With the Covid-19 pandemic still at the forefront of most people’s minds, there is not much that hasn’t already been said about how the way of life of most people around Australia has been affected. With employment and financial worries compounding the ever-present health concerns, there are few around the country who have not seen changes to their day to day lives.

The big question for us at Edentify has been: how has Covid-19 impacted not just the lives, but the mood of Australians? How are we feeling now, especially with lockdowns being re-introduced? And who is feeling the emotional strain the most? To find out more, we ran a survey among a nationally representative sample of n=500 of our Caféstudy research community to find out how they are feeling now compared to the start of the year, and this time last year.

Loss of control

We fully expected the mood of Australians to be worse than in the past, and that most people would describe themselves as more worried and less relaxed than in the past. However, what stands out is that one of the strongest declines has been the feeling of being “in control”.

What this tells us is that one of the biggest impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic is to remove the autonomy of people to direct their own lives.

It’s not the same for all

Looking deeper at the results, it becomes clear that not everyone feels the same way, and there are some who have felt the uncertainty and loss of control more.

With less job and financial stability, young people are suffering the most. At the same time, older people who already own their homes and have secure finances are much less likely to have felt this loss of control.

Taking Back Control

While the young people today are often maligned, it is clear that they are looking to control the aspects of their lives that they can. While small actions such as hoarding toilet paper have made the headlines, in reality many are looking at more productive steps, such as learning new skills and hobbies, and taking more control of their finances to set themselves up to face the challenge.

Far from being lazy and short-sighted, Australia’s young adults are proving resilient, looking ahead and trying to take control despite the challenges they are facing.

What does this mean?

For marketers, this is both a challenging and exciting time. It’s important to understand what your customers are thinking and doing, and how they are dealing with the challenge of uncertainty and loss of control. As the pandemic drags on, it is clear that waiting for things to return to normal might mean a long and difficult wait.

For some brands, it may be as simple as offering more flexible offers and payment options. For others, there is an opportunity to demonstrate the way your product or service allows people to take control of even a small aspect of their lives.