"Feeling Frustrated, Spending Money" COVID-19 Resurgence, Office Workers Relieve Stress Through Consumption

Increase in 'Corona Blue' Complaints of Depression and Stress
Office Workers Relieve Stress Through Consumption Behavior
Experts Say "Psychological Factors Influence... Satisfaction Is Only Temporary"

Online shopping footage/Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Ga-yeon] "Staying at home makes me keep buying things," "My spending has increased due to impulse purchases."

As the impact of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) continues, some office workers are relieving stress through consumption. Since it is difficult to meet acquaintances or engage in hobbies, there is no suitable way to relieve stress, which leads to increased spending.

Since the 14th, local infections have intensified, and with the resurgence of COVID-19, social distancing measures in the metropolitan area were raised to level 2.5 from the 30th until the 6th of next month.

Accordingly, restaurants, pubs, snack bars, bakeries, and confectionery shops in the metropolitan area can operate normally during the day and night, but from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. the next day, only takeout or delivery services are allowed.

The same applies to coffee specialty stores. Franchise cafes such as Starbucks and Coffee Bean are not allowed to serve food and beverages inside the store regardless of business hours; only takeout and delivery orders are permitted. Indoor sports facilities such as gyms, swimming pools, and billiard halls are completely closed.

As a result, there is little space or time to spend with acquaintances, and due to remote work, office workers are essentially confined at home, leading to increased complaints of depression and stress. Similar cases have led to the creation of a new term, "Corona Blue," combining "corona" and the English word "blue," meaning sadness.

Some relieve Corona Blue through consumption. Their purchases range from small amounts of delivery food, clothing, hobby and interior-related items to high-priced electronics and luxury goods.

In April, Flea Market Job Recruitment surveyed 2,638 office workers on "Changes in consumption patterns due to COVID-19," and 28.6% of respondents said "consumption increased." They cited "delivery food expenses" (30.6%) as the largest spending category.

Online shopping transactions for daily life-related products such as books, fashion, and home appliances also increased.

According to the "June Online Shopping Trends" announced by Statistics Korea on the 5th, online shopping transaction volume was 12.6711 trillion won. This is an increase of 2.0669 trillion won compared to the same month last year. In particular, mobile shopping transactions increased by 22.8% (6.895 trillion won) from the same month last year, reaching 8.4639 trillion won.

Social commerce mobile purchase footage from Coupang, WEMAKEPRICE, etc. / Photo by Yonhap News

Office worker A (30) said, "I used to relieve stress by visiting pretty cafes, but I haven't been able to go for the past few weeks. It's very frustrating, and stress keeps building up, so I get irritated easily over trivial matters," adding, "As this state continues, I naturally end up spending money."

Another office worker B (25) said, "I recently changed my phone and bought a Nintendo Switch," adding, "Everyone has different tendencies. I am the type who relieves stress by going out, but being forced to stay home due to COVID-19 makes the stress even greater."

B said, "There is some pleasure in spending money or receiving packages. I want to relieve stress that way," adding, "Anyway, I think there is a cost-saving aspect to remote work. I just spend that money elsewhere."

Experts point out that the satisfaction from impulsive consumption is temporary.

Professor Kwak Geum-ju of the Department of Psychology at Seoul National University said in a phone interview with Asia Economy on the 27th, "There are various ways to relieve stress, and one of them can be consumption," explaining, "Consumption has the effect of relieving stress. In psychologically difficult and anxious situations, consumption works as a compensatory mechanism, making people think of it as 'consumption for myself.'"

Professor Kwak advised, "(In the case of stress-induced consumption) people often buy unnecessary things. This is a temporary satisfaction that comes only at that moment, so they may regret it later," adding, "It may even cause additional stress, so it is necessary to think about 'why you are consuming' and make wise consumption decisions."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.