5th European Working Conditions
Survey
Greet Vermeylen
research manager Surveys and Trend Unit
Seminar for students of faculty of chemistry/chemical
technology
Ljubljana, 4 October 2011
Monitoring activities :
Our surveys and observatories (NEO)
European Working
Conditions survey
(EWCS)
1991, 95, 2000/01,
2005, 2010
European Quality of
Life survey (EQLS)
2003, 2007, 2011
European Company
Survey (ECS)
2004/05 / 2009 / 2012
Monitoring
living and
working conditions
in EU
European Industrial
Relations
Observatory
(EIRO)
European
Restructuring Monitor
(ERM)/
EMCC
European Working
Conditions
Observatory
(EWCO)
A few pointers on quality of work
•
Quality of work, decent work, quality of work and employment,
quality of employment


•
Different frameworks
Multidimensional
Capture the ‘world of work’ for all employees
 Taking into consideration :
different sectors / public/private / different jobs / gender /
different job status / self-employed and employees
•
The context matters: legislation, labour market, employment
policies, social protection and social provisions,…
•
Context: Sustainability, ageing workforce, lifecourse, crisis…
Different dimensions of
quality of work and employment
PROTECTING HEALTH
& WELL-BEING
• Health and safety
outcomes
• Exposure to risks
• Participation
• Occupational Health
and Safety prevention
framework
• Healthy work
organisation
HAVING A JOB WITH
FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS &
EMPLOYMENT SECURITY
• Employment status
• Wages
• Access to social protection
• Workers rights
QWE
BALANCING WORK with
NON WORK LIFE
• Organisation of working time
• blurring fronteers between
work and private life
• Social infrastructures and
provisions
USING and
ACQUIRING
SKILLS
•Initial education
•Cognitive content
of work
•Training & lifelong
learning
•Career development
•Learning
organisation
European Working Conditions Survey (EWCS)
•
European wide survey – 5 waves already: 1991, 1995, 2000 (+01/02), 2005 and 2010
•
1 questionnaire / translated in all the languages

•
•
2010: 25 languages and 16 variants
Country coverage: EU + neighbour countries

5th EWCS (2010): 34 countries covered : EU27 + NO + ACC3 + IPA3

43000 interviews in total (1000/4000 interview per country)
Workers survey: employees and self-employed (15+) (LFS def)

face to face interviews
•
Covers many different aspects of the conditions of work and employment of European workers (more than 100 questions)
 Demographics, structure of workforce, job characteristics, household info (incl work at home)
 Working time : duration, organisation
 Physical and psychosocial work factors
 Nature of work / place of work / work organisation
 Job content and training
 Work-life balance
 Information and consultation
 Outcomes : health, job satisfaction
 Earnings
•
Gender mainstreaming : central in reflection on questionnaire
Change over the last 20 years
•
Globalisation
•
Structure of employment
More in services, less in industry
 A wide variety of employment contracts (& blurring division between selfemployed and employees)

•
A more diverse workforce


More women on the labour market _-> but gender segregation remains
Ageing workforce
•
(National) policies aiming at modernising working life aimed at social
progress and /or developing competitiveness
•
Transformation in the management of companies

adaptability and reactivity, HRM
Some results of the EWCS
Level of job segregation at the workplace
by gender, 2010, EU27 (%)
80%
70%
60%
Mostly men
50%
Mostly women
40%
More or less equal number of
men and women
30%
20%
10%
0%
Men
Women
All
Training on increase, but big
differences remain
Employer-paid training by age of employee,
1995 – 2010, EU15 and EU27 (%)
(or paid by oneself if self-employed)
40%
35%
30%
25%
Under 30
20%
30 to 49
50 and older
15%
10%
5%
0%
EU15
1995
EU15
EU27
2000
EU27
EU27
2005
2010
Finland
Netherlands
Slovenia
Sweden
United Kingdom
Czech Republic
Norway
Ireland
Denmark
Austria
Belgium
Estonia
Slovakia
Luxembourg
Germany
Poland
Malta
Spain
Portugal
Cyprus
Latvia
Hungary
Italy
France
Lithuania
Romania
Albania
Kosovo
Croatia
Greece
FYROM
Montenegro
Turkey
Bulgaria
Employer paid training by country, employees
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Employer paid training
Asked for training but did not get it
Workers involved in
workplace innovation
Participation in improving the work organisation or
processes, by country, 2010 (%)
100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
SK
DE
LT
BG
PL
HU
AT
CZ
PT
LV
IT
ES
BE
EU27
LU
RO
FR
UK
FI
SE
CY
EL
EE
SI
MT
DK
IE
NL
Always or most of the time
Sometimes
Rarely or never
Use of technology, EU27, 2000-2010
35%
30%
28.8%
25.6%
25%
22.1%
20%
20.0%
17.7%
17.6%
17.5%
15%
10%
10.5%
10.5%
8.5%
5%
0%
2000
2005
2010
Working with computers: PCs, network, mainframe (all the time or almost)
Using internet / email for professional purposes (all of the time or almost)
Exposed vibrations from hand tools, machinery, etc. (all of the time or almost)
Work dependent on automatic speed of a machine
Risk exposures:
- overall: little change
- differences however between different countries, sectors, occupation
- gender differences in exposure to physical risks
Vibrations
Noise
Breathing in smoke/ dust and/or vapours
Heavy loads
Low temperatures
High temperatures
Tobacco smoke
Standing
Chemical substances
Tiring or painful positions
Repetitive hand or arm movements
Infectious materials
Lifting or moving people
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
Men
50%
Women
60%
70%
80%
Psychosocial risks
•
Complex phenomenon:

•
work related ‘stress’ can be related to many issues.
Worrying developments:
stable high levels of work intensity
 no increase in workers’ room for manoeuvre

•
Work related stress factors :







Work demands
work intensity, working long hours, cognitive demands, work-life balance
Emotional demands
contact with people, emotional involvement, consequences of mistakes
Room for manoeuvre
Social relations
Value conflicts and work dissatisfaction
Employment insecurity and lack of career prospects and insecurity in the work
Violence, harassment and bullying
Pu
bl
ic
Threaths or humiliating behaviour
Unw ated sexual attention
O
de
fe
nc
e
H
ea
l th
Ed
uc
at
io
n
an
d
er
vi
ce
s
Bullying and harassment
To
ta
l
th
er
se
rv
ic
es
ad
m
in
is
tra
tio
n
Fi
na
nc
ia
ls
Tr
an
sp
or
t
In
W
du
ho
st
le
ry
sa
le
C
,r
on
et
st
ai
ru
l,
ct
fo
io
od
n
,a
cc
om
od
at
io
n
Ag
ri c
ul
tu
re
Threats and harassment by sector
12%
10%
8%
6%
4%
2%
0%
‘I might lose my job in the next 6 months’
100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
LT EE CZ LV BG
SI
IE ES RO HU SE EL CY MT PT PL BE
Agree
F I NL
Neither agree nor disagree
IT SK UK FR DE AT DK LU 27
EU
Disagree
My work affects my health negatively
my work affect my health negatively
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
IR
L
UK
KO
IT
NL
FI
G
E
BE
M
O
EU
27
DK
SW
FR
TK
LX
bg
SP
AL
CZ
NW
AU
PO
BG
M
T
SK
CY
RO
PL
HU
LT
HR
R
G
FY
SI
EE
LV
0%
NL
DE
IE
DK
UK
SE
FI
CY
IT
EE
EU27
LV
BE
AT
RO
LT
CZ
MT
SK
LU
BG
PL
ES
HU
FR
EL
PT
SI
Able to work at 60, by country
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Conclusions
•
•
Quality of work remains important

Work matters, not only employment -> ‘Better’ may be even more needed now !

Needed for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth
Challenge:

Understand the phenomena

No simple answers / explanation to most phenomena
Multilevel. Multi actions needed
European-wide comparative data
Workers and employers surveys
•
Differences between groups of workers, economic activities and countries are important.


Changes don’t go into the same directions for all groups of workers.
Identification of groups of workers, situations of work which are of concern but also of groups and
situations which shall encourage us
•
Context remains important
•
Limited yet noticeable changes at global level
•
Change is possible and actors have a role to play

Evidence of change over time of a number of indicators. Are we heading into the right direction ? Do we
want to foster / nurture more changes ?
Thank you
More info: www.eurofound.europa.eu
Survey Map Tool, overview report, secondary analyses
Data will be available through Essex Data Archive
gve@eurofound.europa.eu