Ευρωπαϊκό Ίδρυμα για τη Βελτίωση των Συνθηκών Διαβίωσης και Εργασίας
Ο τριμερής οργανισμός της ΕΕ παρέχει γνώση για τη στήριξη της χάραξης βελτιωμένων πολιτικών όσον αφορά τα κοινωνικά θέματα, την απασχόληση και το εργασιακό περιβάλλον
Ο τριμερής οργανισμός της ΕΕ παρέχει γνώση για τη στήριξη της χάραξης βελτιωμένων πολιτικών όσον αφορά τα κοινωνικά θέματα, την απασχόληση και το εργασιακό περιβάλλον
The impact of COVID-19 has moved public health up the EU social policy agenda. As the EU directs its efforts towards establishing a European Health Union to guard against future health crises, this policy brief examines the extent to which the EU achieved upward convergence in terms of health and healthcare outcomes, as well as health expenditures and delivery, prior to the pandemic. It also examines convergence patterns in infections and deaths from COVID-19 and in the mitigating measures adopted by the EU and national governments.
Για πάνω από μια δεκαετία, η αβεβαιότητα σχετικά με το μέλλον αυξάνεται συνεχώς σε πολλές περιοχές της ΕΕ. Πολλοί πιστεύουν ότι η κοινωνία βρίσκεται σε παρακμή και η διαπίστωση αυτή έχει συμβάλει στην ενίσχυση μιας εντύπωσης γενικευμένης απαισιοδοξίας. Υπάρχει κάποιος σύνδεσμος μεταξύ της ενίσχυσης των αντισυστημικών κομμάτων και της αυξανόμενης απαισιοδοξίας; Τα αρνητικά αυτά αισθήματα θα μπορούσαν να επιδεινώσουν το πολιτικό κλίμα σε μεμονωμένα κράτη μέλη και να υπονομεύσουν τη νομιμοποίηση του ευρωπαϊκού σχεδίου.
Οι ψηφιακές τεχνολογίες παρέχουν σε πολλούς εργαζόμενους τη δυνατότητα να εργάζονται οποτεδήποτε και οπουδήποτε, η οποία συνεπάγεται διάφορα πλεονεκτήματα και μειονεκτήματα. Από τα στοιχεία του Eurofound προκύπτει ότι οι τηλεργαζόμενοι είναι δύο φορές πιθανότερο να υπερβούν το όριο του χρόνου εργασίας των 48 ωρών, να έχουν ανεπαρκή ανάπαυση και να εργάζονται στον ελεύθερο χρόνο τους, με αρνητικές συνέπειες στη σωματική και την ψυχική τους υγεία. Με στόχο την αντιμετώπιση του προβλήματος αυτού, έχουν διατυπωθεί εκκλήσεις υπέρ της κατοχύρωσης του «δικαιώματος στην αποσύνδεση».
The COVID-19 pandemic prompted a surge in telework, with dramatic increases in the number of employees working from home (teleworking) in many European countries. What for many employees started out as a mandatory move seems to have transformed into a preference among the majority for part-time or full-time telework.
Following the declines in employment rates and working hours across Europe in 2020, economies began to show signs of recovery during the first quarter of 2021. The gradual rekindling of economic activity has led to a surge in demand for workers and reawakened concerns over labour shortages. Difficulty filling vacancies was thought to be among the key factors holding back growth, competitiveness and service delivery in a number of sectors prior to the COVID-19 outbreak. Despite a temporary weakening in demand for labour during the pandemic, this was not the case in all sectors, with some seeing pre-existing shortages worsen.
While unemployment is still a huge challenge in Europe, some countries, sectors and occupations are experiencing labour shortages. This report explores various approaches to identifying labour shortages and maps national policy debates around the issue. It documents public and social partner interventions to tackle labour shortages, such as measures fostering geographical or occupational mobility, addressing skills shortages and underinvestment in skills, improving working and employment conditions, and providing better matching procedures.
Over the last decade, the EU has made slow progress towards gender equality. As achievements in gender equality vary considerably by Member State, it is important to understand the evolution of disparities between the Member States and the implications this has for upward economic and social convergence in the EU. Crucially, the impact of the COVID-19 crisis not only threatens to undo past achievements but may well result in increasing disparities between Member States.
Eurofound welcomed Ivailo Kalfin to his new role as Executive Director on 1 June. After one month in the job, he reflects on the challenges facing the EU, how they will impact on the work of Eurofound and his priorities for shaping the Agency over the next five years.
Με την Ευρωπαϊκή Πράσινη Συμφωνία, η ΕΕ θέτει σε εφαρμογή ένα σύνολο πολιτικών και μέτρων που αποσκοπούν στην πρόληψη και την άμβλυνση των επιπτώσεων της κλιματικής αλλαγής. Ο κύριος στόχος είναι να ξεκινήσει η μετάβαση σε μια κλιματικά ουδέτερη οικονομία. Ωστόσο, αυτές οι τόσο αναγκαίες πολιτικές για το κλίμα μπορεί να έχουν ανεπιθύμητες διανεμητικές επιπτώσεις σε άτομα και επιχειρήσεις.
This report describes Eurofound's activities, particularly its research, information and communication programmes and policy achievements, in relation to the objectives set in the Work Programme 2020. It also covers the management and external evaluation control systems, key performance indicators, and financial and HR information.
Eurofound’s work on COVID-19 examines the far-reaching socioeconomic implications of the pandemic across Europe as they continue to impact living and working conditions. A key element of the research is the e-survey, launched in April 2020, with five rounds completed at different stages during 2020, 2021 and 2022. This is complemented by the inclusion of research into the ongoing effects of the pandemic in much of Eurofound’s other areas of work.
Eurofound's representativeness studies are designed to allow the European Commission to identify the ‘management and labour’ whom it must consult under article 154 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU). This series consists of studies of the representativeness of employer and worker organisations in various sectors.
This series reports on developments in minimum wage rates across the EU, including how they are set and how they have developed over time in nominal and real terms. The series explores where there are statutory minimum wages or collectively agreed minimum wages in the Member States, as well as minimum wage coverage rates by gender.
The European Working Conditions Survey (EWCS) launched in 1990 and is carried out every five years, with the latest edition in 2015. It provides an overview of trends in working conditions and quality of employment for the last 30 years. It covers issues such as employment status, working time duration and organisation, work organisation, learning and training, physical and psychosocial risk factors, health and safety, work–life balance, worker participation, earnings and financial security, work and health, and most recently also the future of work.
The European Restructuring Monitor has reported on the employment impact of large-scale business restructuring since 2002. This series includes its restructuring-related databases (events, support instruments and legislation) as well as case studies and publications.
Eurofound’s Flagship report series 'Challenges and prospects in the EU' comprise research reports that contain the key results of multiannual research activities and incorporate findings from different related research projects. Flagship reports are the major output of each of Eurofound’s strategic areas of intervention and have as their objective to contribute to current policy debates.
Eurofound’s European Company Survey (ECS) maps and analyses company policies and practices which can have an impact on smart, sustainable and inclusive growth, as well as the development of social dialogue in companies. This series consists of outputs from the ECS 2019, the fourth edition of the survey. The survey was first carried out in 2004–2005 as the European Survey on Working Time and Work-Life Balance.
This series reports on and updates latest information on the involvement of national social partners in policymaking. The series analyses the involvement of national social partners in the implementation of policy reforms within the framework of social dialogue practices, including their involvement in elaborating the National Reform Programmes (NRPs).
This series reports on the new forms of employment emerging across Europe that are driven by societal, economic and technological developments and are different from traditional standard or non-standard employment in a number of ways. This series explores what characterises these new employment forms and what implications they have for working conditions and the labour market.
The European Company Survey (ECS) is carried out every four to five years since its inception in 2004–2005, with the latest edition in 2019. The survey is designed to provide information on workplace practices to develop and evaluate socioeconomic policy in the EU. It covers issues around work organisation, working time arrangements and work–life balance, flexibility, workplace innovation, employee involvement, human resource management, social dialogue, and most recently also skills use, skills strategies and digitalisation.
Automation and digitisation technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI), are undergoing a rapid evolution. This impacts working conditions in a variety of ways and raises a host of new ethical concerns. In recent times, the policy debate surrounding these concerns has become more prominent and has increasingly focused on AI. Key EU policy developments, especially in relation to AI, have shaped the policy debate in many EU Member States, and in some instances they have led to the adoption of new policy initiatives that address these concerns in the context of work and employment.
Every year, Eurofound compiles a report summarising the key developments in minimum wages across EU countries. The report explains how minimum wages are set and describes the role of social partners, covering the evolution of statutory rates, collectively agreed wages and the national debates on these issues.
As part of a process to collect information on essential services, the European Commission (DG EMPL) requested Eurofound to provide input on certain aspects of existing and planned measures in the Member States to improve access to essential services, in reference to Principle 20 of the European Pillar of Social Rights. The scope of the exercise included energy services, public transport and digital communications, and the focus was on people at risk of poverty or social exclusion (in practice, people on low incomes in most cases).
The civil aviation sector has been deeply impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. It is one of the most severe crises the sector has ever experienced, giving rise to a number of significant challenges for companies and workers alike. This study will explore the role of social dialogue and collective bargaining in how the sector is adapting to the pandemic. What kinds of changes have been introduced, either through social dialogue or collective bargaining? Are the changes temporary or permanent?
This report investigates the practical implementation of the European Works Council (EWC) Directive at company level. It explores the challenges faced by existing EWCs and provides examples of identified solutions and remaining issues from the point of view of both workers and management. The report looks at the way that EWCs meet the requirements of the EWC Directive in terms of establishing processes of information and consultation.
This report will map the existing regulations on telework in European Union Member States, including in legislation and collective agreements. It will present the most recent changes to these regulations and shed light on how the future of (tele)work could be regulated at both national and EU level, in order to improve working conditions in telework arrangements and reduce the risks associated with telework and with specific ways of working remotely.
This report explores the association between skills use and skills strategies and establishment performance, and how other workplace practices, in terms of work organisation, human resources management and employee involvement, can impact on this. It looks at how skills shortages can be addressed, at least in part, by creating an environment in which employees are facilitated and motivated to make better use of the skills they already have. This further supports the business case for a more holistic approach to management.
The impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic have varied across sectors, occupations and categories of worker (for instance, according to gender, age or employment status). Hours worked have declined the most in sectors such as accommodation services and food and beverage services, and in occupations heavily reliant on in-person interaction, such as sales work. At the same time, it’s in these sectors that labour shortages have become increasingly evident as labour markets have begun to normalise.
This report focuses on trends and developments in collective bargaining that were evident from the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. It examines potential new strategic approaches and priorities incorporated in negotiation agendas, as well as collective bargaining practices and coordination at sector and company levels in the private sector.
This policy brief will provide an update on upward convergence in the economic, social and institutional dimensions of the European Union, as outlined in the European Pillar of Social Rights and its accompanying Social Scoreboard.
MEMBER OF THE NETWORK OF EU AGENCIES
Το Eurofound είναι οργανισμός της Ευρωπαϊκής Ένωσης