Estadisticas

Changes over time – First findings from the fifth European Working Conditions Survey
> résumé <
‘Inclusive growth means empowering people through high levels of employment, investing in skills, fighting poverty and modernising labour markets, training and social protection systems so as to help people anticipate and manage change, and build a cohesive society. […] It is about ensuring accessand opportunities for all throughout the life cycle. Europe needs to make full use of its labour potential to face the challenges of an ageing population and rising global competition. Policies to promote gender equality will be needed to increase labour force participation thus adding to growth and social cohesion.’
European Commission, Europe 2020: A European strategy for smart, sustainable andinclusive growth

Key findings
Key trends in European working conditions have emerged over recent decades. • The pattern of employment continues to change across Europe, with an ongoing shift from agriculture and manufacturing into services. While this sectoral pattern of employment shifts, entrenched gender segregation within it remains constant. More women are moving into supervisory roles.Increasingly, they manage other women. The proportion of workers with a temporary contract has, overall, been rising. The number of hours worked per week continues to drift downwards – on average. Standard working time arrangements – a five-day week of 40 hours, worked Monday to Friday – is still the norm for most Europeans. Almost one fifth of European workers are having difficulties achieving asatisfactory work–life balance, a slight decrease since 2000. The level of training paid for by the employer over the last 12 months rose notably between 2005 and 2010. There has been little or no increase in the intellectual challenges that work poses; workers seem to enjoy essentially the same levels of autonomy as they did a decade ago; furthermore, •

monotonous work seems to be somewhat morecommon. Fewer workers feel their health and safety is at risk because of their work. The extent to which workers face (most) physical hazards remains unchanged. Exposure to tobacco smoke has decreased over the last five years following the implementation of widespread anti-smoking legislation. Work intensity remains at a high level. Substantial numbers of Europeans do not feel confident aboutbeing able to remain in their current job until the age of 60.

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Better jobs in Europe
European policy recognises competitiveness and sustainability as essential goals for the EU, to be achieved through building an economically dynamic and socially cohesive Union. Doing so requires that Europe modernises working life, creating ‘more and better jobs’, as the LisbonStrategy put it, or delivers ‘smart, sustainable and inclusive growth’ in the words of the Europe 2020 strategy. Ensuring quality of work and employment is a core element in achieving this objective. The progress already made by enterprises and social partners in this direction can be further consolidated through creating working environments that attract and retain people into employment, improveworkers’ and companies’ adaptability, create sustainable working practices and environments, boost human capital through better training and skills development while still protecting workers’ health

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and promoting their well-being over the course of their working lives. Examining how working conditions have changed (or remained the same) can shed light on what progress isbeing made towards these policy goals. It can also indicate how drivers of change such as globalisation, technological development, more flexible forms of work organisation, the ageing of Europe’s population, and the rise in the number of households with two earners have impacted on how people are working and being employed. These first findings from Eurofound’s fifth European Working Conditions...