European Working Conditions Survey 2015

The transition to a green and digital economy demands new forms of work organisation to meet the motivational and skills challenges presented by new technologies and higher levels of innovation. We need a better understanding of the organisational conditions that enhance employees’ motivation and encourage the development of their skills.

Although a small proportion of the EU workforce holds down more than one job, it is worth understanding the phenomenon better, not only because it is growing by degrees, but also because of the impact it can have on workers’ health and well-being and what it can tell us about the labour market. While there can be positive facets to multiple-job holding – it can, for example, be a stepping stone for career development – it can also have undesirable consequences for workers’ physical and mental health if it entails very long working hours and poor work–life balance.

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 working conditions, using data from Eurofound’s European Working Conditions Survey (EWCS) and complementing previous Eurofound research on, among other things, working time patterns, work–life balance and workers’ health.

Employment statistics consistently show that having a foreign background has an influence on people’s employment prospects. Less is known about the types of jobs workers with foreign backgrounds hold and their working conditions. This policy brief contributes to filling this gap.

Die Zahl der Arbeitnehmer, die mit chronischen Krankheiten leben, steigt in der EU. Solche Erkrankungen beeinträchtigen die Arbeitsfähigkeit der Menschen in unterschiedlichem Maße. Während einige Menschen nicht in der Lage sind, ihre Arbeit fortzusetzen, wollen und würden viele dies tun können, wenn an ihrem Arbeitsplatz Anpassungen an ihre Bedürfnisse vorgenommen würden. Die Aufrechterhaltung der Erwerbsbeteiligung ist angesichts der demografischen Alterung und des Rückgangs der Bevölkerung im erwerbsfähigen Alter ein zentrales Thema für die politischen Entscheidungsträger.

This report uses European Working Conditions Survey data to examine working conditions and their implications for worker’s health. Ensuring the sustainability of work in the context of ageing populations implies a greater number of people in employment who can remain in the workforce for longer. The report examines the interplay between work demands – which carry an increased risk of exhaustion – and work resources – which support workers in greater engagement and well-being.

Job quality is a major focus of policymakers around the world. For workers, the enterprises that employ them and for societies, there are benefits associated with high-quality jobs, and costs associated with poor-quality jobs. This report – the result of a pioneering project by the International Labour Organization and Eurofound – provides a comparative analysis of job quality covering approximately 1.2 billion workers in Europe, Asia and the Americas.

After more than 60 years of European policy on the equal treatment of women and men, men still outnumber women in management positions by almost two to one. The women who do make it into management are more likely to be in non-supervising management roles where they manage operational responsibilities but not staff, and the minority that do manage staff are more likely to be managing other women.

How to combine work with life is a fundamental issue for many people, an issue that policymakers, social partners, businesses and individuals are seeking to resolve. Simultaneously, new challenges and solutions are transforming the interface between work and life: an ageing population, technological change, higher employment rates and fewer weekly working hours.

Two-thirds of the EU labour force are in permanent, full-time employment; the remaining one-third has a non-standard employment status, meaning temporary or part-time employment or self-employment. Given the variety of employment statuses, it is worth asking whether working conditions differ across them.