Psychology Today: How People Think Differently Post-Pandemic

"People experienced the “pandemic pause” as either a positive or a negative experience—physically, emotionally, and financially. But there was one point of common ground: it gave everyone time to slow down and think. Many people re-evaluated their work-life balance in terms of career goals and priorities, contributing to the “great resignation.” Others became so comfortable with the teleworking lifestyle they switched careers in order to capitalize on flexibility.

But beyond balancing family and finances, research reveals that some post-pandemic personality changes focused on priorities and personal values.

Priorities and Personal Values

Ella Daniel et al. (2022) examined how priorities and personal values changed during the pandemic. Reporting longitudinal data from an Australian sample, they noted that higher-order values were stable pre-pandemic, while conservation values, emphasizing order and stability, increased in importance during the pandemic. They noted that openness to altering values, underscoring self-direction and stimulation, decreased during the pandemic—a finding which was reversed in late 2020 when self-transcendence values, emphasizing care for nature, society, and close others, decreased. They note that these changes were heightened among people who felt worried. Daniel et al. recognize that their findings support the psychological theory of values as something that is usually consistent, but also capable of adapting to environmental change.

Shared Humanity

For many people, pandemic restrictions and lockdowns changed their view of the concept of shared humanity. Experiencing the phenomenon of being “alone together” as a global community led many people to reimagine what a post-pandemic world would look like, and what it should look like. Researchers investigated how such views have translated into post-pandemic philosophy.

Özden Uluğ et al. (2021) examined the extent to which shared humanity as well as an awareness of socio-economic privilege predicted support for equal socio-economic policies. They note that pandemic-related unemployment exposed longstanding inequalities in areas such as health care services and working conditions, which had a disproportionate impact on people living in poverty.

Consistent with their hypotheses, they found that a greater degree of identification with all humanity, heightened awareness of the existence of socio-economic status-based privilege, and less endorsement of classist attitudes were predictive of a higher degree of support for socio-economic policies of equality post-pandemic. They found this to be true even after controlling for participants’ socio-demographic and socio-political characteristics.

Historical Past, Healthy Future

For many people, priorities and values have evolved over the historically significant pandemic as a result of both reflection and recognition of community vulnerabilities and inequality. Consequently, the desire to re-engage responsibly fueled by a sense of shared humanity will prompt the application of lessons learned in the past to promote a healthy future.

*As mentally draining and scary this pandemic has been, I really like this article because it helps point out some of the positive aspects that have arisen from it. I really enjoy how people were able to have that time to think and understand how they want to see their futures change. Many people have left their jobs, resulting in "The Great Resignation." I am happy that people are doing what's right for them. But on the other hand, many people don't want to take the entry-level jobs anymore because of the way they are treated. The system needs to change and people need to be treated and paid to the work they are doing. It doesn't seem that the system is changing because, at least here in America, the wages for say, a nurse's aide and a customer service job, are so similar that people would either work the less stressful job. We need major change.*

Is there anything you realized about your personal/professional goals during the pandemic? Did this lead to you making any changes in your life for the better?

#PostPandemic #WorkingConditions #Humanity

Read the full article here.