COVID-19 unleashed the pent-up potential for telework. Over a third of respondents to Eurofound’s online survey of Europeans in April had started teleworking because of the pandemic. Never before had so many people been working from home. For people with disabilities, telework has long been viewed as the ideal solution to removing many of the barriers to their participation in the open labour market. But it has not lived up to its promise and people with disabilities remain strongly disadvantaged when it comes to employment. Does the current embrace of telework by employers offer a second chance?
This study provides information allowing for an assessment of the representativeness of the actors involved in the European sectoral social dialogue committee for the sea fisheries sector. Their relative representativeness legitimises their right to be consulted, their role and effective participation in the European sectoral social dialogue and their capacity to negotiate agreements. The aim of Eurofound’s representativeness studies is to identify the relevant national and European social partner organisations.
This study provides information allowing for an assessment of the representativeness of the actors involved in the European sectoral social dialogue committee for the paper sector. Their relative representativeness legitimises their right to be consulted, their role and effective participation in the European sectoral social dialogue and their capacity to negotiate agreements. The aim of Eurofound’s studies on representativeness is to identify the relevant national and European social partner organisations in the EU Member States.
The COVID-19 pandemic presented companies with a sudden and unpredictable set of events that put their revenue sources in peril. Faced with lockdown, some had no option but to shut up shop. Others saw a way through by reinventing themselves to respond to physical distancing requirements, changed customer demands or disrupted supply chains. Necessity being the mother of invention, these businesses rapidly revised their business models.
Activities of the European Commission and social partners regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, the high-level hearing on implementing the European Pillar of Social Rights and a fair EU minimum wage initiative are the main topics of interest in this article. This EU update reports on the latest developments in working life in EU in the second quarter of 2020.
Around three-quarters of the EU workforce is employed in the service sector, and a sizeable portion of service workers interact directly with the recipients of the services they provide, such as clients, patients, pupils and so on. This can be demanding work as it routinely places emotional demands on these workers and can have an impact on their well-being. This policy brief examines the working conditions of people employed in
Minimum wages, one of the cornerstone issues for Ursula von der Leyen’s Commission, were a hot topic in the EU at the beginning of the year. Then the COVID-19 public health crisis struck. Now, with an economic crisis and recession looming, the question is not only what impact the crisis has had on minimum wage earners, but also what is the impact on the debate itself. How can the European Commission and Member States ensure minimum wages that are fair and provide a decent standard of living during and following a ‘black swan’ such as the Coronacrisis?
How do organisations get the best out of their employees? Research on human resource management has found that a key practice is employee involvement: 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. And this is the type of work environment that organisations need to meet the demands for innovation and adaptability to technological change in a knowledge-driven economy.
Collective agreements are among the panoply of national measures deemed appropriate mechanisms for the implementation of EU directives in the fields of social and employment policy and industrial relations. This role of collective agreements is prescribed by Article 153(3) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), which states that a Member State may entrust management and labour, at their joint request, with the implementation of labour law directives adopted.
Developments in information and communication technology (ICT) have been among the key drivers of change in working life over the past two decades. Specifically, telework and ICT-based mobile work (TICTM) exemplifies how digital technology has led to more flexible workplace and working time practices. However, the ability to work anywhere and at any time can lead to greater work intensification, competition and work-on-demand. If this is not explicitly addressed, it threatens to override the advantages that ICT-based flexible working brings to work–life balance.
Eurofound’s European Company Survey (ECS) maps and analyses company policies and practices which can have an impact on smart, sustainable and inclusive growth, as well as the development of social dialogue in companies. This series consists of outputs from the ECS 2009, the second edition of the survey. The survey was first carried out in 2004–2005 as the European Establishment Survey on Working Time and Work-Life Balance.
Eurofound’s European Company Survey (ECS) maps and analyses company policies and practices which can have an impact on smart, sustainable and inclusive growth, as well as the development of social dialogue in companies. This series consists of outputs from the ECS 2013, the third edition of the survey. The survey was first carried out in 2004–2005 as the European Establishment Survey on Working Time and Work-Life Balance.
Eurofound’s European Quality of Life Survey (EQLS) examines both the objective circumstances of European citizens' lives and how they feel about those circumstances and their lives in general. This series consists of outputs from the EQLS 2003, the first edition of the survey.
Eurofound's European Quality of Life Survey (EQLS) examines both the objective circumstances of European citizens' lives and how they feel about those circumstances and their lives in general. This series consists of outputs from the EQLS 2007, the second edition of the survey. The survey was first carried out in 2003.
Eurofound's European Quality of Life Survey (EQLS) examines both the objective circumstances of European citizens' lives and how they feel about those circumstances and their lives in general. This series consists of outputs from the EQLS 2012, the third edition of the survey. The survey was first carried out in 2003.
Eurofound’s European Working Conditions Survey (EWCS) paints a wide-ranging picture of Europe at work across countries, occupations, sectors and age groups. This series consists of findings from the EWCS 2005, the fourth edition of the survey. The survey was first carried out in 1990.
Eurofound’s European Working Conditions Survey (EWCS) paints a wide-ranging picture of Europe at work across countries, occupations, sectors and age groups. This series consists of findings from the EWCS 2010, the fifth edition of the survey. The survey was first carried out in 1990.
This publication series explores scenarios for the future of manufacturing. The employment implications (number of jobs by sector, occupation, wage profile, and task content) under various possible scenarios are examined. The scenarios focus on various possible developments in global trade and energy policies and technological progress and run to 2030.
Eurofound's annual review of minimum wages reports on the development of statutory and collectively agreed minimum wages across the EU and the processes through which they were set. The focus of this year’s report is on the impact of high inflation on the setting of minimum wage rates. In addition, new figures on the net value of minimum wages are presented, along with the latest policy-relevant research in the EU Member States and Norway.
Are the policies required to meet the commitments outlined under the EU’s plan for a green transition, the Fit-for-55 package, and the associated budgetary commitments – the Green New Deal – likely to lead to positive or negative employment outcomes by 2030? What types of jobs will be created or destroyed? Will shifts in employment be skewed towards the bottom, middle or top of the job–wage distribution? This report aims to provide answers to these questions, using macro-modelled estimates of the likely impacts of these policies on the structure of employment.
The COVID-19 pandemic triggered an extraordinary level of provision of social services across the EU. Healthcare and care providers carried much of the burden and, together with essential services, played a crucial role in getting citizens through the crisis. This report explores how public services adapted to the new reality and what role was played by the digital transformation of services. The aim is to contribute to the documentation and analysis of changes in funding, delivery and use of healthcare and social services during the pandemic.
Building on previous work by Eurofound, this report will investigate intergenerational dynamics over time. During the 2008 double-dip recession, worrying intergenerational divides appeared in many Member States, and while some of the economic and social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is universal, early data suggests disparities across demographic cohorts. Eurofound will examine how different age groups may have been affected in terms of their health, labour market participation, quality of life and financial needs, both in the short term and in the long term.
This report explores the potential socio-economic implications of the transition to a climate-neutral economy on different EU regions and groups of people. It adopts a foresight approach to envision potential actions that can be taken to shape the future. After consulting with stakeholders and experts, three scenarios were developed to consider emerging economic and social inequalities at EU and regional level. The report includes policy pointers which outline measures to be taken to achieve a just transition to a sustainable, climate-neutral economy where no one is left behind.
This report explores how environmental performance has converged – or diverged – among the EU Member States since the early 2000s. With environmental goals piling up at the EU level, is it reasonable to expect Member States to adhere to this emerging EU environmental aquis? And, just as importantly, can we expect Member States to reach these goals at the same time? This report attempts to provide answers to these and other questions high on the political agenda.
This report investigates the potential individual and societal impacts of labour market insecurity, focusing on workers with non-permanent contracts, part-time and self-employed workers, and workers who perceive their job as insecure. It explores the impact of labour market insecurities on health and well-being, social exclusion, trust in people and the perception of fairness, as well as trust in institutions. Policies aimed at reducing labour market instability following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic are also presented.
This policy brief aims to contribute to the effective monitoring and evaluation of the European Child Guarantee. Progress at EU level is measured by a monitoring framework which monitors the key areas of the European Child Guarantee: early childhood education and care; education, including school-based activities and at least one healthy meal each school day; healthcare; healthy nutrition; and adequate housing. The policy brief explores trends and disparities in these areas using a convergence analysis, which tracks any disparities among EU Member States.
This report highlights the prevalence of psychosocial risks across countries, sectors and occupations during the later phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. It outlines the specific working conditions that can lead to work-related health problems. In particular, the report investigates the potential pitfalls related to the expansion of telework, the role of job and income insecurity as a psychosocial risk and the phenomenon of adverse social behaviour and discrimination at work. In addition, it offers policy pointers on tackling the increase in work absenteeism due to mental health problems.
This report – published every two years – covers important developments resulting from legislative reforms in collective bargaining at national or sectoral level in 2021 and 2022. It examines the average weekly working hours set by collective agreements, both across national economies and in five sectors: education, health, transport, retail and public administration.
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