Annual review of working conditions in the EU: 2003-2004

This first EU-level annual review for the European Working Conditions Observatory (EWCO) 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 first outlines relevant legislative and policy developments, before examining 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. Looking at skills development, participation rates in lifelong learning have increased, particularly for women. 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.