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Sustainable work

Sustainable work means achieving living and working conditions that support people in engaging and remaining in work throughout an extended working life.  Work must be transformed to eliminate the factors that discourage or hinder workers from staying in or entering the workforce. But also individual circumstances have to be taken into account. Availability for work differs and is likely to change over the life course. The challenge is to match the needs and abilities of the individual with the quality of jobs on offer.

Topic

Recent updates

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Eurofound has launched its own podcast series, EurofoundTalks, which looks at key topics relevant to living and working in Europe today. Drawing on the insight of experts, the series explores...

7 Março 2022
Corporate news

EU context

Demographic ageing is one of the driving forces behind the ambition to increase labour force participation. This is reflected in the new 2030 EU headline target on employment proposed in the European Pillar of Social Rights Action Plan  (at least 78% of the population aged 20–64). With the numbers of retirees rising and the working population declining, social protection systems could become threatened. For social support systems to remain viable as Europe’s population ages, more people need to work and stay in work for longer over their lifetimes.

These goals will be achieved only if workers are in good health, qualified and employable, and motivated to stay in work for longer. Wider societal supports must be in place to enable people to access work and have a good work–life balance. Job quality and the work environment are key components of allowing all workers to remain longer in the labour market. But the interaction between these components and individual circumstances, such as health and motivation to continue working, is also a major factor and needs to be better understood.

At EU level, concerns about the sustainability of pensions, economic growth and labour supply have triggered policy responses to support the goals of longer working lives and later retirement. The main thrust of the European Commission's active ageing policy is helping people to stay in charge of their own lives for as long as possible as they age and, where possible, to contribute to the economy and to society.

The European Green Deal is the new European Sustainable Growth Strategy which aims to enable European citizens to benefit from sustainable green transition. This means investing in research and innovation and improving the well-being of people via a path that is just and socially fair, leaving no individual or region behind. 

Eurofound’s work on sustainable work links in with the Commission’s 2019–2024 priority on a European Green Deal. 

European Industrial Relations Dictionary

Key messages


Making work sustainable requires:

  • Technological and organisational design in place to create high-quality jobs
  • Creating a fit between structural characteristics of a job (job quality) and the characteristics of an individual in relation to work (abilities, needs, health, skills, etc.). 
  • Policy interventions that will help to achieve this match to take place at all levels: government level (through legislation, regulations, public services, infrastructure, public funding),
    • sectoral and company level (collective agreements, social dialogue), 
    • workplace level (flexible work arrangements, managerial support, training etc.) 
    • individual level (lifelong learning, upskilling, employability, etc.).
  • Policies and practices that support not only those who are employed but also those who are currently outside the labour market
  • Gender mainstreaming and a focus on gender equality to address the substantial differences in sustainable work outcomes between men and women
     

Key outputs

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Gender inequality at work persists across Europe, despite the long standing attention paid and efforts made to tackle it. This Eurofound report presents a closer look at women’s and men’s...

3 Março 2020
Publication
Research report
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Employment statistics consistently show that having a foreign background has an influence on people’s employment prospects. Less is known about the types of jobs workers with foreign backgrounds hold and...

27 Novembro 2019
Publication
Policy brief
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This report uses European Working Conditions Survey data to examine working conditions and their implications for worker’s health. Ensuring the sustainability of work in the context of ageing populations implies...

13 Maio 2019
Publication
Research report
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Demographic change is increasing the number of older workers in employment in Europe. In order for all of them to work beyond 55 or even after the pension age, it...

21 Dezembro 2017
Publication
Research report
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Working time is a recurrent topic of study because the nature of work, its content, the conditions under which it is performed and the labour market itself keep changing. This...

18 Setembro 2017
Publication
Research report
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The sixth European Working Conditions Survey (EWCS) builds on the lessons learned from the previous five surveys to paint a wide-ranging picture of Europe at work across countries, occupations, sectors...

17 Novembro 2016
Publication
Research report
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Ageing of the population is likely to threaten the ability of states to finance welfare states and social protection systems in the future. A viable solution is to increase employment...

19 Junho 2015
Publication
Research report

Current and ongoing research

The multifaceted nature of the sustainable work concept means that it intersects with many key areas of Eurofound’s work. Eurofound has created a framework for understanding the concept of sustainable work, which is used as a reference point for a range of research projects on this topic.

Enabling sustainable work

Eurofound has analysed national policies and strategies that help to achieve sustainable work throughout the life course. Research has investigated how partial retirement schemes can contribute to sustainable and adequate pension systems by enabling and motivating people to extend their working lives. It also examined how mid-career reviews can help workers to explore their options to remain in work until a later retirement age. 

Working conditions and quality of work

Eurofound’s sixth European Working Conditions Survey (EWCS 2015) describes the current state of key working conditions across the EU Member States. Previously, Eurofound examined the working conditions that make work sustainable over a lifetime and are therefore likely to promote a longer working life: good working conditions, physical and mental well-being, as well as work–life balance.

Eurofound’s research maps the progress achieved since 2000 in improving working conditions and examines whether all workers have benefited equally from positive change. It explores inequalities in working conditions between groups and the drivers of inequality, and highlights which groups are the most at risk of being left behind. It also provides evidence for measures that could lead to the further improvement of work and the achievement of fair working conditions for all in the EU. 

Good quality of work is a precondition for well-being and motivation and, as such, is a cornerstone of sustainable work. As part of the EWCS, Eurofound has developed indices for measuring different dimensions of job quality. Eurofound has also researched several components of job quality and the work environment separately, including employee involvement in decision-making. Using EWCS 2015 data, research has explored the factors influencing the working conditions of workers of different ages and in the context of Eurofound’s concept of sustainable work. The research shows that, overall, job quality in the EU is improving, if slowly. But not all workers are benefiting to the same extent. The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated trends, reinforcing concerns and highlighting the importance of achieving job quality for all.

Health at work

Eurofound also recently used EWCS data to examine working conditions and their implications for worker’s health. The rise in psychosocial risks to employee well-being motivated a joint report with sister agency EU-OSHA in 2014 on psychosocial risks in European workplaces. Eurofound has also looked more specifically at physical and psychological violence at work, as well as the relationship between health and well-being and work.

The Agency has also produced studies examining the employment situations of young people with health problems and disabilities and people with chronic diseases. These studies also describe policies and measures public authorities have taken aimed at integrating these groups into the labour market.

Work–life balance

Eurofound has addressed the issue of broadening labour force participation on many fronts. Research on working time and work–life balance describes prevailing working time patterns, demonstrating the degree of flexibility available to workers in reconciling the demands of work and private life. This topic is particularly relevant to policymaking on increasing participation of women in the workforce.

Older workers

The Agency has also teamed up with three other EU Agencies in looking at age-friendly work in Europe.  Another study documents initiatives by governments and social partners to retain older workers in the labour market. 

 

Other ongoing work

  • Analysis of how working conditions differ across sectors to provide evidence on working conditions and their implications for sustainable work.
  • Links between employee engagement and development of workers knowledge and skills
  • A flagship report covering working conditions and sustainable work (including findings from ‘Differences in working conditions between various groups of workers – analysing trends over time’).

Research continues in this topic on a variety of themes, which are outlined below with links to forthcoming titles. 

Eurofound expert(s)

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Franz Eiffe is a research manager in the Working Life unit at Eurofound. He is involved in projects on sustainable work, quantitative analyses and upward convergence in the EU, as...

Research manager,
Working life research unit
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Barbara Gerstenberger is Head of the Working Life unit at Eurofound. In this role, she coordinates the research teams investigating job quality in Europe based on the European...

​Head of Unit,
Working life research unit
Publications results (78)

As rigorosas restrições de saúde pública aplicadas pelos governos em 2020 para controlar a pandemia de COVID-19 alteraram abruptamente a vida profissional e continuaram a moldá-la ao longo dos dois anos que se seguiram. Entre março e novembro de 2021, foram realizadas mais de 70 000 entrevistas em

29 November 2022

Este relatório emblemático resume as principais conclusões da investigação da Eurofound sobre as condições de trabalho, realizada no período de programação 2017-2020. Faz um balanço dos progressos alcançados desde 2000 na melhoria das condições de trabalho e examina se todos os trabalhadores

26 February 2021

Gender inequality at work persists across Europe, despite the long standing attention paid and efforts made to tackle it. This Eurofound report presents a closer look at women’s and men’s working conditions, using data from Eurofound’s European Working Conditions Survey (EWCS) and complementing

03 March 2020

Employment statistics consistently show that having a foreign background has an influence on people’s employment prospects. Less is known about the types of jobs workers with foreign backgrounds hold and their working conditions. This policy brief contributes to filling this gap.

27 November 2019

The number of workers living with chronic health conditions is rising in the EU. Such conditions affect people’s ability to work to varying degrees. While some are unable to continue working, many wish to and would be able to do so if their workplace made adaptations to accommodate their needs.

15 October 2019

This report uses European Working Conditions Survey data to examine working conditions and their implications for worker’s health. Ensuring the sustainability of work in the context of ageing populations implies a greater number of people in employment who can remain in the workforce for longer. The

13 May 2019

Seniority systems – schemes that allot improving employment rights or benefits to employees as their length of employment increases – have not been widely studied. This report provides the first comprehensive study comparing the design and spread of seniority-based entitlements (SBEs) in Europe and

17 April 2019

Living and working in Europe, Eurofound’s 2017 yearbook, provides a snapshot of the latest developments in the work and lives of Europeans as recounted in the Agency’s research activities over the course of 2017. As economies recover, Eurofound reported on the positive trends in employment, with ris

12 June 2018

Demographic change is increasing the number of older workers in employment in Europe. In order for all of them to work beyond 55 or even after the pension age, it is necessary to identify what are the factors preventing or helping workers to have a sustainable work.

21 December 2017

In the rapidly changing world of work, the traditional dichotomy of employee and self-employed is insufficient to capture the wide diversity of self-employed workers in Europe today. This report identifies five categories of self-employed, reflecting the wide-ranging attitudes, income levels, and

21 September 2017

Online resources results (12)
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Never before have we had so much discussion about the way we work, the future of work and how this will impact our lives and those of the next generation. This podcast takes a deep dive into the opportunities and challenges associated with what we call ‘sustainable work’.

1 Dezembro 2021

Poland: Polish employees pessimistic about career prospects

Polish employees are pessimistic about their career prospects and employers are looking into recruiting migrant workers to fill labour gaps.

Luxembourg: Latest working life developments – Q2 2016

Changes in working time flexibility and demands for the revaluation of careers and qualifications in the health and social care sectors are the main topics of interest in this article. This country update reports on the latest developments in working life in Luxembourg in the second quarter of 2016.

France: Green light on implementing the arduous work account scheme

In December 2015, the government accepted the last two decrees establishing a points scheme for arduous work and in June 2016 the Ministry of Labour gave the green light on its implementation. Employers claim the scheme will lead to job cuts while some unions have criticised certain aspects.

Italy: New rules on job tasks

The Italian government’s labour reforms continue with the adoption of the so-called ‘Jobs Act’. It introduces mobility within and between staff levels, allowing employers to assign workers different job tasks belonging to the same, or even lower, staff level for which they were hired. It has been

Sustainable employment and occupational profile

Keeping people in employment until retirement age is a hot topic in the Netherlands, as it is across the rest of the European Union. A series of Dutch studies shows that workers in some sectors are more likely to be able and willing to work until retirement age and others less so, such as craft and

Bulgaria: Job satisfaction in light of poor economic outlook

The Institute for Social and Trade Union Research conducted national surveys on work climate in 2010 and 2012. The subsequent report, presented in 2013, provides a comparative analysis of the job satisfaction of employees, and those who are self-employed, with issues such as job security, pay

Guaranteed minimum income scheme assessed

Portugal's RMG guaranteed minimum income scheme marked its fourth anniversary in July 2001. The government took the opportunity to announce that RMG recipients are to be offered jobs or training, and that a study will be launched to examine the social and occupational progress of former

Career discrimination against women examined

Two recent studies, published in April 2000 and March 2001, highlight the very low representation of women in managerial and senior positions in the private and public sectors in Italy, compared with the situation in other EU countries. The reports examine how and why women are excluded from career


Blogs results (8)
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Motivated workers have higher levels of engagement, better health and are able to work longer. Improving motivation at work is therefore a key component in meeting the challenges of Europe’s ageing workforce and improving the EU’s long-term competitiveness on a global scale. This means that fosterin

20 Março 2019
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Over the last decade, European labour markets have seen a surge in the number of older workers in work and a continuous decline in their unemployment rates. A lot of young and middle-aged workers lost their jobs in the Great Recession, but not so the older age group. This favourable state of affairs

15 Novembro 2018
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In this article, Jean-Marie Jungblut looks at the health of careers in Europe. He argues that, since the average length of the most important job in a person’s life is over 20 years, time should be put aside in the middle of a career to check the fit between the worker and the job. Different scenari

21 Junho 2018
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Europe is showing visible signs of progress; in most countries, labour markets are healthier than they have been in a decade, with more people active and in work than ever before, while social exclusion is declining. However, it is also a continent in transition, where an imbalance in opportunities

18 Junho 2018
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In this article, originally posted in Social Europe Journal, senior programme manager Greet Vermeylen highlights why making work sustainable is an important issue for Europe.

16 Dezembro 2016
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Even in the confused and contentious context of the new US President-elect as well as the EU’s post- Brexit deliberations, it is hard to argue otherwise. But, while having a job in the first place is clearly of paramount importance to people - and society at large – there is also a more sophisticate

23 Novembro 2016
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There are limits to the effectiveness of member states’ pension reforms. Europe, it’s often said, is experiencing a worsening ageing crisis. European governments grappling with this and the related unsustainability of many pension schemes have taken measures to keep older workers longer in employmen

26 Setembro 2016
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The latest research from Eurofound on working conditions in Europe highlights that the 9-to-5 day is not the norm for many workers, and work commonly spills over into home life. Such patterns make it difficult to balance work and life outside work.

25 Novembro 2015
Upcoming publications results (2)

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

The European population is living longer, with a declining natural population since 2014, offset only by positive net migration. The proportion of older people, especially those over 50, is increasing. Demographic ageing, where the working-age population shrinks while the number of older individuals

March 2025

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