What we do

Eurofound’s priorities for 2021–2024 are shaped by the key challenges for social cohesion and just transitions in a changing environment in the aftermath of the COVID-19 crisis. The Agency focuses on issues where it can draw on its core expertise in the areas of working conditions, industrial relations, employment and living conditions, to support its stakeholders, by providing evidence that can assist their policy action.

Work programmes

The Programming document 2021–2024 has six strategic areas that will be implemented through the following operational activities. The first four are those as mandated in the Founding Regulation of the Agency.

• Working conditions and sustainable work: providing comparative data and analysis that can be used to improve job quality and promote sustainability of work over the life course.
• Industrial relations and social dialogue: functioning as a centre of expertise for monitoring and analysing developments in industrial relations and social dialogue, promoting dialogue between management and labour.
• Employment and labour markets: providing knowledge to identify changes in the labour market and inform employment policies to improve its functioning and inclusiveness.
• Living conditions and quality of life: mapping and analysing key elements for the improvement of living conditions of people, including information on their perception of quality of life and society.

In addition, Eurofound will address the policy challenges in two transversal thematic activities.

• Anticipating and managing the impact of change: providing evidence on structural changes, driven largely by digitalisation and climate change, but also by the COVID-19 crisis that can be of use in ensuring just transitions which promote employment, good working conditions, social protection and workers’ rights, while also improving labour productivity, competitiveness and prosperity.
• Promoting social cohesion and convergence: contributing to the policy debate on fairness and informing policies aimed at improving social cohesion and promoting convergence toward better living and working standards in the EU.

Eurofound's three regularly repeated pan-European surveys and three observatories contribute to the work in the strategic areas. 

See all multiannual and annual work programmes

Annual reports

See all annual reports

Europe-wide surveys

Eurofound’s three regularly repeated pan-European surveys collect original and fully comparable data covering all EU Member States and a range of other countries, depending on the survey. Data collected through the surveys allow for in-depth analysis of a wide variety of issues. The surveys are considered one of the most valuable and unique sources of information at Eurofound’s disposal. They inform and guide a substantial part of Eurofound’s research work.

• European Working Conditions Survey (EWCS) – The sixth EWCS was carried out in 2015
• European Quality of Life Survey (EQLS) – The fourth EQLS was conducted in 2016
• European Company Survey (ECS) – The fourth ECS was carried out in 2019

Observatories

Eurofound’s three observatories also contribute to the work in the topic areas, supported by a Network of European Correspondents covering the EU Member States and Norway. Through the network, systematic and comparable information on national-level realities and developments can be collected.

• European Monitoring Centre on Change (EMCC)
• European Observatory of Working Life (EurWORK)
• European Observatory on Quality of Life (EurLIFE)

Reacting to ad-hoc information requests

Reacting to ad-hoc information requests from Eurofound’s core stakeholders is a key activity in the new programming period. Key objectives of this service are to ensure rapidity, flexibility and quality in delivering customised input to meet new and emerging information needs.

See all ad-hoc reports