Skip to main content
job_quality.jpg

Job quality

Job quality complements measures of job quantity to provide an assessment of employment strategy. Job quality is a multidimensional concept where different policy agenda and disciplines emphasise different dimensions. In most of Eurofound's research, job quality is measured at the level of the job. It includes job features captured from an objective perspective, which can be observed and are related to meeting people’s needs from work. It is made up of all the characteristics of work and employment that have been proven to have a causal relationship with health and well-being. Positive and negative features of the jobs are included. These indicators reflect the job resources (physical, psychological, social or organisational aspects) and job demands, or the processes that influence them.

Topic

Recent updates

ef23032-card-cover.png

This report outlines the complex relationship between job quality and climate change, including the implication of green tasks in selected sectors.

1 July 2024
Publication
Research report
ef24039-card-cover.png

There is no one future of work for all jobs – policymakers will have their work cut out to ensure that remote and platform working, artificial intelligence and climate change...

Blog

Key messages

  • Job quality can be supported by a wide-ranging set of policies and actions at EU level, by national authorities and social partners, and within companies aimed at addressing the issues raised in the EWCS analysis of job quality indices and profiles and that support workers throughout their working lives.
  • By bundling practices that increase employee autonomy, facilitate employee voice and promote training and learning, businesses can boost performance while improving job quality.
  • Job quality can be improved by reducing excessive demands on workers and limiting their exposure to risks – and also by increasing their access to work resources that help in achieving work goals or mitigate the effects of these demands. Each dimension of job quality can also be improved through workplace practices and policies.
  • Workers and employers and their organisations each have a role to play in improving job quality; social dialogue is critical for devising policies in the workplace and beyond. Public authorities should regulate with the common goal of improving job quality in mind.
  • Being a manager is challenging for both women and men. To increase the attractiveness of managerial positions, job quality for all managers needs to be improved. Linked to this are difficulties in achieving a satisfactory work–life balance. Addressing the working time and work–life balance needs of managers increases the attractiveness of this function and also makes working as a manager more sustainable.
  • As some employment statuses are linked to poorer quality jobs, labour market policies aimed at addressing global economic competitiveness and combating high unemployment rates hence need to consider the potential effects for job quality.
  • Employee involvement is a key practice in optimising employee and company performance: 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, representing an important step towards better job quality.

Eurofound research

Eurofound aims to consolidate the position of its European Working Conditions Survey (EWCS) as an important tool for benchmarking job quality in the European Union and beyond, feeding into policy development in the area of quality of work. The data have been used to carry out further research on various topics linked to job quality, including job quality in different work situations, job quality of different groups in the labour market, the impact of job quality on quality of working lives and in-depth analysis of individual dimensions of job quality. The European Company Survey 2019 (ECS 2019) also looks at different dimensions of job quality for workers and employers. Recent research has also looked into job quality in a global perspective.

Working conditions survey: Job quality indices

Eurofound’s EWCS 2015, the sixth edition of the survey, provides an in-depth account of people’s current experience of work in Europe and an overview of working lives through the lens of job quality. The survey gathered detailed data on almost every aspect of working life, from working time to relationships with colleagues to opportunities for training. 

To explore what the data say about job quality, Eurofound developed seven indices representing different dimensions of job quality, based on aspects of work that have an independent influence on health and well-being. These are:

  • Physical environment
  • Work intensity
  • Working time quality
  • Social environment
  • Skills and discretion
  • Prospects
  • Earnings

Those jobs that scored similarly on the seven job quality indices were grouped together in five job quality profiles: High flying, Smooth running, Active manual, Under pressure, Poor quality.

The data show a diverse and heterogeneous labour market, where one in five workers has a 'poor quality' job.

Eurofound's 2021 flagship report on working conditions and sustainable work sums up research on job quality in the past five years. It highlights the relevance of job quality to address challenges in the future: pyschosocial risks at work, ICT-based mobile work, fragmentation of work and the specific challenges in the era of COVID-19. 

Company survey: Workplace practices and job quality

The European Company Survey (ECS) looks at workplace practices with regard to work organisation, human resource management and direct and indirect employee participation. These workplace practices are key determinants of the job quality of employees. The ECS 2019 examines job autonomy and complexity, the prevalence of part-time work and permanent contracts, the expectations management has of employees, the motivational drivers that are in place, the training and learning opportunities that are offered to employees, as well as the channels for, and impact of, direct and indirect employee participation. Both the ECS 2013 and the ECS 2019 show that establishments that have workplace practices that ensure good job quality also do better in terms of performance and workplace well-being.

Working conditions in a global perspective

Using EWCS data, Eurofound has collaborated with the ILO on a pioneering project to provide a comparative analysis of job quality covering approximately 1.2 billion workers in Europe, Asia and the Americas. It analyses the seven dimensions of job quality, finding both important differences and similarities between countries.

How different groups fare on job quality

Eurofound’s policy brief on women in management uses EWCS data to look at the diversity of job quality in management positions, analysing whether the working conditions of managers are better than those of non-managers and whether they are similar for women and men. Analysis of gender equality at work also highlights important gaps in men’s and women’s working conditions and job quality which require specific attention.

Research on working conditions of workers of different ages examines the role of job quality and other work-related factors in workers’ decisions and ability to remain in paid employment. Other research on working time patterns for sustainable work examines from a gender and life course perspective the links between working time patterns and organisation, working time quality and work–life balance, and health and well-being. 

The research on working conditions in sectors examines trends in job quality from a sectoral perspective. Findings also reveal that workplace accommodation of the needs of workers with chronic disease can impact their job quality and the sustainability of work.

Determinants of job quality: Employment status, working time patterns 

Eurofound’s policy brief on employment status uses EWCS data to investigate the job quality associated with different employment statuses in the EU Member States. The research explores the working conditions of five categories of self-employed and analyses their job quality. 

Other research examines the working conditions and job quality associated with ICT-based mobile work and the impact of this form of work on quality of working lives. 

Research also looks at human resource management and how employee involvement in decision-making can benefit organisations, helping to improve job quality and working conditions. 

Impact of job quality

Research on working conditions and workers’ health examines the interplay between job demands and job resources which support workers in greater engagement and well-being. In terms of reconciling work and life, Eurofound examines the reciprocal relations between working conditions and job quality and people’s lives outside work, and what is most important for people in terms of work–life balance. 

The EWCS 2015 demonstrates the positive relationship between each job quality index and worker's experience of the quality of working life in terms of: career and employment security, developing skills and competences, maintaining and promoting health and well-being, reconciling working and non-working life, work sustainability, and meaningful and motivating work. 

Labour market change and job quality

Eurofound’s European Jobs Monitor (EJM) tracks structural change in European labour markets. It describes shifts in employment at Member State and EU level, analysing changes in terms of occupation and sector and the implications for job quality.

Key outputs

card_cover_image_report_05112020.png

Megatrends, such as digitalisation, globalisation, demographic change and climate change, are transforming the world of work, with knock-on effects for working conditions and job quality. Against this background, this report...

5 November 2020
Publication
Research report

EU context

Job quality and its improvement is an important policy concern, as quality jobs are crucial for higher labour force participation, higher well-being and increased economic performance. Job quality is also a key component in making work sustainable and enabling workers to remain motivated to remain in work for longer. It is central to the ILO’s Decent Work Agenda, the OECD’s jobs strategy and to the European Union’s quality of work policies to create more and better jobs. For workers, for the enterprises and organisations that employ them and for societies, there are benefits associated with high-quality jobs, and costs associated with poor-quality jobs.  

 

European Industrial Relations Dictionary 

Eurofound expert(s)

agnes-parent-thirion-2023.png

Agnès Parent-Thirion is a senior research manager in the Working Life unit at Eurofound, tasked with the planning, development and implementation of working conditions research...

Senior research manager,
Working life research unit
Publications results (161)

This report outlines the complex relationship between job quality and climate change, including the implication of green tasks in selected sectors.

01 July 2024

Ensuring greater social protection for self-employed people has been the subject of much policy debate in recent years. In 2019, the Council of the European Union adopted a recommendation on access to social protection for workers and the self-employed. Sudden reductions in income during the COVID-1

30 January 2024

In this report, we provide projections of how the Fit for 55 policy package may affect the sectoral and occupational structure of employment in the EU by 2030, and the impacts across different regions and countries.

25 October 2023

During the COVID-19 pandemic, a diverse collection of workers ensured the functioning of our societies. In a time of crisis, they maintained access to healthcare, long-term care and other essential goods and services, including food, water, electricity, the internet and waste treatment.

10 October 2023

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

28 April 2023

The strict public health restrictions implemented by governments in 2020 to control the COVID-19 pandemic abruptly changed working life and continued to shape it over the two years that followed. Between March and November 2021, over 70,000 interviews were carried out in 36 countries by the European

29 November 2022

Digitisation and automation technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI), can affect working conditions in a variety of ways and their use in the workplace raises a host of new ethical concerns. Recently, the policy debate surrounding these concerns has become more prominent and has increasi

30 May 2022

Research into the transformative potential of the digital revolution tends to take a quantitative approach in an attempt to monitor changes in employment levels due to digitalisation. The fear of potential job losses and negative disruption brought about by digital technologies has permeated the pol

25 October 2021

This flagship report summarises the key findings of Eurofound’s research on working conditions conducted over the programming period 2017–2020. It maps the progress achieved since 2000 in improving working conditions and examines whether all workers have benefited equally from positive change. It hi

26 February 2021

The long-term care (LTC) sector employs a growing share of workers in the EU and is experiencing increasing staff shortages. The LTC workforce is mainly female and a relatively large and increasing proportion is aged 50 years or older. Migrants are often concentrated in certain LTC jobs. This report

14 December 2020

Online resources results (167)

Mary McCaughey speaks with Eurofound researchers Agnès Parent-Thirion, Tina Weber and Jorge Cabrita about how climate change is influencing working conditions and the labour market in Europe, the role of the green transition, and how policy can help protect workers and safeguard workplaces.

16 October 2024

Presentation by Ricardo Rodriguez Contreras, Research Manager, Eurofound. 2-3 October 2023, EMCO meeting hosted by the Spanish Presidency, Madrid.

9 October 2023

In this episode of Eurofound Talks, Eurofound Head of Unit for Working Life Barbara Gerstenberger discusses what the EWCTS reveals about job quality, the implications of poor-quality jobs on well-being and broader society, and what policymakers can do to improve the working lives of people in Europe

8 February 2023

Living, working and COVID-19: Impact on gender equality 11 March 2021, European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) virtual meeting Presentation by Maria Jepsen, Acting Executive Director, Eurofound

22 March 2021

France: Latest working life developments – Q1 2017

Preparations for the presidential election and a revival of national social dialogue with the signing of a new collective agreement on the unemployment insurance scheme are the main topics of interest in this article. This country update reports on the latest developments in working life in France i

France: First company-level agreement on digital transformation signed at Orange

The new agreement signed by Orange and three trade unions contains measures designed to achieve a level-playing field for employees and to avoid ‘over-consumption’ of digital tools, a key element being respect for work–life balance with a guaranteed ‘right to switch off’.


Blogs results (16)

There is no one future of work for all jobs – policymakers will have their work cut out to ensure that remote and platform working, artificial intelligence and climate change policies will benefit and not disadvantage workers.

The COVID-19 pandemic made us acutely aware of how dependent our society is on certain essential workers. We felt deep gratitude towards workers in healthcare especially, because they worked ceaselessly in often-difficult conditions.

22 November 2023
A worker sitting on the floor

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way we live and work. With the lifting of restrictions across the globe, we are now able to examine the many repercussions on the world of work. In particular, the unique demands of the last few years have shone a harsh spotlight on the pressures brought to bear

17 January 2023
ef22079.png

A cocktail of insecurity, misinformation and mistrust imperil Europe’s future. Reliable, accessible data are at a premium.

14 December 2022
ef21079.png

As we leave behind the lockdowns and business disruptions of COVID-19 and enter a ‘new normal’, it is time to talk about how workplaces might be transformed to drive innovation. Some may baulk at this suggestion, as we continue to grapple with the pandemic fallout, but crises have always been a crad

28 June 2021
ef21077.png

COVID-19 has shown that some things can hit us out of the blue. The pandemic sent a shockwave through businesses all over the world and has brought massive changes to work organisation, internal communication and day-to-day operations for many companies. Doubtless, the depth of the pandemic’s impact

21 June 2021
image_blog_covid_31032020.png

Health professionals – doctors, nurses, nursing assistants, paramedics, ambulance workers – are in the vanguard of the battle against COVID-19. They are the ones dealing with sick people, triaging, testing and treating them. They are the ones confronting suffering and death. While some of their coll

31 March 2020
blog_pandora-box-platform-economy.jpg

We hear more and more about the platform economy, with the debate often revolving around the potential long-term implications of its growth on the labour market and the impact on traditional and established businesses and industries.

28 January 2020
ef19068_cooperatives-social-enterprises.jpg

Much of the discussion on the future of work is focused on globalisation and technology, and their impacts on the labour market. However, there is also a growing interest in the business models used by cooperatives and social enterprises, and how they can contribute to a better future of work. Eurof

15 November 2019
image_1_blog_good_jobs_29102019.png

Economic disparities have been decreasing between EU member states over the past decade, but at the same time inequality has been growing within member states. Despite national level convergence, the gap in wealth and income between the rich and the poor is growing in most of Europe. Some of this ri

29 October 2019

Upcoming publications results (1)

This policy brief investigates how organisations are adapting their work organisation and practices to hybrid work. Based on case studies and on data from the European Working Conditions Survey 2024, the policy brief examines how hybrid work is being managed in organisations and profiles t

April 2025
Data results (5)
24 October 2023
Reference period:

Disclaimer

When freely submitting your request, you are consenting Eurofound in handling your personal data to reply to you. Your request will be handled in accordance with the provisions of Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2018 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data by the Union institutions, bodies, offices and agencies and on the free movement of such data. More information, please read the Data Protection Notice.