Innovation
Innovation is an important driver of improved competitiveness, productivity and the growth potential of companies, strengthening their position to compete internationally. Alongside technical innovation in products and processes, non-technological innovative practices can also have a positive effect on the innovation capacity of companies. Examples include designing jobs that give employees autonomy, invite problem-solving and encourage teams to organise themselves and their work. These practices include promoting employee participation in decision-making and inviting suggestions for new products and improvements in production and service delivery. It is important for innovation that companies new methods and practices of organising work and decision-making, collecting employees’ views on production or service quality, developing the talent of the workforce but also motivateing and rewarding their employees. Such practices and approaches can also be associated with mutual gains for workers and businesses but also more broadly for the European society.
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SME digitalisation in the EU: Trends, policies and impacts
This report discusses the digital transformation of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the European Union, highlighting its importance for their competitiveness and the EU’s economy. The report explores the degree of digitalisation in SMEs in the EU, including the adoption of digital technologies, e-commerce and e-business practices.The transition to a climate-neutral economy: Exploring the socioeconomic impacts
The EU’s transition to a climate-neutral economy requires nothing short of a clean industrial revolution. This report explores the potential socioeconomic implications of such fundamental change for different European regions and population groups, following a foresight approach. Scenario-focused engagement with stakeholders and experts was conducted to gain a better understanding of emerging economic and social inequalities at EU and regional levels. The research findings are presented together with policy pointers on developing measures to achieve a just transition that leaves no one behind.
The future of telework and hybrid work
The report explores plausible and imaginable scenarios examining how telework and hybrid work in the EU might have developed by 2035, and their implications for the world of work. How prepared are managers and employees, employer organisations and trade unions, and policymakers for the greater prevalence of these ways of organising work? How can they ensure that future telework and hybrid work arrangements benefit both employees and organisations? Using a foresight methodology, the report identifies blind spots, outlines emerging issues and assists policymakers in addressing key issues related to this form of work.
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30 June 2021
Innovation in EU companies: Do workplace practices matter?
The EU has long supported innovation in business and in workplaces. The challenges facing Europe as it emerges from the COVID-19 crisis make the need for innovation more urgent. The NextGenerationEU recovery package requires a reorientation of business activities towards innovation for resilience. Looking to the longer term, policies such as the European Industrial Strategy aim to support the transition to a green and digital economy.
Against this background, this policy brief investigates the workplace practices of innovative companies and examines the evidence linking them with innovation. These practices aim to encourage employees to work and problem-solve independently, to develop their skills, to include them in organisational decision-making, to motivate them to surpass their job description and to reward them for doing so. Analysis of these workplace practices can improve understanding of how they contribute to increasing the innovation potential of companies. It also provides an evidence base to support the work of policymakers and practitioners.
12 October 2020
European Company Survey 2019 - Workplace practices unlocking employee potential
This report is based on the fourth edition of the European Company Survey (ECS), which was carried out jointly by Eurofound and Cedefop in 2019. It describes a wide range of practices and strategies implemented by European companies in terms of work organisation, human resource management, skills use and skills development, and employee voice. The report shows how these practices are combined and how the resulting ‘bundles of practices’ are associated with two outcomes beneficial to employees and employers: workplace well-being and establishment performance.
The analysis finds that the establishments that are most likely to generate this win–win outcome are those that combine a high degree of worker autonomy, a balanced motivational strategy, a comprehensive training and learning strategy, and high levels of direct employee involvement in decision-making, as well as offering managerial support for these practices. To boost the adoption of employee-oriented practices – particularly in relation to autonomy, skills and employee involvement – managers should be offered appropriate support, as they play a key role in the decision to initiate workplace change. They are also crucial to its success, as they must continuously support the workplace practices implemented.
17 October 2018
Employment effects of innovation support
Government-backed initiatives to support innovation in business are widespread across the EU. These support measures, if designed and implemented correctly, have the potential to also create jobs – better-quality jobs – to upskill the labour force, to improve job quality and to boost the employment of disadvantaged groups. However, this potential is often not recognised by policymakers and tends to be overlooked in policy development. This brief highlights the employment-related impacts of 15 initiatives in 10 EU Member States implemented by governments to stimulate innovation. The findings offer lessons for effective public interventions aimed at supporting innovation and employment simultaneously.
6 July 2020
How does employee involvement in decision-making benefit organisations?
How do organisations get the best out of their employees? Research on human resource management has found that a key practice is employee involvement: enabling employees to make decisions on their own work and to contribute to organisational decision-making. A high degree of employee involvement creates work environments that are highly motivational and that emphasise skill development. And this is the type of work environment that organisations need to meet the demands for innovation and adaptability to technological change in a knowledge-driven economy. This policy brief examines the empirical evidence that workplaces where employee involvement is high are more successful in developing the capacity for high performance in workers than workplaces with lower levels of involvement. It examines the influence of work organisation on two factors contributing to performance: work engagement and skill development.
18 June 2018
The human factor in innovation
22 June 2017
Innovative changes in European companies
Innovation is an important driver of improved competitiveness, productivity and growth potential. This report explores which workplace practices have the strongest links to innovative company behaviour, looking at innovation in the form of new or significantly changed products or processes, new or improved marketing methods, and organisational change. It also explores links between innovation and company performance and workplace well-being, and examines the role of social dialogue in enhancing performance, well-being and innovation. The use of monitoring instruments for internal quality and external developments turned out to be among the strongest determinants of overall innovation; the degree of workers’ autonomy was another important factor. The probability of innovation is boosted when strong work organisation structures are combined with direct employee participation – for instance, involvement in solving problems or improving the quality of production.
Οι ερευνητές του Eurofound παρέχουν εξειδικευμένες γνώσεις και μπορείτε να επικοινωνήσετε μαζί τους για ερωτήσεις ή αιτήματα των μέσων ενημέρωσης.
Stavroula Demetriades
Senior research managerΗ Σταυρούλα Δημητριάδη είναι ανώτερη διευθύντρια έρευνας στη μονάδα απασχόλησης του Eurofound. Είναι υπεύθυνη για την έρευνα στους τομείς της πράσινης και δίκαιης μετάβασης, του κοινωνικού διαλόγου, των πρακτικών διαχείρισης, της καινοτομίας και της υβριδικής εργασίας. Είναι κάτοχος διδακτορικού διπλώματος στην Κοινωνιολογία από το Πανεπιστήμιο του Aalborg της Δανίας. Έχει επίσης MSc στις Οικονομικές Πολιτικές από το Trinity College Dublin και MSc στην Περιφερειακή Ανάπτυξη από το Πανεπιστήμιο Αθηνών. Πριν από την ένταξή της στο Eurofound το 1999, εργάστηκε σε ερευνητικά ινστιτούτα, σε διάφορες θέσεις στον δημόσιο και τον ιδιωτικό τομέα, και διεξήγαγε οργανωτικές και κοινωνικοοικονομικές μελέτες. Τα κύρια ερευνητικά της ενδιαφέροντα περιλαμβάνουν την πράσινη και δίκαιη μετάβαση, τη διαχείριση ανθρώπινου δυναμικού, τα συστήματα εργασίας, την καινοτομία, την απασχόληση και τον κοινωνικό διάλογο. Είναι επίσης επίκουρη καθηγήτρια στο Business School του University College Dublin.
Sara Riso
Senior research managerΗ Sara Riso εντάχθηκε στο Eurofound το 2006 και σήμερα είναι ανώτερη διευθύντρια έρευνας στη μονάδα Working Life. Ασχολείται με ερευνητικά προγράμματα που εστιάζουν στην ψηφιοποίηση και τις συνθήκες εργασίας. Πριν από την ένταξή της στο Eurofound, η Sara διαχειριζόταν ερευνητικά έργα για μεγάλες ευρωπαϊκές ενώσεις και δίκτυα με έδρα τις Βρυξέλλες. Το ακαδημαϊκό της υπόβαθρο είναι στην ψυχολογία, την επικοινωνία και τις γλώσσες. Το κύριο ερευνητικό της ενδιαφέρον έγκειται στη διερεύνηση νέων στρεσογόνων παραγόντων στο χώρο εργασίας που προκύπτουν από την αυξημένη ψηφιοποίηση της εργασίας, τις εξελισσόμενες οργανωτικές πρακτικές και τις στρατηγικές διαχείρισης αλλαγών για την αντιμετώπιση των προκλήσεων που θέτει η ψηφιοποίηση στα σύγχρονα εργασιακά περιβάλλοντα.
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