European Foundation survey reveals that working conditions in Europe are deteriorating

The preliminary results of a recent survey carried out by the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions, published in December 2000, point to an increase in work-related health problems in Europe. These include issues such as physical health, intensification of work and flexibility practices which do not always benefit employees.

The European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions has carried out its third survey of working conditions in the European Union, publishing its preliminary results on 15 December 2000. The survey relates to 2000 and is based on data collected from 21,500 individual face-to-face interviews (1,500 in each Member State, with the exception of Luxembourg, where 500 workers were interviewed). The two previous surveys of working conditions in this series were carried out in 1990 (12 EU Member States) and 1995 (15 EU Member States). The survey includes dependent employees and self-employed people.

The study indicates an increase in work-related health problems in Europe. The Foundation's director, Raymond-Pierre Bodin, commented that: "The first results from the third European survey on working conditions should ring alarm bells in the European workplace. The findings show very clearly the need for a full debate on the quality of work in Europe, in the current climate of increased competition and changing employment patterns. "

Physical health

The survey found that, in general, workers believed that their health and safety was less at risk at work than in previous years – 27% said that they thought that there was a risk, compared with 30% in 1990 and 28% in 1995. However, the survey found that the actual incidence of a variety of physical complaints has risen or remained constant: 33% of respondents suffered from backache (30% in 1995); 23% suffered from overall fatigue (20% in 1995); 28% suffered from stress, the same proportion as in 1995; and 15% suffered from headaches (13% in 1995). Further, 12% reported lower limb disorders, 13% upper limb disorders and 23% neck and shoulder disorders.

In terms of exposure to physical hazards, the proportion of workers exposed to a range of hazards appears to be slowly increasing – 29% said that they were exposed to intense noise (27% in 1990 and 28% in 1995); 47% to painful and/or tiring positions at work (43% in 1990 and 45% in 1995); and 37% were required to handle heavy loads (31% in 1990 and 33% in 1995).

The survey also found that the incidence of repetitive work remains widespread – 57% of workers in 2000 reported that they made repetitive movements at work, the same proportion as in 1995, although the proportion of these reporting permanent repetitive movements decreased slightly, from 33% in 1995 to 31% in 2000.

Work intensity

The report found that the intensity of work has increased over the past 10 years, although the larger increase was reported in 1990-5 rather than 1995-2000. Thus, 56% of workers in 2000 stated that they worked at high speed, compared with 48% in 1990 and 54% in 1995. Similarly, 60% reported working to tight deadlines in 2000, up from 50% in 1990 and 56% in 1995.

The actual pace of work has, according to the survey, become increasingly set by market constraints such as external demands from clients, passengers or users – 67% of workers reported in 2000 that this dictated their pace of work, compared with 65% in 1995. Further, 48% stated in 2000 that their pace of work was dictated by their colleagues (compared with 41% in 1995). A decreasing influence on the pace of work was exerted in 2000 by: the direct control of a worker's boss (38% compared with 40% in 1995); production norms (31% compared with 36% in 1995); and the automatic speed of a machine or the moving of a product (21% compared with 23% in 1995).

Autonomy

The proportion of all workers stating that they had control over their own pace of work decreased slightly between 1995 and 2000, after increasing over the previous five years – from 64% in 1990 to 72% in 1995 and 71% in 2000. The proportion of workers able to exert control over their methods of work increased from 60% in 1990 to 70% in 1995, remaining at this level in 2000. In terms of autonomy concerning the order of tasks, this figure has remained constant over the past five years, at 64% of workers.

In terms of general working conditions, the survey found that 44% of workers can influence their working hours – this rises significantly to 84% in the case of the self-employed. The survey also found that male employees have greater control over their working time than female employees (47% compared with 41%).

However, workers appear to have declining levels of influence over when to take a break (61% in 2000 compared with 63% in 1995) and when to take holidays (56% compared with 57% in 1995).

Nature of the work and training

As is to be expected, the proportion of people working at least occasionally with computers has increased, from 39% in 1995 to 415 in 2000. Teleworking arrangements on a full-time or almost full-time basis are carried out by around 1% of the working population in the EU, although this is concentrated in highly-qualified professional categories.

The incidence of training appears to be increasingly slightly – a total of 33% of respondents reported that they had received training from their employer during the course of the last year, compared with 32% in 1995. In general, 8% of workers reported that the demands of their job exceeded their skills, while a further 8% reported that their skills levels exceeded the demands of their job.

Working time

The survey found that, in terms of employees, 17% worked fewer than 30 hours a week, while 15% worked at least 45 hours a week (this compares with 15% and 16% respectively in 1995). It also found that a total of 18% of respondent employees worked part-time, and out of those, 23% would like to work more hours, while 9% would like to work fewer hours.

The incidence of "round-the-clock" working appears to have fallen slightly, although the survey attributes this, at least in part, to changes in self-employment. Thus, 18% of employees performed night work in 2000 (17% and 1990 and 19% in 1995); 22% performed shift work; 47% performed Saturday work (48% in 1995); and 24% performed Sunday work (25% in 1995).

The survey also found that flexible working time schedules are prevalent: fluctuating weekly working time was reported by 24% of workers and fluctuating daily working time by 41% of workers. It also found that in 19% of cases, flexibility conflicts with family and social commitments.

Gender

Gender segregation in terms of pay appears to remain as strong as ever, with 26% of women on a low income (compared with 9% of men). Conversely, 10% of women were on a high income, compared with 22% of men. The survey also found that the "double burden" of work and domestic responsibilities is still shouldered largely by women – 41% of female respondents said that they took care of the children (24% of men), 64% of women did the cooking (13% of men) and 63% did the housework (12% of men).

Temporary working

The emerging trend in 1995 of a link between temporary work and fixed-term contracts and poor working conditions continued in 2000. In total, 51% of temporary workers reported working in painful conditions (compared with 47% for all workers) and 35% said that they were subject to noise (compared with 29% for all workers).

Harassment and violence

Finally, the survey looked at violence and harassment at the workplace, noting that these remain major issues. It also found that there are major differences regarding the incidence of these issues between Member States, reflecting the different national sensitivities and the fact that these matters might not be publicly debated in some countries. The incidence of sexual harassment remained constant between 1995 and 2000, at 2% of those surveyed, while the incidence of intimidation rose from 8% of respondents in 1995 to 9% in 2000.

Commentary

This comprehensive survey of working conditions across the European Union offers a valuable insight into the physical working environment, psychological stresses at work and work organisation such as working time and flexibility. The fact that it has, for the past 10 years, been carried out at regular intervals, means that it has great value in terms of identifying trends. This latest survey clearly shows that, despite a range of legislative provisions in place across Europe which provide for minimum standards in a variety of areas relating to physical health and safety at work, working time and rest, working conditions appear to be deteriorating as companies strive to meet the challenges of increasing competition and the global market. Further, although working time has, on average, decreased over the past 10 years, work intensification has increased, meaning that although people spend less time on average at work, the time they do spend there is more stressful and work is performed at a faster pace and under tighter deadlines.

In terms of pay, the survey clearly shows that, 25 years after the adoption of the EU equal pay Directive (75/117/EEC), large gaps between male and female pay remain. In addition, women appear largely to continue to be responsible for domestic tasks in addition to their responsibilities at work.

Finally, this survey adds to the general debate on flexibility at work, showing that although flexibility of a variety of types, and especially working time flexibility, can be a valuable tool in helping to reconcile work with other commitments, such as family life, this is not always the case: 19% of the survey's respondents stated that the flexibility they are subject to actually conflicts with family and social commitments. (Andrea Broughton, IRS)