Eurofound Talks
Eurofound Talks
Podcast-episode
Episode 16
24 October 2023

How did Europe treat its essential workers?

In this episode of Eurofound Talks Mary McCaughey speaks with Eurofound Research Manager Jorge Cabrita about new research that highlights poor job quality - including high emotional demands, working at high speed and to tight deadlines - among several of the sectors and professions deemed essential, key or critical during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Mary McCaughey

Head of Unit
Information and Communication

Mary McCaughey er informations- og kommunikationschef i Eurofound. Hun er uddannet fra Trinity College i Dublin og College of Europe i Brügge og begyndte at arbejde i Bruxelles med Europolitics og Wall Street Journal Europe. Hun arbejdede for Association of European Parliamentarians with Africa (AWEPA) i Sydafrika under landets overgang til demokrati, og i 1998 tiltrådte hun stillingen som talsmand for Den Europæiske Unions delegation i Pretoria, hvor hun ledede dens presse- og informationsafdeling under forhandlingerne om frihandelsaftalen mellem EU og Sydafrika. Efter afslutningen af Kosovo-krigen arbejdede hun som kommunikationskonsulent for Det Europæiske Genopbygningsagentur i Serbien. Hun tiltrådte stillingen som chefredaktør i Eurofound i 2003.

Jorge Cabrita

Senior research manager
Working life research

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 dissemination of findings in the areas of working conditions and industrial relations. His main research areas of interest include working conditions and job quality, working time and work–life balance, workers’ health and well-being, gender equality and the socioeconomic impacts of the transition to a climate-neutral economy. He is currently leading research on working time developments and on social dialogue and collective bargaining during the COVID-19 pandemic. Previously, he worked as a researcher at the Centre for Studies for Social Intervention and at the Research Centre on the Portuguese Economy of the Lisbon School of Economics, and as a trainer and consultant in the areas of strategic management, organisational communication, leadership and team building. He holds a BSc in Economics and an MSc in Socio-Organisational Systems of Economic Activity from the Lisbon School of Economics.

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Mental sundhed i Europa står ved en kritisk skillevej. Mens nogle indikatorer er blevet bedre siden pandemien, afslører en ny Eurofound-rapport bekymrende tendenser, herunder et alarmerende stop for det årtier lange fald i selvmordsraten. I denne episode af Eurofound Talks taler Mary McCaughey med senior research manager Hans Dubois om dette komplekse problem og fremhæver, at dårlig mental sundhed påvirker sårbare grupper uforholdsmæssigt meget.

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Mary McCaughey
Dragoș Adăscăliței
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European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions
The tripartite EU agency providing knowledge to assist in the development of better social, employment and work-related policies