Measuring working conditions in Europe European Working Conditions Survey

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Measuring working conditions in EuropeEuropean
Working Conditions Survey

• Greet Vermeylen
• European Foundation for the Improvement of Living
  and Working Conditions
• Measurement of quality of employment meeting, 14
  october 2009

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European Foundation for the Improvement of Living
and Working Conditions

• Agency of the EU, based in Dublin
• Tripartite Board (delegations from all MS
  European Commission)
• Mandate to do European-wide comparative
  policy-relevant research
• surveys EWCS, EQLS, ECS
• Network of correspondents EIRO, EWCO, ERM
• Qualitative research, case studies, best
  practices,

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Monitoring working conditions through a
multidimensional concept quality of work and
employment

Career and employment security . Employment
status . Income . Social protection . Workers
rights
Skills development . Qualifications .
Training . Learning organisation . Career
development
Quality of work and employment
Health and well-being . Health problems . Risk
exposure . Work organisation
Reconciliation of working and non-working life .
Working/non-working time . Social infrastructures
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Why doing a survey?

• Objectives of the European Working Conditions
  Survey
• to provide an overview of working conditions in
  order to
• (1) Assess and quantify working conditions of
  both employees and self-employed across Europe on
  a harmonised basis
• (2) Analyse relationships between changes/
  working conditions
• (3) Identify groups at risk and issues of
  concern/progress
• (4) Monitor trends and
• (5) Contribute to the Lisbon Strategy on quality
  of work and employment by providing homogeneous
  indicators on this issue to a European audience.

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European Working Conditions Survey some
characteristics

• Working conditions results of the interaction
  between a job and an individual in an environment
  
• Broad thematic coverage working time, physical /
  psychosocial risks, work organisation, work
  satisfaction, work-related health outcomes /
  absenteeism, non-work activities (domestic care,
  education etc).
• Currently preparing 5th wave 1991 / 1995 /2000
  (2001/2 in NMS) and 2005. Fieldwork of 5th EWCS
  foreseen in Spring
• Very comparative survey exactly the same
  questionnaire and methodological standards,
  managed and coordinated centrally, with a network
  of contractors carrying out the fieldwork.
• Extensive package of quality control and quality
  assurance measures throughout the process

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Aim of the survey try and give a picture of
working conditions of workers in the EU

• Through a harmonised survey
• a survey, based on one questionnaire, translated
  in all the languages (25 languages 16 variants)
• Same methodology, same quality standards applied
  everywhere
• Working conditions of all workers
• People in employment self-employed and employees
  (LFS definition)
• Some special questions to either group of workers
  (filters)
• Face to face interview in peoples homes (40 min
  on average)
• More than 30 countries
• EU27, some IPA countries, some neighbour
  countries eg Norway
• Around 30000 interviews in total
• 1000 per country except 600 for smaller countries
• In 5th EWCS top up by countries is possible
• Ambitions and limitations of survey
• Sample size limited
• Aim not to have produce statistics
• other instruments do this better, eg LFS on
  employmment issues
• Rather look at correlations, impacts, effects

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How do we do it?

• Questionnaire
• Has expanded over time (from 30 to 100
  questions), trying to capture world of work
• Some questions which have been changed e.g. more
  on place of work, gender mainstreaming, blurring
  frontiers, precariousness,
• Keep trends if possible measure change over
  time
• Work intensity, working time etc
• Harmonized survey but different levels of
  objectivation / understanding of working
  conditions and national contexts
• to be taken into account in analysis

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The European Working Conditions Surveys

• 4 so far, 5th ewcs fieldwork to start in January
  2010
• From 1991 to 2005 questionnaire has expanded
  from 30 to 100 questions however attempt to
  keep trends
• Geographical scope from 12 countries to probably
  34 in 2010
• Face to face interviews in peoples homes, 15 in
  employment according to LFS standards
• 5th ewcs
• 1 questionnaire. Numerous language versions and
  variants
• Probably 34 countries covered EU27 ACC3 IPA3
  NO
• 1000 interviews in each country except 600 for
  CY, EE, Lxbg, MT and SV but possibilities for MS
  to top up sample sizes

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New issues in the 2010 wave

• Precarious work
• More on work-life balance, blurring fronteers
• Changes in the workplace
• Stress, mental health

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Different steps

• Fieldwork Spring 2010
• Analysis Autumn 2010/2011
• Secondary analyses
• Other research methods, case studies etc
• Dataset available through Essex data archive
  contact Camilla Galli da Bino at
  gdb_at_eurofound.europa.eu

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Thank you

• More info
• www.eurofound.europa.eu
• Or gve_at_eurofound.europa.eu