• Surveys:
  • European Working Conditions Surveys
    • EWCS Homepage
    • EWCS 2010
    • EWCS 2005
    • Previous surveys
  • European Company Surveys (ECS)
    • ECS Homepage
    • ECS 2009
    • ECS 2004
  • European Quality of Life Surveys (EQLS)
    • EQLS Homepage
    • EQLS 2011
    • EQLS 2007
    • EQLS 2003
  • Survey Mapping Tool
    • SMT Homepage
    • SMT EWCS 2010
    • SMT ECS 2009
    • SMT EQLS 2007
  • International collaboration
  • Methodology
  • Quality assurance
  • Data availability
  • Schedule

First and second European Working Conditions Surveys (1991 and 1996)

In 1991 the Foundation carried out the first European Working Conditions Survey, covering all EU countries (12 at that time). This survey was a reaction to the increasing awareness of the need for comparable and reliable information on working conditions across Europe. The first survey was a prototype and was based on a core questionnaire of only twenty questions. In total, a sample of 12,500 workers were interviewed (1,000 in each country) face-to-face in their homes.

In January 1996 the survey was expanded to include a much wider range of issues including physical environment, workplace design, working hours, work organisation and social relationships at the workplace. The survey collated data from interviews from 15,800 workers (either employed or self-employed) throughout the EU. The basic sample design was a multi-stage random sampling, called ‘random walk’. This method has been used in each of the subsequent European Working Conditions Surveys.