EWCS 2010 - Methodology

In an effort to provide comparable and reliable data on working conditions across Europe, Eurofound has developed a unified methodological approach and quality assurance system. Over the years, the methodology has been improved, new concerns have been integrated and the geographical scope has expanded with the enlargements of the European Union.

Fieldwork period: January till June 2010.

Contractor: Gallup Europe (Belgium).

Coverage: 27 EU Member States, Turkey, Croatia, the Former Yugoslavian Republic of Macedonia, Norway, Albania, Kosovo, and Montenegro.

Target population: The target population is all residents of the countries mentioned above, that were aged 15 or older (aged 16 or older in Spain, the UK and Norway), and that were in employment at the time of the survey. People were considered to be in employment if they had worked for pay or profit for at least an hour in the week preceding the interview (ILO definition).

Sample: The basic sample is a multi-stage, stratified, random sample. Each country is divided into sections based on region and degree of urbanisation, in each of which a number of primary sampling units (PSU) is drawn randomly. Subsequently, a random sample of households is drawn in each PSU. Finally, in each household, the person chosen for interview is whoever is in the workforce and has his or her birthday next.

Sample size: The target sample size in most countries was 1000. Exceptions were Germany and Turkey (target sample size of 2000), and Italy, Poland and the United Kingdom (target sample size 1500). Moreover, three countries decided to finance bigger national samples resulting in a target sample size of 4000 in Belgium, 3000 in France and 1400 in Slovenia. The total number of interviews in 2010 was 43 816.

Type of interview: Face to face, at home (i.e. outside the workplace), average duration 44 minutes.

Type of survey: Questionnaire-based with interviews conducted face to face in people's homes in the national language(s) of the country.

For more information please see the Technical report [.pdf, 1MB] (in English only).