Unions conduct a survey of working conditions

The Romanian National Trade Union Bloc has published the findings of a survey of both employees and employers on ‘Working conditions, satisfaction and performance at work’. Employees were asked about their working schedule, the factors affecting their mental and physical health in the workplace, and the health and safety measures provided by their companies. The answers to the health and safety questions differed significantly between employees and employers.

About the survey

In November 2010, the National Trade Union Bloc (BNS) published the results of a study on Working conditions, satisfaction and performance at work (in Romanian, 3.1Mb MS PowerPoint) conducted by a team of Romanian and foreign experts coordinated by Professor Liviu Voinea. The study was carried out as part of a project called ‘Office for Monitoring of the Labour Market and Quality of Workplaces’, co-funded by the European Social Fund in Romania (ESF) through its Human Resources Development Operational Programme 2007–2013.

The study, which covered the whole of Romania, was conducted during the last three weeks of July and the first two weeks of August 2010. It was based on face-to-face interviews and involved 3,627 employees aged 15 years and over. The response rate was 97% (3,528 individuals).

The 44 questions were grouped in three sections:

• working conditions;

• satisfaction at the workplace;

• employees’ work performance.

A parallel inquiry was carried out among employers on issues to do with working conditions and employees’ performance at work. It included a sample of 100 companies from the highest ranked in Romania in terms of turnover and number of employees.

A similar inquiry is planned for 2011 as part of the same project.

Main findings

To obtain an accurate picture of working conditions, the questions were mainly related to:

• the structure and flexibility of the working schedule;

• overtime and whether or not it is paid;

• non-standard working hours;

• work-life balance;

• shift work;

• health and safety at work;

• health and safety measures provided by the employer at the workplace.

Working schedule

Employees

The daily working time was a ‘regular’ eight hours in 99% of cases. In 87.5% of the cases, the working schedule was invariable.

Only 1% of the respondents were free to shape their own schedule; 8% of employees had this option within a one hour margin; and 11% said they had total freedom to choose their work style.

The share of employees performing work in a non-standard working time arrangement (evenings, nights, Saturdays, Sundays) was 36.5%. Of these:

• 16% frequently worked in the evening;

• 8% frequently worked at night;

• 21% had worked two or more Saturdays in the past month;

• 10.4% had worked two or more Sundays in the past month.

More than half of those who work unsocial hours (52.2% as a whole; 55.4% of female employees and 49.9% of male employees) find this inconvenient for their personal life.

Of the 28% that work shifts, less than half (46.5%) find this detrimental to their personal life. A significant proportion (18.6%) of the respondents said they worked overtime as a rule and that more often than not it was unpaid.

Employers

Of the interviewed employers, 36.3% stated that their employees had a flexible working schedule and 18% said that they allowed working at home.

Only 46% said their workers were paid for working overtime.

Factors that affect health at the workplace

The survey found that 56.6% of the employees interviewed were exposed to at least one risk factor that may affect their mental or physical health.

Mental health

Almost a fifth (19.8%) of the questioned employees admitted they were exposed to at least one risk factor that could affect their mental health (20.1% of female and 19.5% of male respondents).

The most frequent risk factor identified by the respondents was the pressure put on them for early delivery deadlines and overloading with multiple tasks or simultaneous duties (Table 1).