Work–life balance refers to the level of prioritisation between an individual’s work and personal life. A good work–life balance is achieved when an individual’s right to a fulfilled life inside and outside paid work is accepted and respected as the norm – to the mutual benefit of the individual, business and society. Enabling a better work–life balance for workers across the life course has been an EU policy goal for many years as it is central to ensuring that work is sustainable for all.
Eurofound’s e-survey captures the situation of European respondents and their post-pandemic concerns. This factsheet outlines the most recent data on the main challenges faced by Europeans, with a particular emphasis...
In recent years, work–life balance has become a central theme in labour policies across Europe. While EU Member States have adopted different approaches, the common aim is to promote a...
Article
Eurofound research
Work–life balance continues to be a significant research topic for Eurofound, in its surveys and other studies.
Podcast
Listen to or watch a recording of our International Women's Day 2023 podcast on the work–life challenges of women and men.
Eurofound’s European Quality of Life Surveys (EQLS) provide comparisons between countries on the reconciliation of work and family life, flexible working time arrangements and the provision of quality care services. The European Company Surveys (ECS) provide data on why and how companies make use of a broad variety of working time arrangements. The European Working Conditions Surveys (EWCS) look at the organisation of working time across the EU and issues related to it including flexible arrangements, working time preferences and work–life balance.
Eurofound’s unique e-survey, Living, working and COVID-19, provides a snapshot of the impact of the changes that occurred during the pandemic on people’s lives, with the aim of helping policymakers shape the response to the crisis. Conducted in five rounds during 2020, 2021 and 2022, it allows for comparison of the challenges that arose during the different stages of living through the pandemic. A range of questions focus on people’s work situation, their level of teleworking during COVID-19, experiences of working from home and the impact on work–life balance.
The latest findings, published in July 2022 show that despite some improvement in work–life balance issues, there has been a sharp decline in family time among workers in 2022, with almost 30% reporting that their job is preventing them from spending time with their family, from a much lower 19% in 2020.
Working life and work–life balance
Eurofound gathers information on working life in the EU, looking at national and EU-level policies to promote work–life balance and investigating the role of social dialogue and collective bargaining in this area.
Research investigates the opportunities for working time flexibility and improved work–life balance related to digitisation and platform work, linked with the labour market integration of specific groups, such as those with care responsibilities or health issues.
In its research on working conditions and sustainable work, Eurofound has looked at the implications for work–life balance for parents and caregivers.
In the context of the negotiations on the work–life balance package at EU level, and at the European Commission’s request, Eurofound has produced a review of national statistics on the uptake of family-related leave by fathers over time across the EU Member States and Norway.
The fifth round of Eurofound's e-survey, fielded from 25 March to 2 May 2022, sheds light on the social and economic situation of people across Europe two years after COVID-19...
Digital technologies have made it possible for many workers to carry out their work at any time and anywhere, with consequent advantages and disadvantages. Eurofound data show that teleworkers are...
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)...
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...
Advances in ICT have opened the door to new ways of organising work. We are shifting from a regular, bureaucratic and ‘factory-based’ working time pattern towards a more flexible model...
In the context of ongoing negotiations at EU level on adopting a work–life balance package for families and caregivers, Eurofound was requested by the European Commission to provide an update...
7 Fevereiro 2019
Publication
Customised report
EU context
On 17 November 2017, the European Parliament, the Council and the European Commission formally proclaimed the European Pillar of Social Rights, which included an initiative to support work–life balance. Subsequently, in June 2019, the Council adopted a new Directive on work–life balance for parents and carers. The Directive aims to increase women's participation in the labour market and outlines a number of new or improved minimum standards for parental, paternity and carer’s leave, as well as flexible working arrangements, aiming to also increase men's take-up of these.
Jorge Cabrita is a senior research manager in the Working Life unit. He is responsible for formulating, coordinating and managing European-wide research, and promoting the...
Women’s labour market participation in the European Union has increased over recent decades, passing 70% in 2014. In that year, women comprised almost 46% of the active EU labour market population.
European countries face the challenges of ageing populations supported by shrinking workforces, more precarious types of employment, and in many cases, a decreasing number of jobs in the wake of the economic crisis. As a result, the issue of how to enable more people to participate in the labour
This report examines the main trends and milestones characterising the evolution of the most important aspects of collectively agreed working time in the European Union during the first decade of the 21st century. Drawing primarily on information collected by Eurofound across all EU Member States an
Throughout Europe families have felt the effects of the economic crisis that began in 2008. This report describes their experience in the aftermath of the crisis, up to the present. It looks in detail at developments in 10 Member States that were selected to represent different types of family
O sexto Inquérito Europeu sobre as Condições de Trabalho (IECT) apresenta o panorama diversificado da Europa a nível do trabalho ao longo do tempo de um país para o outro, por profissão, género e grupo etário. As conclusões sublinham a complexa realidade com a qual os responsáveis políticos europeus
Occupation is a critical factor in determining the type of working conditions a person will experience during their professional life. This report explores the working conditions of workers – particularly medium-to-low skilled and unskilled – in occupations that are found to have low levels of job
Collective bargaining has been crucial in developing recent initiatives on flexible working time in many countries, both at sectoral and at company level. Such agreements, together with some legislation, also cover working with ICT outside an employer’s premises (such as telework). This topical
This report gives an overview of working conditions, job quality, workers’ health and job sustainability in the computer programming, consultancy and related activities sector (NACE 62). It is based mostly on the fifth European Working Conditions Survey (EWCS), which gathers data on working
This report gives an overview of working conditions, job quality, workers’ health and job sustainability in the legal and accounting services sector (NACE 69). It is based mostly on the fifth European Working Conditions Survey (EWCS), which gathers data on working conditions and the quality of work
This report gives an overview of working conditions, job quality, workers’ health and job sustainability in the real estate sector (NACE 68).1 It is based mostly on the fifth European Working Conditions Survey (EWCS), which gathers data on working conditions and the quality of work across 34
The Labour Force Sample Survey (LFSS [1]) is conducted by the Czech Statistical Office (ČSÚ [2]) every quarter on a randomly selected sample of private households. It focuses on the economic status of people in the country aged 15 and over. In 2010, the LFSS contained an ad hoc module on work-life
An annual Absenteeism Report (in German) [1] has looked at the impact of flexible working on employees’ levels of stress and related health risks. The 2012 research was jointly compiled by WidO [2], the research institute of public health insurer AOK [3], and Bielefeld University [4]. The study was
A report, Development and protection of well-being and organisational health in healthcare (in Italian, 3.88Mb PDF) [1], is being promoted by the Italian Federation of Hospital and Local Health Agencies (FIASO [2]) with the aim of establishing a shared protocol for assessing the risks of work
GfK [1] is a leading market research agency. Its survey on employee engagement, pressure and stress related to employment, the GfK International Employee Engagement Survey [2], was conducted by the agency’s Custom Research sector [3] in April 2011. The survey was carried out across 29 countries, and
The Work and Family–Life Balance Barometer 2012 (/Barómetro de Conciliación/) was created using data collected from 710 questionnaires completed by Spanish employees. Using these data, the business services consultancy firm Edenred [1] and IESE Business School [2] have published a report (in Spanish
Between March and June 2012, the social partners from employers’ associations and trade unions took part in deliberations organised by the French National Agency for the Improvement of Working Conditions (Anact [1]) on Quality of Life at Work, in preparation for negotiations on a new national
The General Workers’ Union (UGT [1]) has published a report on the evolution of working time (in Spanish, 720Kb PDF) [2] and extra working time among Spain’s workforce. The report is based on data provided by the Survey on Active Population (EPA [3]) collated by the Spanish National Institute of
The fifth Danish Work Environment Cohort Study, carried out in 2010 by the National Research Centre for the Working Environment, revealed both improvements and a decline in conditions for Danish workers. Compared with 2005, there was a significant increase in the number of people experiencing
The Finnish National Work and Health Survey of working conditions and occupational health is carried out every three years by the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health. This report examines trends in occupational accidents and violence, exposure to noise, vibration and chemical substances
In 2001 the Flemish Government and social partners agreed to increase substantially the quality of jobs in the region. The Flemish workability monitor was developed to help determine progress in implementing this policy. This survey data report reviews the methods and key findings of the workability
The jury is still out on the question whether men and women are from distinct planets. When it comes to the world of work, however, they are worlds apart.
Telework has become a permanent feature of working life in Europe. While we’ve seen the benefits of more flexible ways of working – particularly during the pandemic – the problems that arise from an increasingly connected life are also becoming clearer. Unfortunately, legislation alone may not be en
One of the most striking developments of the last half-century has been the huge rise in female labour market participation in advanced economies. More than two out of every three net new jobs created over the last two decades in the EU have been taken up by women, who now account for 46% of the wor
The pandemic has had differential impacts on women. Raised consciousness about them must be applied to advance gender equality in recovery measures. All crises have a strongly gendered impact and none more so than the current pandemic, across a range of indicators. While the virus itself seems to ta
This year’s theme to mark International Women’s Day on 8 March is Choose to Challenge (or #ChooseToChallenge, if you prefer). The idea is to highlight that ‘from challenge comes change’ and that ‘we can all choose to challenge and call out gender bias and inequality’.
The decades-long trend of a narrowing gender employment gap in Europe has halted in recent years. Now the COVID-19 pandemic is disproportionately affecting low-paying service sectors with a high share of social contact, including many with a majority of female workers, risking forcing them ou
Whatever the benefits of telework – and there are many, including more flexible working time, increased productivity and less commuting – there are drawbacks, as many of the one-third of Europeans who were exclusively working from home during the pandemic will attest. Primary among these is the ‘alw
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
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 an
The overview report of the European Working Conditions Survey 2024 ( EWCS24) provides a comprehensive description of the workforce, and includes information on digital work practices, social relations at work and inclusive workplaces. It evaluates job quality across seven dimensions: earnings,
The first findings from the European Working Conditions Survey 2024 (EWCS24) provide information on changes over time in the seven domains of job quality and key indicators on the quality of working life and sustainable work. They also include information on algorithmic management, hybrid work,
