The expanding use of digital technology in the form of smartphones, tablets and laptops is rapidly transforming the traditional model of work, according to a new report jointly published by Eurofound and the ILO.
At a conference on the European Pillar of Social Rights in January 2017, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker told delegates that every EU Member State should have a minimum wage.
As part of its ongoing investigation into the implementation of minimum wages across the EU, Eurofound has just published its annual topical update on the subject. The update gives information on minimum
The expanding use of digital technologies such as smartphones, tablets, laptops and desktop computers for work for home and elsewhere is rapidly transforming the traditional model of work. It can improve work-life balance, reduce commuting time, and boost productivity, but it can also potentially result in longer working hours, higher work intensity and work-home interference.
The International Labour Organization (ILO) will launch a joint report with Eurofound entitled Working anytime, anywhere: The effects on the world of work, on Wednesday 15 February.
At a time when the use of digital technology is constantly growing, the new research highlights opportunities and challenges of expanding telework. It synthesises research carried out by both organisations in 15 cou
The growth in the level of minimum wages accelerated in the period between January 2016 and January 2017, with the largest increases in newer EU Member States. This continues a trend of slow convergence between minimum wage levels in Europe - however there is still a long way to go, with minimum wage workers in Luxembourg making eight and a half times as much as minimum wage workers in Bulgaria. T
Dr Erika Mezger, Eurofound's Deputy Director, outlines that European Working Conditions Survey EWCS says about working conditions among German workers and how they compare to those of the rest of Europe.
Our new publication Delivering hospital services: A greater role for the private sector? examines the role and contribution of the private provision of hospital services in the European Union. The report maps the extent of private provision across Europe, examines the drivers for increased private provision, describes how it takes place and presents the views of different stakeholders.
A new series of sectoral information sheets, based on Eurofound’s European Company Survey, looks in detail at a range of aspects of company practices – including innovation. The financial services sector is more innovative than the average sector in the EU28 in terms of the introduction of new or significantly improved organisation (42% compared with 31%). However, it is less innovative in terms o
Eurofound has just published a series of nine sectoral profiles examining economic sectors in the EU, based on the analysis of data from its 2013 European Company Survey. The profiles give an overview of structural characteristics, work organisation practices, human resource management, employee participation and social dialogue in the sectors concerned – business and administration, commerce and
Low-wage jobs have been a focus of debate across Europe during 2016, the issues discussed also reflecting differing national concerns. For some countries, the key issue is integrating migrants into the labour market; for others, stimulating job creation. A new topical update examines the debate in six countries, illustrating a variety of objectives and responses. In Norway and Sweden, the priority
Countries across Europe are well aware of the need to embrace the digital transformation of the economy so that they are placed to reap its benefits. This was a point stressed in the contributions to Eurofound’s Foundation Seminar Series (FSS) 2016, the theme of which was the impact of digitalisation on work. The contributions, created by teams from 15 Member States, also highlighted the challenge
Between 2010 and 2015, as highlighted in the latest issue of Eurofound’s magazine Foundation Focus, there was an overall increase in the proportion of workers with some form of flexible working time and a decline in the extent of schedules with no possibility for change. In some countries, the proportion of workers with flexible arrangements has decreased (Bulgaria, Lithuania and Slovakia). In the
Four out of five European workers report that they have a good work–life balance. However, this implies that for one in five workers the balance between their work and their other obligations is not a good one.
The latest issue of Foundation Focus looks at work–life balance and some of the factors that help or hinder workers in combining working with non-working life. Improving work–life balanc
Eurofound’s newly launched programming document sets out the Agency’s planned work over the period 2017–2020. It outlines the policy and institutional context, describes the multiannual programme for the four-year period and details the work programme for 2017. This work will provide European decision-makers with an evidence base to formulate policies aimed at achieving upward convergence of livin
Mid-career reviews (MCR), where employers organise an assessment of workers in the workplace at a mid-point in their working life, are an important tool to ensure that workers' skills continue to match the job demands, or whether a change in tasks or career is required. Eurofound's new report Changing places: Mid-career review and internal mobility, launched in Brussels today, shows that timely mi
Eurofound has launched its new work programme for 2017 to 2020. This document sets out the activities the Agency plans to undertake in the next four years to support European decision-makers in formulating effective policies for the improvement of quality of life and work in a fair and competitive Europe during this challenging period.
Making work sustainable is not simply a challenge for politicians and policymakers in the European Union: it is a fundamental issue that underpins the future of the world of work in Europe. It goes beyond the mantra of raising employment rates and deals with productivity and innovation – and the everyday lives of workers throughout the EU.
Eurofound’s new report takes forward existing research on the labour market integration of refugees (those with the officially recognised status of international protection) and asylum seekers (those who have applied for international protection and are awaiting a decision). The report provides updated information on legislation and practical arrangements in the first half of 2016, examines labour
Two new studies presented today during the EU Agencies Forum at the European Parliament highlight the vast contribution of the 45 EU Agencies and Joint Undertakings to the economic and political development of the European Union
The reasons why people choose self-employment reflect both the choices available to them and the overall economic situation in their country. The sixth EWCS asked workers what was the main driver for becoming self-employed. The answers vary greatly between countries: 86% of self-employed workers in Sweden said they opted for self-employment ‘mainly through own personal preferences’. However, only
