When the first lockdowns were imposed last March, researchers at consultancy Fiftyfive5 started a nine-month project to monitor Australians’ emotions and behaviour.

They conducted more than 38,000 online interviews, talking to 200 people across the country every day between March 2020 to January 2021.

The information was used to inform their clients who were knocked sideways by the sudden lockdown and struggled to find a path through.

The survey found respondents embraced a “cocoon culture”, or the desire to stay close to home, partly due to stay-at-home orders but also for a sense of security in uncertain times.

“There is still uncertainty out there, there’s still anxiety and isolation out there,” Fiftyfive5 director and survey leader Michelle Newton said.
“But overall, I think we’re kind of moving to a good space by taking on these positive behaviours.”