What Have People Valued in Work or Leisure during the COVID-19 Pandemic? Focusing on Cohort Analysis of Public Perception Survey

This study analyzes the change in people's perceptions of work and leisure during the COVID-19 pandemic and the factors affecting it using data from public perception surveys conducted in 2021 and 2014. As analytical results, first, the orientation to balance work and leisure was increased in 2021 compared to 2014, resulting in a change in the public's perception of work and leisure. Second, in 2021, a higher education level and higher age indicated a higher orientation toward work-leisure balance. In addition, in terms of political ideology, progressives or conservatives were both more likely to pursue a balance between work and leisure than moderates. Third, in 2014, there was no difference in the work-leisure balance orientation according to the cohort, whereas in 2021— unlike the age effect— the low-age cohort showed a higher work-leisure balance orientation than the high-age cohort. This emphasizes the need for restructuring the system in accordance with the constraints of the environment during COVID-19 and the change in perception of the balance between work and leisure.