Publications

98 items found

Eurofound publishes its work in a range of publication formats to match audience needs and the nature of the output. These include flagship reports on a particular area of activity, research reports summarising the findings of a research project and policy briefs presenting policy pointers from research projects or facts and figures relevant to policy debates. Also included are blog articles, regular articles on working life in Europe, presentations, working papers providing background material to ongoing or already concluded research, and reports arising from ad hoc requests by policymakers. Other corporate publications include annual reports, brochures and promotional publications. Web databases and online resources such as data visualisation applications are available in Data and resources.

Minimum wages in 2020: Will COVID-19 derail the quest for fair pay?
- 07 July 2020
- Blog
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?
- Gallinat, Anna COVID-19, Minimum wage, Labour market change
Racial discrimination is not a thing of the past in the EU
- 25 June 2020
- Blog
Although EU law guarantees equal treatment for all among its founding principles, discrimination in the EU is not a thing of the past. Across Europe, 2% of workers report experiencing discrimination at work linked to each of the following: ...
- Gallinat, Anna Working conditions and sustainable work, Working conditions, Inclusive labour markets, Discrimination at work, Migration and mobility, Labour and social regulation
COVID-19 unleashed the potential for telework – How are workers coping?
- 09 June 2020
- Blog
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.
- Vargas Llave, Oscar COVID-19, Work-life balance, Teleworking
COVID-19 fallout takes a higher toll on women, economically and domestically
- 03 June 2020
- Blog
While women appear to be more resilient than men to COVID-19 in terms of health outcomes, that is not the case when it comes to the economic and social fallout. Measures taken by governments to control the spread of the virus are exacerbating gender divides in unemployment, domestic labour and financial security, all to the disadvantage of women. Meanwhile, work–life conflict is escalating as people work from home, with mothers of small children often bearing the brunt of the impact.
- Mascherini, Massimiliano; Bisello, Martina COVID-19, Quality of life and quality of society, Psychosocial risks, Unemployment, Work-life balance, Gender equality, Teleworking
Is history repeating itself? The impact of the COVID-19 crisis on youth
- 18 May 2020
- Blog
While we now know that the idea that ‘COVID-19 only affects older people’ is fake news, the first weeks of the pandemic have shown that young people are in general more resilient than older people to the disease. But are they also more resilient to its social and economic impacts?
- Mascherini, Massimiliano; Sándor, Eszter COVID-19, Trust, Quality of life and quality of society, Youth, Subjective well-being, Unemployment
Trust tensions highlight need for Europe to ensure a coordinated response to COVID-19
- 12 May 2020
- Blog
The impact of COVID-19 continues to create chaos in people’s lives across Europe and the world. The economy is heading towards another major dip, and a sense of general insecurity pervades. The daunting challenges confronting health services and projections on the long-term impact of the crisis dominate the discourse in the media – and with good reason. But what do we actually know about how the pandemic is affecting us all? How are Europe’s citizens really experiencing this crisis, beyond the graphic drama of individual disease, death and macroeconomic concerns?
- Menéndez-Valdés, Juan COVID-19, Trust, Quality of life and quality of society, Youth, Subjective well-being, Unemployment, Work-life balance, Teleworking
All aboard: Hauling undeclared workers onto the pandemic rescue boats
- 11 May 2020
- Blog
A debate has started in Italy about the support that the state should provide to undeclared workers operating in the informal economy during the COVID-19 crisis. Nunzia Catalfo, Italy’s Minister of Labour in April stated that ‘undeclared work should not exist’ but went on to acknowledge ‘it is a plague that exists’ and that the state has an obligation to provide for all those who have been left without an income in the current emergency. However, this is not an easy step for governments to take, and much is at stake in bringing undeclared workers into the social security fold.
- Biletta, Isabella COVID-19, Undeclared work, Social protection, Employment status
Can short-time working save jobs during the COVID-19 crisis?
- 05 May 2020
- Blog
On 2 April, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced a new fund of up to €100 billion to support EU Member States to introduce short-time working or similar schemes, including for the self-employed, in an effort to saf...
- Weber, Tina COVID-19, Labour market policies, Labour and social regulation
Now is the time for the digital transformation of social services
- 23 April 2020
- Blog
‘Digital transformation’ has been a buzzword in policy circles for some time now, and commitments to making it work for citizens, business and society as whole abound. Brussels has been no exception – the European Commission presented...
- Molinuevo, Daniel COVID-19, Quality of life and quality of society, Quality of life and public services, Public services, Care, Digital age
Economic downturns expose the vulnerability of a growing number of precarious workers
- 21 April 2020
- Blog
Here I want to outline the impact that economic uncertainty and job loss has on the most precarious workers and, indeed, vulnerable self-employed workers (one-quarter of whom are precarious, according to Eurofound research), and what policy...
- Weber, Tina COVID-19, Non-standard employment, Employment status, Labour and social regulation, Labour market change