As citizens across the EU prepare to cast their vote in the European elections, the latest Living and working in Europe report from Eurofound looks at how work and life has changed in the EU since 2015.
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.
Imagine you’re at work and something happens: you have to leave to visit a client, you have to go home to let in the plumber, or you have to collect the kids from school as the football training has just been cancelled. If you’re lucky, your employer gives you the flexibility to do this. If you’re even luckier, it is YOU who decides upon your schedule and place of work.
Despite differences in economic structure, labour markets and development, a pioneering study of the working conditions and job quality of 1.2 billion workers finds common concerns and challenges across 41 countries and four continents, according to a new report from the International Labour Organization and Eurofound.
Motivated workers have higher levels of engagement, better health and are able to work longer. Improving motivation at work is therefore a key component in meeting the challenges of Europe’s ageing workforce and improving the EU’s long-term competitiveness on a global scale. This means that fostering motivation at work isn’t just about personal or business success, it's about Europe’s success.
After more than 60 years of European policy on the equal treatment of women and men, men still outnumber women in management positions by almost two to one. The women who do make it into management are more likely to be in non-supervising management roles where they manage operational responsibilities but not staff, and the minority that do manage staff are more likely to be managing other women.
Ein Jahr nach der Einführung des Entgelttransparenzgesetzes sind die ersten Befunde noch nicht wirklich beeindruckend. Dieses Gesetz ist Deutschlands Antwort auf die Empfehlung der Europäischen Kommission von 2014, zumindest eine von vier Lohntransparenz-Maßnahmen einzuführen, um die Lohnschere zwischen Männern und Frauen zu schließen.
We want to thank you for your support and wish you and your family a peaceful Christmas and a happy New Year.
Structural change is expected to move much faster in the Member States who joined the Union after 2004, and we forecast big changes in the occupational wage and task structure in these countries in the run up to 2030.
Quality of life is improving in Ireland, particularly in relation to social cohesion, with the country recording some of the highest levels optimism in the EU and lowest reported levels of tension between racial and ethnic groups. However, a number of challenges remain, notably in public transport, childcare services, and social housing – all of which are rated below EU averages.
Eurofound Director Juan Menéndez-Valdés will present to the Oireachtas Joint Committee on EU Affairs at 14:00 GMT on Wednesday 12 December. The presentation will look at Ireland-specific data from the European Quality of Life Survey and European Working Conditions Survey.
Platform work is neither good nor bad – it just is. We need to adapt to this reality by finding ways to capitalise on the positive while at the same time counteracting the negative. This needs to be done in a differentiated way, taking account of the great variety in platform work. One-size solutions simply will not fit all.
The equal treatment of women and men has been a fundamental principle of the European Union since its inception, but women in Europe still earn on average 16.2% less than men. Tomorrow, Saturday 3 November, marks the moment in the year when women symbolically stop getting paid compared to their male colleagues.
Few events challenge the equilibrium between work and life like the arrival of a child. As gender roles continue to change in Europe, supporting the uptake of paternity and parental leave among fathers is fundamental, not just to close the ‘caring gap’ between men and women, but also to provide the best possible outlook for coming generations.
On average, women make up 36% of all managers in Europe. Some of the newer Member States lead the way in terms of the equal representation of men and women both in labour markets and in management. This graph shows the female share of management in each of the Member States.
Management is still mostly a man's game. The limited presence of women in management roles in European workplaces, despite years of gender equality policy, illustrates the magnitude of the challenge in achieving gender equality at work and highlights the need for more concerted effort and comprehensive long-term strategies to drive change.
Eurofound's forthcoming policy brief focuses on women who have overcome the barriers and advanced into management. It aims to assess whether women, once they have reached a managerial role, continue to encounter obstacles that their male counterparts do not face.
@JuanMenendezEF presents #eurofound latest research findings on #platform #work and employment conditions at the informal #EPSCO #eu2018at today 19 July 2018
It is well known that women take more responsibility for the care of their children than men. According to the 2016 EQLS, 88% of mothers compared to 64% of fathers in the EU care for their children every day. These fathers estimate they give 21 hours a week to the care of their children, while the mothers dedicate 39 hours per week.
The number of people active in the labour market is at an all-time high, ratings for key public services are increasing and there is a marked recovery in trust in national institutions in many Member States, these developments are detailed in Eurofound’s latest Living and working in Europe yearbook for 2017.
