Sándor, Eszter

This policy brief highlights findings on a specific topic from Eurofound’s European Quality of Life Survey (EQLS) that is of particular interest from a policy perspective. It brings results of the analysis of these data together with evidence from other Eurofound projects to formulate a number of policy pointers. The focus of this policy brief is the quality of life of young people in Europe, focusing on dimensions such as living arrangements, social exclusion, relationships and sources of support, as well as participation in society and social/cultural activities.

The economic crisis has reshaped the lives of millions of European citizens. But how has it affected families with children? Children are more at risk of poverty or social exclusion than the overall population in a large majority of EU countries; hence, it is important to understand how the crisis has affected the households in which these children grow up. This report describes the changing quality of life across the EU for different types of families with children and compares their living standards and social situation. Grouping the EU Member States into four categories on the basis of the flexibility or otherwise of their family policies, it also examines potential patterns that may be related to different family policy approaches. Themes that emerge from the findings include the particular challenges facing lone parents, the greater difficulties facing jobless families since the onset of the crisis, and the increasing extent of conflict parents experience in seeking to balance their work and family lives.

This report presents the findings of a research project exploring the involvement of new partners – in particular, the social partners, civil society and people in vulnerable situations – in social innovation. The research was carried out at EU level – focusing especially on the role of the European Social Fund (ESF) in social innovation – and in six Member States: Austria, Bulgaria, Ireland, Italy, Poland and Sweden. It examined the innovation and social partnership culture in each country, and analysed to what extent national-level policies have been triggered by EU policy.

This background paper aims to give an overview of the effects that the lack of childcare and care facilities for other dependants has on the career choices and situation of young men and women in the labour market, with a particular focus on the effects of the crisis on the accessibility of those services. The paper was prepared on request from the European Parliament for expert input on the effects of caring for children and other dependants on the employability of young men and women. It includes an analysis of the data from Eurofound’s third European Quality of Life Survey of 2011 (EQLS), the 2013 European Labour Force Survey (LFS) and the 2011 Eurobarometer survey.

What determines life satisfaction and happiness? How do we value our social situation and immediate surroundings? How has this changed with the economic crisis? For the third wave of the European Quality of Life survey, 35,500 Europeans in ...

Results from the European Quality of Life Survey (EQLS) show comparisons over time of different dimensions of people’s quality of life, including their standard of living. A combined review of indicators from the EQLS and those obtained from the Eurobarometer (for 2009 and 2010) highlights the fact that, on the whole, the economic and financial crisis has led to a decline in quality of life. This is more apparent for those living in countries most affected by the crisis. Vulnerable groups such as the unemployed, the elderly and the retired, as well as people suffering financial difficulties, have experienced a considerable drop in their well-being following the crisis.

Non-standard employment and, more particularly, part-time work has been increasing worldwide for the past two decades. This trend has been especially strong in Europe, where the issue of different working time arrangements is an important p...