Weiler, Anni

This second annual review examines four key dimensions in working conditions and quality of work and employment: career and employment, health and well-being, skills development, and work-life balance. The report outlines relevant legislative and policy developments, and examines trends in the workplace.

A December 2004 study (255Kb pdf; in German) [1] by the Institute for Employment Research (IAB) [2] analyses companies’ experiences with the Law on part-time and temporary work (23Kb pdf) [3] (Teilzeit- und Befristungsgesetz - TzBfG), which came into effect on 1 January 2001. [1] http://doku.iab.de/kurzber/2004/kb1804.pdf [2] http://iab.de/iab/engiab.htm [3] http://bundesrecht.juris.de/bundesrecht/tzbfg/gesamt.pdf

The study High performance workplace practices and job satisfaction (313Kb pdf) [1] examines the effects of innovative workplace practices on the quality of work, and investigates how being involved in high performance workplace organisations (HPWOs) affects job satisfaction. [1] ftp://ftp.iza.org/dps/dp1265.pdf

The German Socio-economic Panel Study provides datasets on the development of employment structures between 1984 and 2003. The special module on working conditions in 2001 includes detailed questions on certain aspects of quality of work.

/This second annual review examines four key dimensions in working conditions and quality of work and employment: career and employment, health and well-being, skills development, and work-life balance. The report outlines relevant legislative and policy developments, and examines trends in the workplace. In terms of career and employment, employment rates are consistently rising for women and older workers, at least in the EU15, but progress is currently too slow to achieve the Lisbon targets. In the area of health and well-being, improvements regarding safety at work are reflected in the significant decline of serious and fatal accidents at work. The European social partner agreement on work-related stress is a further step towards achieving quality of work and employment. Looking at skills development, participation rates in lifelong learning have increased, particularly for women, although there was a drop in IT-related training. Under work-life balance, progress has been slow, due to a complexity of factors involved in improving reconciliation of working and non-working life, such as work organisation, working time arrangements, or provision of care facilities./

This report gives an overview of EU-level data in the four key dimensions of quality in work and employment: career and employment security, health and well-being, skills development, and work-life balance. The data stem from a number of relevant surveys at European level.

The report on Working time in 2003 (2.1MB pdf file; in German) [1] by the Institut zur Erforschung sozialer Chancen (ISO) [2] updates previous survey findings. The new survey, conducted between July and October 2003, includes in its analysis characteristics of work, work organisation and strain. [1] http://www.arbeitszeiten.nrw.de/pdf/AZ2003.PDF [2] http://www.iso-koeln.de/index.html

The growth of information and communication technologies (ICT) has had a dramatic impact on almost all sectors and occupations, fundamentally changing the face of the workplace. This report looks at computer use and training provisions in Europe. Information technology use and skills are seen as vital elements in achieving the European objective of becoming the most competitive knowledge-based economy in the world.

This report focuses on the internal workings of EWCs in five EU Member States: France, Germany, Italy, Sweden and the UK. It compares and contrasts the widely divergent practices resulting from different company practices, cultural backgrounds and industrial relations policies. It looks at the relationships between management and employee representatives, and also between players both inside and outside the company.

Education and training are increasingly important for better labour market performance. Along with the growing demand for skilled labour comes a constant need for updating of skills. One chapter [1] of the OECD Employment Outlook 2004 [2] is devoted to the issue of adult training, and explores its impact on the labour market in OECD countries. The analysis attempts to evaluate the general and individual effects of adult education and training on labour market performance. [1] http://www.oecd.org/document/58/0,2340,en_2649_201185_31824570_1_1_1_1,00.html [2] http://www.oecd.org/document/62/0,2340,en_2649_201185_31935102_1_1_1_1,00.html