Cost of living among top concerns

•Over four in 10 respondents were rather or very worried about the cost of healthcare, utilities and food possibly rising this year.

•On the goods and services tax (GST), which is set to increase by two percentage points by 2024 to 9 per cent, the proportion polled who were rather or very worried about the hike declined slightly from 54 per cent for those polled from March 18 to 25 this year to 47 per cent for those polled from June 24 to July 4.

•About six in 10 said their families have adjusted spending habits in order to reduce expenses to cope with the rise in prices.

•Close to half of respondents said the city-state should focus on providing support to Singaporeans to cope with the rise in GST; and providing immediate financial support to households to cope with daily expenses, utilities and education expenses, and supporting children from disadvantaged families through programmes.

•A comparable number also focused on the need to provide immediate support for businesses, such as those affected most by Covid-19, and encouraging employers to hire Singaporeans through the Jobs Growth Incentive.

•Popular habits respondents picked up during the pandemic were cooking at home frequently, exercising regularly and prioritising personal hygiene.

•More than 90 per cent indicated that they would continue with these habits after the pandemic.

Respondents were asked from March to June about behaviours in the new normal.

•One in four said they would not remove their masks outdoors at all times, even if it was humid or it was not crowded, while 20 per cent said they would remove their mask outdoors all the time.

•Slightly over half did not find it inconvenient at all or only a little inconvenient to wear a mask in indoor spaces, even at the workplace.

•About 55 per cent said it was not inconvenient or only a little inconvenient to keep contact tracing apps active in their cellphones' background or to take contact tracing devices out with them. Twenty-six per cent said it was totally inconvenient or inconvenient to do so.

•Four in 10 employed and self-employed individuals said they did not find it inconvenient or only a little inconvenient to take regular antigen rapid tests as part of workplace safe management measures.

•Nearly half said they were planning to travel for leisure within the next six months, while 46 per cent said they were not planning to travel within the next six months.

The top three lessons that respondents felt Singapore should learn from the pandemic and improve on were:

•Be self-sufficient and ensure that essential services and supplies are always available.

•Have strong finances, healthcare and other systems in place to deal with the next crisis.

•Be prepared for an unexpected crisis and never be complacent.

• On lessons learnt, those related to institutional resilience - such as a good healthcare system - were more important to respondents.

•Lessons pertaining to institutional resilience were more likely to be prioritised by older respondents, while lessons pertaining to social resilience were more likely to be emphasised by younger respondents.

•Younger respondents aged 21 to 29, as well as middle-aged respondents aged 40 to 49, experienced declining mental or emotional health, while other age groups saw improvements.

•Young people may be worried about their life choices amid an uncertain future or stressed from fledgling careers, while middle-aged respondents may be facing considerable financial pressures to support the old and the young amid job disruptions and the rising cost of living, said the study.