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Work-life balance
Work–life balance refers to the level of prioritisation between an individual’s work and personal life. A good work–life balance is achieved when an individual’s right to a fulfilled life inside and outside paid work is accepted and respected as the norm – to the mutual benefit of the individual, business and society. Enabling a better work–life balance for workers across the life course has been an EU policy goal for many years as it is central to ensuring that work is sustainable for all.
In this episode of Eurofound Talks Mary McCaughey speaks with Eurofound Research Manager Tina Weber about new research on the right to disconnect, the evolution of the right to disconnect...
Even before the outbreak of COVID-19, various forms of flexible work, such as teleworking and flexitime, were in place across EU Member States. However, the pandemic led to a surge...
Eurofound has launched its 2024 European Working Conditions Survey (EWCS) aiming to interview about 50,000 workers across 35 countries. The survey covers all EU Member States and 8 additional countries...
19 February 2024
Corporate news
Eurofound research
Work–life balance continues to be a significant research topic for Eurofound, in its surveys and other studies.
Podcast
Listen to or watch a recording of our International Women's Day 2023 podcast on the work–life challenges of women and men.
Eurofound’s European Quality of Life Surveys (EQLS) provide comparisons between countries on the reconciliation of work and family life, flexible working time arrangements and the provision of quality care services. The European Company Surveys (ECS) provide data on why and how companies make use of a broad variety of working time arrangements. The European Working Conditions Surveys (EWCS) look at the organisation of working time across the EU and issues related to it including flexible arrangements, working time preferences and work–life balance.
Eurofound’s unique e-survey, Living, working and COVID-19, provides a snapshot of the impact of the changes that occurred during the pandemic on people’s lives, with the aim of helping policymakers shape the response to the crisis. Conducted in five rounds during 2020, 2021 and 2022, it allows for comparison of the challenges that arose during the different stages of living through the pandemic. A range of questions focus on people’s work situation, their level of teleworking during COVID-19, experiences of working from home and the impact on work–life balance.
The latest findings, published in July 2022 show that despite some improvement in work–life balance issues, there has been a sharp decline in family time among workers in 2022, with almost 30% reporting that their job is preventing them from spending time with their family, from a much lower 19% in 2020.
Working life and work–life balance
Eurofound gathers information on working life in the EU, looking at national and EU-level policies to promote work–life balance and investigating the role of social dialogue and collective bargaining in this area.
Research investigates the opportunities for working time flexibility and improved work–life balance related to digitisation and platform work, linked with the labour market integration of specific groups, such as those with care responsibilities or health issues.
In its research on working conditions and sustainable work, Eurofound has looked at the implications for work–life balance for parents and caregivers.
In the context of the negotiations on the work–life balance package at EU level, and at the European Commission’s request, Eurofound has produced a review of national statistics on the uptake of family-related leave by fathers over time across the EU Member States and Norway.
The fifth round of Eurofound's e-survey, fielded from 25 March to 2 May 2022, sheds light on the social and economic situation of people across Europe two years after COVID-19...
Digital technologies have made it possible for many workers to carry out their work at any time and anywhere, with consequent advantages and disadvantages. Eurofound data show that teleworkers are...
Developments in information and communication technology (ICT) have been among the key drivers of change in working life over the past two decades. Specifically, telework and ICT-based mobile work (TICTM)...
Gender inequality at work persists across Europe, despite the long standing attention paid and efforts made to tackle it. This Eurofound report presents a closer look at women’s and men’s...
Advances in ICT have opened the door to new ways of organising work. We are shifting from a regular, bureaucratic and ‘factory-based’ working time pattern towards a more flexible model...
In the context of ongoing negotiations at EU level on adopting a work–life balance package for families and caregivers, Eurofound was requested by the European Commission to provide an update...
7 February 2019
Publication
Customised report
EU context
On 17 November 2017, the European Parliament, the Council and the European Commission formally proclaimed the European Pillar of Social Rights, which included an initiative to support work–life balance. Subsequently, in June 2019, the Council adopted a new Directive on work–life balance for parents and carers. The Directive aims to increase women's participation in the labour market and outlines a number of new or improved minimum standards for parental, paternity and carer’s leave, as well as flexible working arrangements, aiming to also increase men's take-up of these.
Jorge Cabrita is a senior research manager in the Working Life unit. He is responsible for formulating, coordinating and managing European-wide research, and promoting the...
Despite years of gender equality legislation, men outnumber women in management positions by two to one. While structural barriers continue to impede women’s career advancement, women themselves may be deterred from becoming managers if they perceive that it would have a negative impact on their
While discrimination against women at work has long been a mainstream topic in research literature, only marginal attention has been paid to discrimination against men. A number of factors may be responsible for this, including change in traditional occupational roles, cultural perceptions of the
Developments in Working Life in Europe is part of a series of annual reviews published by Eurofound and provides an overview of the latest developments in industrial relations and working conditions across the EU and Norway.
Working time is a recurrent topic of study because the nature of work, its content, the conditions under which it is performed and the labour market itself keep changing. This report provides an overview of the recent evolution of working time duration and organisation in the EU and highlights the
The reconciliation of work and life responsibilities has become an increasingly relevant policy topic in recent decades. It has an implicit societal value linked to gender equality and quality of life.
New information and communications technologies have revolutionised work and life in the 21st century. The constant connectivity enabled by these devices allows work to be performed at any time and from almost anywhere. This joint report by the ILO and Eurofound synthesises the findings of national
Demographic ageing poses the challenge of how to keep people in employment for longer without negatively affecting their health and well-being. The solutions are particularly critical for workers engaged in arduous work. This report examines how mid-career reviews can play a key role by clarifying
This issue of Foundation Focus looks at work–life balance and some of the factors that help or hinder workers in combining working with non-working life.
The sixth European Working Conditions Survey (EWCS) builds on the lessons learned from the previous five surveys to paint a wide-ranging picture of Europe at work across countries, occupations, sectors and age groups. EU employment policy priorities aim to boost employment levels, prolong working
Women’s labour market participation in the European Union has increased over recent decades, passing 70% in 2014. In that year, women comprised almost 46% of the active EU labour market population.
A national survey, carried out in 2015, sheds light on how men and women in Portugal use their time. It shows that, especially with regard to paid work and unpaid care work, the working day for women is, on average, longer than it is for men and that women spend longer on unpaid care work.
The new law to extend the scope of parental leave, and establish an allowance for this which is proportional to income, came into force in Luxembourg on 1 December 2016. The government has also presented a draft law to increase certain types of family leave, also with the aim of achieving a better
The new agreement signed by Orange and three trade unions contains measures designed to achieve a level-playing field for employees and to avoid ‘over-consumption’ of digital tools, a key element being respect for work–life balance with a guaranteed ‘right to switch off’.
Government measures to support employment, the representativeness of the social partner organisations, and the social partners’ failure to agree on an increase in minimum insurance thresholds are the main topics of interest in this article. This country update reports on the latest developments in
Issues related to work–life balance, the launch of the public consultation on social rules in road transport and some developments in social dialogue are the main topics of interest in this article. This country update reports on the latest developments in working life in the European Union in the
A year-long project to improve gender equality in Slovenia has shown that although the social partners recognise equality measures as important elements of collective agreements, few have been incorporated. The GEQUAL project was led by the Institute for Labour Law at the Faculty of Law at the
Work-related diseases due to organisational and social factors are increasing in Sweden, according to the Swedish Environment Authority. Since 2011, diseases due to these factors have increased by 77%. This, plus a recent spike in sick leave, has sparked a debate on how best to combat ill-health in
The German Confederation of Trade Unions (DGB) introduced the DGB Good Work Index in 2007 as a measurement tool, based on data from an annual survey, for monitoring quality of work. This article describes the background to the DGB Good Work Index, the most recent findings and the debate around the
Government plans to combat high levels of unemployment, controversial revisions to the Labour Code, negotiations about unemployment insurance schemes and the impact of digitalisation on working life are the main topics of interest in this article. This country update reports on the latest
The strike in the education sector, the approval of the Action Plan for social dialogue and the findings on wages and work-life balance of three surveys are the main topics of interest in this article. This country update reports on the latest developments in working life in Lithuania in the first
The jury is still out on the question whether men and women are from distinct planets. When it comes to the world of work, however, they are worlds apart.
Telework has become a permanent feature of working life in Europe. While we’ve seen the benefits of more flexible ways of working – particularly during the pandemic – the problems that arise from an increasingly connected life are also becoming clearer. Unfortunately, legislation alone may not be
The pandemic has had differential impacts on women. Raised consciousness about them must be applied to advance gender equality in recovery measures. All crises have a strongly gendered impact and none more so than the current pandemic, across a range of indicators. While the virus itself seems to
The decades-long trend of a narrowing gender employment gap in Europe has halted in recent years. Now the COVID-19 pandemic is disproportionately affecting low-paying service sectors with a high share of social contact, including many with a majority of female workers, risking forcing them
Whatever the benefits of telework – and there are many, including more flexible working time, increased productivity and less commuting – there are drawbacks, as many of the one-third of Europeans who were exclusively working from home during the pandemic will attest. Primary among these is the ‘alw
The COVID-19 health crisis prompted governments to take the unprecedented step of shutting down all workplaces, apart from those providing essential goods and services, to control the spread of the virus. Every worker who was able to do so began to work from home, initiating a social experiment of a
While women appear to be more resilient than men to COVID-19 in terms of health outcomes, that is not the case when it comes to the economic and social fallout. Measures taken by governments to control the spread of the virus are exacerbating gender divides in unemployment, domestic labour