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The Corona crisis is terrifying the middle generation.
Only a fifth of 30 to 59-year-olds are hopeful about the future.
Almost every fourth person is worried about their job, more than 40 percent have or are expecting a loss of income, and one in two feels worse than before the crisis.
The overwhelming majority of 70 percent find it worst not to know how long the virus will dominate everyday life, with three out of four people being convinced that this state of emergency will not be over in a few months, but will last longer .
Source: WORLD infographic
These are the results of the annual survey carried out by the Allensbach Institute for Demoscopy on behalf of the German Insurance Association (GDV).
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Overall, the picture shows a mood crash that this generation has never experienced.
The optimism about the future has disappeared like a landslide, says the managing director of the Allensbach Institute, Renate Köcher.
Ignorance of the dangers posed by the virus unsettles people
The middle generation forms the backbone of society.
The majority of fathers and mothers who still have children in the household belong to this age group.
At the same time, it makes up the vast majority of the workforce.
Many also have parents who they are particularly worried about in these pandemic times.
One thing is clear: if the middle generation is badly hit, it will inevitably have an impact on all other age groups.
Source: WORLD infographic
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The fact that it is still not clear how dangerous the Covid 19 virus actually is is what worries many 30 to 59-year-olds most, in addition to the uncertainty about the duration of the crisis: Every second person is heavily burdened.
The constant presence of the topic in all media evidently provides less for clarification than for confusion, especially since experts sometimes assess the situation very differently.
And the reports of severe progress even among younger people and the constant news about deaths fuel fears above all.
The survey took place between the end of October and the beginning of November, when the federal and state governments had just decided on the second lockdown and, after a comparatively relaxed summer, the topic dominated all news channels again.
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41 percent of respondents are very to very worried about infecting themselves with the coronavirus;
55 percent, on the other hand, see little or no risk for themselves.
The massive restrictions on contact to contain the pandemic are also extremely tough on middle-aged people.
Half of the respondents think it is bad not to be able to meet older relatives.
And every second person perceives the lack of contact with friends as a heavy burden.
43 percent see the school and daycare closings as particularly devastating, and one in three names visiting bans in nursing homes and hospitals as a major disadvantage.
Source: WORLD infographic
A quarter consider the psychological stress to be particularly fatal.
On the other hand, at 16 percent, significantly fewer citizens perceive the factual bans on foreign travel as difficult to bear.
In addition to fears about their own future, people are also worried about the social climate.
60 percent of 30 to 59-year-olds notice major changes in society during these times - and for the worse.
A widespread fear and uncertainty is the most noticeable effect (72 percent).
Almost as many people also complain of increasing aggressiveness and impatience.
A good half criticize growing selfishness.
And only 13 percent recognize an increasing willingness to help.
The majority consider the economic future bleak
"Corona acts like a mushroom - the vast majority sees more aggression and egoism than growing solidarity," says Köcher, head of the institute.
The forced retreat into private life also ensures a return to the family, which has become more important for every second person during the crisis.
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The overwhelming majority assess the economic future as bleak: three out of four respondents are very concerned about the economic collateral damage caused by the corona crisis.
After all, 38 percent do not expect the German economy to be able to defend its strong position in the next few years.
And that worry is even greater among those who are concerned about their own jobs.
At almost a quarter, the proportion of those who fear for their own job in view of the extreme economic downturn this year and the millions of short-time work has skyrocketed.
In the previous year, only 14 percent considered their job to be at risk.
It is noticeable that the Germans are increasingly skeptical about globalization - and thus also question the export nation's model of success.
Forty-eight percent of 30 to 59-year-olds still believe that the local economy benefits from the international division of labor.
"You can tell that people are scared"
Dr.
Sebastian Allgäuer heads the intensive care unit at the Robert Bosch Hospital in Stuttgart.
He shows us the corona area.
The ventilation positions are completely occupied.
The situation is tense.
Source: WELT / Andrea Ohms
But three years ago this approval rating was significantly higher at 64 percent.
And after all, almost one in two blames globalization for spreading the virus around the world.
Only a third disagree.
Most people of the middle generation hope to get their old life back after Corona.
A good half of them do not want to fundamentally change anything, but rather to go on living as they did before the crisis.
At 57 percent, men say this more often than women (46 percent).
However, in the future, the majority will want to appreciate much more of what they used to take for granted.
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