Effect of COVID-19 pandemic on social factors

The damage caused by the COVID-19 pandemic is immeasurable. While the pandemic disrupted the supply and demand of several businesses, the impact on society raised questions over international labor standards, worker health and safety, ethical sourcing, and corporate social responsibility. On the demand side, most of the discretionary spending by consumers has come down, while on the supply side, companies are short of inventories. Many companies cut down on expenditure through pay-cuts and reduced workforce during the pandemic. Further, the psychological and social effects of the healthcare disaster resulted in emotional and behavioral changes in society. Reduced earnings due to prolonged social isolation, confinement measures, trade restrictions, and “working from home” have marred the efforts put in to achieve the sustainable development goals (SDGs). Students, scholars, instructors, administrators, and parents have all been severely impacted by unexpected school closures as a result of the government lockdowns. Further, environmental quality has improved during the lockdown. In this chapter, four SDGs are discussed in relation to COVID-19’s social impact. These SDGs are SDG 3: Good health and well-being, SDG 4: Quality education, SDG 8: Decent work and economic growth, and SDG 13: Climate action. Each SDG is individually important for the society; however, an integrated viewpoint enhances our scope to address the pros and cons of the pandemic to the society. Sectors like manufacturing, construction, and others had a reduced demand with excess resources. On the contrary, the sectors like healthcare and pharmaceuticals had a surge in demand, which often resulted in a lack of resources. In this chapter, the social impact of COVID-19 is studied in six sectors: employment, education, healthcare, family, social media, and environmental quality. These sectors have been identified from the social progress index of 2020. The importance of responsible countries for reducing the social divide during large-scale disruptions is observed. Improvement through coordination and collaboration rather than competition among stakeholders is the way forward for a safe, inclusive, and respectful workforce.