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Working life research

Oscar Vargas Llave

Senior research manager

Oscar Vargas Llave is a senior research manager in the Working Life unit at Eurofound and manages projects on changes in the world of work and the impact on working conditions and related policies: organisation of working time, remote work, the right to disconnect, health and well-being and ageing. Before joining Eurofound in December 2009, he worked as project coordinator in the field of health and safety and was responsible for the Professional Card Scheme for the Construction Sector in Spain at the non-profit Fundación Laboral de la Construcción in Madrid. He has a background in industrial sociology (Universidad Pontificia de Salamanca), and also holds a Diploma in Social Science Research Methods from the University of Cardiff and a Master’s degree in Health and Safety from the Autonomous University of Madrid.

Ábhair saineolais

Is saineolaí é Oscar ar na hábhair seo a leanas.

Aschuir taighde

Is é Oscar údar na bhfoilsiúchán seo a leanas.

Imeachtaí, tráchtaireacht agus anailís

Tá rannchuidiú déanta ag Oscar leis na himeachtaí, na blogphostálacha agus na heipeasóidí podchraolta seo a leanas.

2 December 2022

Eipeasóid podchraolta

Telework

Now that Europe moves beyond the COVID-19 pandemic, it is faced with a dilemma. Telework has worked well for many over the past few years, helped them reconcile work and family life, and brought greater autonomy and flexibility; but for others almost the opposite has been the case, with greater work intensification, longer working hours, and greater exposure to psychosocial risks. Is it time to get back to the office? Is telework here to stay? Is hybrid work the solution? In this episode of Eurofound Talks Oscar Vargas and Mary McCaughey use results from the Living, working and COVID-19 online surveys, the European Working Conditions Telephone Survey, and other analyses from Eurofound to investigate what the future holds for telework in Europe, whether the mass rollout of telework has been to the benefit of workers and businesses, and whether the teleworkability of jobs will become the key issue on the labour market in years to come.

13 July 2022

Blogphostáil

Do we really have the right to disconnect?

Telework has become a permanent feature of working life in Europe. While we’ve seen the benefits of more flexible ways of working – particularly during the pandemic – the problems that arise from an increasingly connected life are also becoming clearer. Unfortunately, legislation alone may not be enough to ensure our right to disconnect.

3 December 2020

Blogphostáil

Does the new telework generation need a right to disconnect?

Whatever the benefits of telework – and there are many, including more flexible working time, increased productivity and less commuting – there are drawbacks, as many of the one-third of Europeans who were exclusively working from home during the pandemic will attest. Primary among these is the ‘always on’ culture that telework engenders, encouraging workers to respond to emails, phone calls and texts from work long after the working day or week has ended. This situation may be aggravated if the organisational culture at work incentivises employees to accept heavy workloads and put in overtime, often unpaid. All of which upsets work–life balance, leading to conflicts between work and home life, insufficient rest and health problems like work-related stress and sleep disorders.

9 June 2020

Blogphostáil

COVID-19 unleashed the potential for telework – How are workers coping?

The COVID-19 health crisis prompted governments to take the unprecedented step of shutting down all workplaces, apart from those providing essential goods and services, to control the spread of the virus. Every worker who was able to do so began to work from home, initiating a social experiment of a type and on a scale unseen before. The world of work will never be the same again. This event has accelerated the transition from a regular, bureaucratic and ‘factory-based’ organisation of work to one based on flexible task allocation and management by objectives. While these new-minted teleworkers are certainly better off than those who have lost their job or are at risk of losing it, there are downsides to the experience too.

14 May 2019

Blogphostáil

ICT-enabled flexible working – All plain sailing?

Imagine you’re at work and something happens: you have to leave to visit a client, you have to go home to let in the plumber, or you have to collect the kids from school as the football training has just been cancelled. If you’re lucky, your employer gives you the flexibility to do this. If you’re even luckier, it is YOU who decides upon your schedule and place of work.

Other members of the Working life research unit

Find more staff members of the Working life research unit below.

Felix Appler

Research support officer
Working life research

Is oifigeach tacaíochta taighde é Felix Appler san aonad Saoil Oibre ag Eurofound. Díríonn a chuid oibre ar chaidreamh tionsclaíoch, pá íosta agus bunachair shonraí a thógáil a bhaineann leis na topaicí seo. Roimhe seo, d'oibrigh sé in Oifig Staidrimh Chónaidhme na Gearmáine (Destatis) agus sa Bhanc Domhanda in Oirthear na hAfraice ag déanamh suirbhéanna teaghlaigh agus taighde ar mhargaí saothair agus bochtaineacht. Tá céim Mháistreachta san Eacnamaíocht ag Felix ó Ollscoil Bonn.

Angelina Atanasova

Research support officer
Working life research

Is oifigeach tacaíochta taighde í Angelina Atanasova san aonad Saol Oibre ag Eurofound. I measc na n-ábhar taighde atá aici faoi láthair tá idirphlé sóisialta agus caidreamh tionsclaíoch, chomh maith le cearta míchumais. Sula ndeachaigh sí isteach i Eurofound in 2024, d'oibrigh sí mar anailísí beartais sinsearach sa Chiste um Thaighde Feidhmeach agus Cumarsáide, mar thaighdeoir ag Réadlann Shóisialta na hEorpa, mar chomhlach taighde ag KU Leuven, agus mar chomhairleoir beartais ag an Institiúid Eorpach um Beartas na Sochaí Oscailte. Tá PhD aici i nDlí an AE ó KU Leuven agus MA i mBeartas Poiblí ó Ollscoil Lár na hEorpa. I measc na bpríomhréimsí spéise atá aici tá cearta míchumais, comhionannas inscne agus cuimsiú sóisialta.

Christine Aumayr-Pintar

Senior research manager
Working life research

Is bainisteoir taighde sinsearach í Christine Aumayr-Pintar san aonad Saol Oibre ag Eurofound. Comhordaíonn sí taighde Eurofound ar idirphlé sóisialta agus ar chaidreamh tionsclaíoch agus déanann sí maoirseacht ar Líonra na gComhfhreagraithe Eurofound (NEC). Díríonn a príomhshaineolas taighde – a chuirtear i ngleic léi ó thaobh comparáideach ar fud an AE – ar íosphá agus ar phá comhchaibidlíochta agus ar thrédhearcacht pá inscne. Sula ndeachaigh sí isteach i Eurofound in 2009, bhí sí ina taighdeoir ar mhargaí saothair agus ar eacnamaíocht réigiúnach ag Joanneum Research san Ostair. Ghnóthaigh sí céim Mháistir san Eacnamaíocht agus PhD san Eolaíocht Shóisialta/Eacnamaíocht tar éis di staidéar a dhéanamh ar eacnamaíocht i Graz, Vín agus Jönköping.

Jorge Cabrita

Senior research manager
Working life research

Jorge Cabrita is a senior research manager in the Working Life unit. He is responsible for formulating, coordinating and managing European-wide research, and promoting the dissemination of findings in the areas of working conditions and industrial relations. His main research areas of interest include working conditions and job quality, working time and work–life balance, workers’ health and well-being, gender equality and the socioeconomic impacts of the transition to a climate-neutral economy. He is currently leading research on working time developments and on social dialogue and collective bargaining during the COVID-19 pandemic. Previously, he worked as a researcher at the Centre for Studies for Social Intervention and at the Research Centre on the Portuguese Economy of the Lisbon School of Economics, and as a trainer and consultant in the areas of strategic management, organisational communication, leadership and team building. He holds a BSc in Economics and an MSc in Socio-Organisational Systems of Economic Activity from the Lisbon School of Economics.

Victoria Cojocariu

Research officer
Working life research

Is oifigeach taighde í Victoria Cojocariu do na staidéir ionadaíocha san aonad Saoil Oibre ag Eurofound. Tá sí freagrach as bainistiú an ionchuir taighde ó chomhfhreagraithe náisiúnta Eurofound, as rialú cáilíochta, chomh maith le rannchuidiú le tuarascálacha forbhreathnaithe a dhréachtú le haghaidh staidéir ionadaíocha earnála agus tógáil sonraí do Bhunachar Sonraí na gComhpháirtithe Sóisialta Eorpacha. Sula ndeachaigh sí isteach i Eurofound in 2019, d'oibrigh Victoria mar chomhordaitheoir cláir don Open Society Foundation sa Rómáin agus mar thaighdeoir don Ionad um Nuálaíocht Phoiblí i mBúcairist, ag rannchuidiú le tionscadail taighde náisiúnta agus idirnáisiúnta i réimse na himirce, an oideachais, na rochtana ar mhargadh saothair náisiúnach tríú tíortha, chomh maith le cearta an duine. Tá céimeanna BA agus MA aici sa tSocheolaíocht.

Franz Ferdinand Eiffe

Research manager
Working life research

Is bainisteoir taighde é Franz Eiffe san aonad Saoil Oibre ag Eurofound. Tá baint aige le tionscadail maidir le hobair inbhuanaithe, anailísí cainníochtúla agus cóineasú aníos san AE, chomh maith le hullmhú an cheathrú Suirbhé Eorpach ar Chuideachtaí. Sula ndeachaigh sé isteach i Eurofound in 2016, bhí sé ina Cheann ar an Aonad 'Anailís' ag Staitisticí na hOstaire i Vín agus ina cheannaire tionscadail ar 'Conas atá an Ostair? Saibhreas agus dul chun cinn níos faide ná OTI a thomhas'. Tá PhD aige san Eacnamaíocht ó Ollscoil Eacnamaíochta Vín (WU), áit ar oibrigh sé freisin mar chomhlach taighde ó 2005 go 2009 agus mar léachtóir go dtí 2016.

Barbara Gerstenberger

​Head of Unit
Working life research

Tá Barbara Gerstenberger ina Ceannasaí ar an Aonad Saoil Oibre ag Eurofound. Sa ról seo, comhordaíonn sí na foirne taighde a dhéanann imscrúdú ar cháilíocht na bpost san Eoraip bunaithe ar an Suirbhé Eorpach ar Choinníollacha Oibre agus tá freagracht fhoriomlán uirthi as an bhFaireachlann Eorpach um Shaol na hOibre agus as taighde ar chaidreamh tionsclaíoch san AE. Chuaigh sí isteach in Eurofound in 2001 mar bhainisteoir taighde san Lárionad Faireacháin Eorpach um Athrú (EMCC) nuabhunaithe ag an am. In 2007, bhog sí go dtí an tAonad Faisnéise agus Cumarsáide Eurofound mar Cheannasaí Táirgí Cumarsáide, sular ceapadh í ina Comhordaitheoir sa Stiúrthóireacht in 2011. Roimhe sin, d'oibrigh sí mar oifigeach taighde sinsearach i gCónaidhm Eorpach na nOibrithe Miotail sa Bhruiséil. Céimí san eolaíocht pholaitiúil ó Ollscoil Hamburg, chríochnaigh sí céim Mháistir i Riarachán Poiblí ag Scoil Rialtais Kennedy, Ollscoil Harvard.

Manuel Gómez Martín

Administrative assistant
Working life research

Is cúntóir riaracháin é Manuel Gómez Martín san aonad Saol Oibre. Tá baint aige go príomha leis an réimse caidrimh thionsclaíoch, agus eagraíonn sé soláthar agus cruinnithe go sonrach laistigh de thionscadail ghaolmhara. D'oibrigh sé roimhe seo d'Ard-Stiúrthóireacht JRC sa Choimisiún Eorpach agus do chuideachtaí príobháideacha i Londain agus sa Spáinn.

Peter Kerckhofs

Senior research manager
Working life research

Is bainisteoir taighde sinsearach é Peter Kerckhofs san aonad Saoil Oibre ag Eurofound. Díríonn a chuid oibre ar ról na gcomhpháirtithe sóisialta sa Seimeastar Eorpach agus ar thuairisciú náisiúnta ar fhorbairtí caidrimh thionsclaíocha freisin. Tá saineolas leathan ag Peter ar fhorbairt na modheolaíochta do staidéir ionadaíocha, critéir ionadaíocha Eorpacha agus náisiúnta a chur i bhfeidhm i gcomhthéacs sonrach earnálacha éagsúla, agus eolas domhain a charnadh ar thírdhreach an chaidrimh thionsclaíoch in earnálacha éagsúla. D'oibrigh Peter freisin ar thionscadail a bhaineann le Comhairlí Oibreacha na hEorpa agus le hIdirphlé Sóisialta Earnála na hEorpa. Sula ndeachaigh sé isteach i Eurofound, d'oibrigh sé mar thaighdeoir do ETUI agus UCL, mar rúnaí polaitiúil do EMCEF agus bhí sé ina chomhordaitheoir eolaíoch ar Scoil PhD dhámh na n-eolaíochtaí sóisialta KU Leuven. Tá céim Bhaitsiléara aige in Obair Shóisialta agus céim Mháistir san Eolaíocht Pholaitiúil ó KU Leuven agus ceann i gCaidreamh Idirnáisiúnta ó UCL, agus tá PhD aige i gCaidreamh Tionsclaíoch ó Ollscoil Mhanchain.

Sophia MacGoris

Surveys officer
Working life research

Is oifigeach suirbhé í Sophia MacGoris atá lonnaithe san aonad Saoil Oibre ag Eurofound. Oibríonn sí ar gach ceann de na trí shuirbhé de chuid Eurofound. Tar éis di a bheith páirteach i suirbhéanna trasnáisiúnta le blianta fada, úsáideann sí a taithí agus a ról trasnaitheach chun leanúnachas foghlama agus dearbhú cáilíochta a chinntiú go dtí an leibhéal is airde le linn phróiseas iomlán an tsuirbhé. Sula ndeachaigh sí isteach i Eurofound i 1996, d'oibrigh sí ar feadh roinnt blianta sa Choimisiún Eorpach sa Bhruiséil i réimse na heolaíochta, an taighde agus na forbartha. Tá BSc (Onóracha) aici san Eolaíocht Shóisialta a dhéanann speisialtóireacht ar Bheartas Sóisialta.

Pietro Malacalza

Research assistant
Working life research

Is cúntóir taighde é Pietro Malacalza san aonad Saoil Oibre ag Eurofound, tar éis dó a bheith ag obair i dtacaíocht oibríochtúil roimhe seo. Is éard atá i gceist lena chuid oibre ná tacaíocht do Líonra na nComhfhreagraithe Eurofound, lena n-áirítear rialú cáilíochta, achoimre a dhéanamh ar ranníocaíochtaí náisiúnta le haghaidh tuarascálacha taighde agus bunachair shonraí, monatóireacht a dhéanamh ar insoláthartha aonair agus faisnéis a chódú i mbogearraí taighde cáilíochtúla. Sula ndeachaigh sé isteach i Eurofound, d'oibrigh sé mar chomhairleoir bainistíochta tionscadail do Chomhionad Taighde an Choimisiúin Eorpaigh (JRC), agus d'oibrigh sé freisin i róil éagsúla sna tionscail TF, aeraspáis agus bia. Tá céim aige san Eolaíocht Pholaitiúil ó Ollscoil Milano agus deimhniú Gairmí Bainistíochta Tionscadail (PMP).

Agnès Parent-Thirion

Senior research manager
Working life research

Is bainisteoir taighde sinsearach í Agnès Parent-Thirion in aonad an tSaoil Oibre ag Eurofound, a bhfuil sé de chúram uirthi tionscadail taighde ar choinníollacha oibre a phleanáil, a fhorbairt agus a chur i bhfeidhm, go háirithe an Suirbhé Eorpach ar Dhálaí Oibre (EWCS) agus a chuid anailísí. Tá sí freagrach as eagrán urghnách EWCS 2021 agus as ullmhú an cheistneora do EWCS 2024. I measc a cuid spéiseanna taighde tá coinníollacha oibre, cáilíocht an phoist, monatóireacht a dhéanamh ar choinníollacha oibre, eagrú oibre, inscne, todhchaí na hoibre agus ama. Tá sí ag obair i réimse na suirbhéanna comparáideacha Eorpacha le breis agus deich mbliana, i ngach gné lena n-áirítear dearadh, forbairt ceistneoirí, obair allamuigh, rialú cáilíochta agus anailís. Is céimí í san eacnamaíocht agus sa bhainistíocht ó ollscoileanna Paris IX, Dauphine agus Paris I Panthéon Sorbonne agus tá Dioplóma Iarchéime sa Staitisticí aici ó Choláiste na Tríonóide, Baile Átha Cliath. Chríochnaigh sí cúrsaí ar líne ar intleacht shaorga le déanaí: ceannaireacht fiosrúcháin-tiomáinte le MIT Sloan Executive Education agus 'Les grand enjeux de la transition: re-ouvrir l'horizon, comprendre pour agir' leis an Campus de la Transition. Sula ndeachaigh sí isteach i Eurofound, d'oibrigh sí ar feadh roinnt blianta sa Choimisiún Eorpach.

Sara Riso

Senior research manager
Working life research

Sara Riso joined Eurofound in 2006 and is currently a senior research manager in the Working Life unit. She is engaged in research projects focusing on digitalisation and working conditions. Before joining Eurofound, Sara managed research projects for large Brussels-based European associations and networks. Her academic background is in psychology, communication and languages. Her main research interest lies in exploring new workplace stressors arising from increased digitalisation of work, evolving organisational practices, and change management strategies to address the challenges posed by digitalisation in modern working environments.

Mária Sedláková

Research officer
Working life research

Is oifigeach taighde í Mária Sedláková san aonad Saol Oibre ag Eurofound. Tá sí freagrach as tuarascálacha forbhreathnaithe a dhréachtú le haghaidh staidéir ionadaíocha earnála, bainistíocht agus rialú cáilíochta tuairiscithe náisiúnta ar chaidreamh tionsclaíoch, idirphlé sóisialta agus saol oibre, agus forbairt tionscadail ar chómhargáil thar phá. Sula ndeachaigh sí isteach in Eurofound, d'oibrigh sí mar oifigeach taighde teicniúil sa Roinn Rialachais agus Trípháirteachais ag an Eagraíocht Idirnáisiúnta Saothair sa Ghinéiv ar an Tuarascáil Suaitheanta d'Idirphlé Sóisialta 2022. D'oibrigh sí freisin mar thaighdeoir in Institiúid Staidéar Saothair Lár na hEorpa sa Bhratasláiv (2013–2020), ag díriú ar idirphlé sóisialta, cómhargáil, dálaí oibre agus socheolaíocht na hoibre. Tá MA san Eolaíocht Pholaitiúil ag Maria le speisialtóireacht i bPolaitíocht Chomparáideach na hEorpa ó Ollscoil Lár na hEorpa.

Tina Weber

Senior research manager
Working life research

Tina Weber is a senior research manager in Eurofound’s Working Life unit. Her work has focused on labour shortages, the impact of hybrid work and an ‘always on’ culture and the right to disconnect, working conditions and social protection measures for self-employed workers and the impact of the twin transitions on employment, working conditions and industrial relations. She is responsible for studies assessing the representativeness of European social partner organisations. She has also carried out research on European Works Councils and the evolution of industrial relations and social dialogue in the European Union. Prior to joining Eurofound in 2019, she worked for a private research institute primarily carrying out impact assessments and evaluations of EU labour law and labour market policies. Tina holds a PhD in Political Sciences from the University of Edinburgh which focussed on the role of national trade unions and employers’ organisations in the European social dialogue.

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