Respondents that participated in Eurofound’s 2024 e-survey were less optimistic about their future than those that took part in 2023, with the degree of optimism across all age groups falling considerably since 2020. The sharpest drop in optimism occurred among respondents in the 35–49 and 50–64 age groups, who reported the lowest levels of optimism in 2024.
Workplace cyberbullying or ‘digital harassment’ is only explicitly covered in regulatory frameworks in Denmark in the EU, with other Member States either attempting to extend legal definitions to include misconduct occurring through information and communication technologies (ICTs) or outside of the physical workplace; or lacking any definition of workplace bullying or harassment in law.
Today is World Mental Health Day, an opportunity to raise awareness of mental health issues around the world and to mobilise efforts in support of mental health.
In summer 2020, 34% of people in the EU aged 80+ had not left home since the COVID-19 pandemic began, and 88% of people in this age group reported visiting family members less often. Although people of all ages became more at risk of mental health issues and loneliness during the pandemic, the impact was particularly severe on both young people and people aged 80+.
Ireland and Denmark are the most socially optimistic countries in the EU, according to Eurofound's Social Optimism Index, a newly developed composite indicator which measures six variables of optimism among people in Europe.
Mental well-being among people in Europe improved between the April and July waves of Eurofound’s Living, working and COVID-19 surveys, with the largest increases among those aged 50 and over.
First findings from Eurofound's Living, working and COVID-19 online survey show that, despite comparatively high overall levels of life satisfaction and optimism in Ireland, women aged 18-34 in the country report being the loneliest in the EU. The first wave of Eurofound’s survey was carried out in April, with 85,000 participants – 16,599 of which were aged 18-34.
People in the lowest income groups remain the most likely to report difficulties in accessing primary care services across the European Union, according to Eurofound research. More than 8 out of 10 people in the EU reported using health services in 2016, but many still struggle to access services, including those with incomes just above the threshold that would entitle them to state support.
Just one in three workers in the EU whose daily activities are severely or somewhat limited by a chronic disease report that their workplace has been adapted to accommodate their health problem. This means the majority of workers in Europe with a limiting health condition are not being supported in terms of workplace adaptation.
People at work in Europe report good health and well-being, and increased control over their work activities. However, Eurofound data shows that work is also becoming more emotionally demanding, which poses a risk to health, as well as the long-term sustainability of work itself.
Today is World Mental Health Day, a yearly event held by the World Health Organization with the overall objective of raising awareness of mental health issues and mobilising efforts in support of mental health. Eurofound has made a limited number of copies of its latest report on Burnout in the workplace available to order, free of charge, via its website
The effects of burnout on workers can be severe; without detection and proper treatment burnout symptoms can last several years – impacting not just the health of individual workers, but also business success and broader economic performance. However, a lack of clear definition and understanding of burnout has resulted in a disparate and fragmented policy response at national level.