviours - April update

Published
4 April 2022
From
Chief Social Researcher
Directorate
Performance, Delivery and Resilience Directorate
Topic
Coronavirus (COVID-19) in Scotland, Health and social care
ISBN
9781804353127

Findings from polling work, conducted between September 2021 and January 2022, on public attitudes and behaviours around the coronavirus pandemic in Scotland.

View supporting documents Supporting documents

2. Impact of Coronavirus

This section presents data on the day-to-day impacts of Coronavirus on people's health and finances.

Health impact

To understand the potential impact on non-COVID-19 related health issues, respondents were asked if they would avoid contacting a GP for immediate non-Coronavirus medical concerns.

From the beginning of September 2021 through to January 2022, between two to three out of ten respondents (19% to 29%) agreed that they would avoid contacting their GP even with an immediate medical concern not related to Coronavirus (Figure 9). The majority (between 57% to 65%) disagreed.

Figure 9: Proportion of respondents who agreed/disagreed that 'I would avoid contacting a GP practice at the moment even with an immediate medical concern'

Bar chart showing 19% to 29% agreed that they would avoid seeing a GP, this was lowest in late November.

Source: YouGov Scotland Survey. Base: Adults (n=1001-1044)

Work situation

Respondents who are not retired were asked what best describes their current work situation (Figure 10). This included working at a workplace, working from home or none of the options given.[8] The proportions working from home has varied between September and January, between 22% to 33%. This was lowest in September and October, at 22%, and then increased in November, from which point the Scottish Government encouraged home working.[9] Working from home then fluctuated between 27% and 33% until mid-January. Meanwhile, the proportion of respondents working at a workplace has remained fairly stable, between 30% to 36% from September through January.

Figure 10: Current working situation for respondents not retired

Bar chart showing the proportions working from home or in their workplace overtime, with the lowest levels of respondents working from home in September and October.

Source: YouGov Scotland Survey. Base: All adults not retired (n=699-741)

Working from home

At 18-19 January 2022, over half of those that could work from home were doing so all the time (54%), as shown in Figure 11. While around one third of respondents who could work from home (29%) were splitting their time between working from home and in the workplace. Around 1 in 10 (9%) who had been working from home had since returned to the workplace. And 7% were working in the workplace even though they could work from home.

Figure 11: Working status amongst respondents who could work from home as at 18-19 January 2022

Bar chart detailing the proportions who can work from home that are doing so all the time, some of the time, no longer or none of the time. Majority in January working from home all of the time.

Source: YouGov Scotland Survey. Base: All adults not retired who answered that they could work from home (n=310)

Financial impacts

Respondents were asked in September (7-8), November (2-3) and January (18-19) how concerned they felt in the month ahead about paying their bills, not having a job and not being able to provide for their household (Figure 12). Concern about not having a job remained stable, with fewer than 1 in 10 respondents saying that they were 'very' or 'extremely' concerned (7% to 9%). The proportion of respondents who were at least 'somewhat' concerned that they won't be able to pay their bills, increased from 33% in September to 45% in January.[10] Respondents 'extremely' or 'very' concerned about being able to provide for their households remained fairly stable in this time period, while the proportion who were 'somewhat' concerned about being able to provide for their household increased from 21% in September to 30% in mid-January.

Figure 12: Proportion of respondents who were concerned about the following scenarios:

Bar chart showing that concerns about personal finances increased from September to January, particularly around being able to pay bills and being able to provide for household.

Source: YouGov Scotland Survey. Base: Adults (n=1002-1021)

Worry about the effect of the pandemic on jobs and the economy

Worry about the effect of the pandemic on jobs and the economy has remained high (Figure 13). Between October and January, around 7 in 10 respondents agreed that they were worried about the long-lasting effect of the pandemic on jobs and the economy.

Figure 13: Proportion of respondents who agreed/disagreed with the statement 'I am worried about the long-lasting effect of the pandemic on jobs and our economy'

Bar chart showing that worry about the pandemic’s effect on jobs and the economy remained very high throughout October to January.

Source: YouGov Scotland Survey. Base: Adults (n=1001-1044)

Contact

Email: covid-19.behaviours@gov.scot

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