HKFYG June 2020 | Youth Hong Kong
Covid-19 stress school and employment • Over 50% of students asked how they felt about the resumption of classes report high stress levels and are worried about failing to maintain their pre-pandemic progress. • Over 60% of young people aged 15-35 are worried about employment prospects and many have already been put on furlough, are experiencing difficulties or have already lost their jobs.
Stress at school Classes in Hong Kong were suspended from late January to late May 2020. Students continued to learn online, using platforms provided by their schools. However, many saw the period as a kind of special holiday during which they tended to become lazy and work messily because of lack of self-discipline and regular supervision. Only a small minority with high levels of self-discipline but weak social skills appear to have benefitted because the suspensions meant they could study at home instead of facing classmates and teachers. Others have suffered very badly from stress. From February to May 2020, the HKFYG hotline 2777 8899 handled more than 16,000 calls for help including 5,894 related to emotional problems.
Key findings
Main concerns
50.3% said they were worried about not catching up with their education
53.3% thought they would not be able to maintain the same progress as before suspensions
52.7% thought they might not be able to take an exam in the short term 50.2% rated their stress levels as high*
52.7% worried about failure to cope given the short time left before they had to take an exam 30.8% had uncompleted homework
40.6% were worried
23.8% said they lacked motivation to go to school
34.1% felt nervous 29.8% were uneasy
22.7% worried about not being used to the change in their daily schedule
24.6% felt happy 22.3% felt relaxed
More details hkfyg.org.hk/en/2020/06/02/studentsurvey-en/
[* Compared to 41.7% in a similar survey dated October 2019]
Online survey date May 2020 Respondents 1,821 students
HKFYG Counselling Hotline 2777 8899 6277 8899
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