Despite the disproportionate impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on young people in the EU, Latvia has managed to retain a comparatively high level of optimism among its younger population, with 70% of people aged 18-29 in the country optimistic about their future. This is the second highest optimism score in the EU during spring 2021, only behind Malta, while the EU27’s average is 49% of young peopl
Employees in Poland are working 1,848 hours per year, the highest annual working hours figure (alongside Hungary) across the EU. The shortest hours are found in Germany (1,574 hours), France (1,610 hours) and Denmark (1,635 hours). These figures are part of Eurofound’s Working time in 2019–2020 report, which documents the most relevant changes in working time regulation after the onset of the COVI
COVID-19 ended a six-year decline in youth unemployment, with young people more likely to find themselves unemployed and to report poor mental health than the rest of the population. Young people were hit particularly hard both economically and socially with the pandemic striking Europe as youth unemployment was returning to pre-economic crisis levels for the first time. Economic and well-being ou
New technologies such as the Internet of Things, 3D printing, and virtual and augmented reality can help put greater emphasis on managerial and analytical tasks, reduce physically demanding tasks, drive the upgrading of skills and increase job discretion. However, some aspects of these technologies, particularly the Internet of Things, raise concerns that employee performance could be excessively
Recycling revenues from energy and carbon taxes to support low-income groups, investing in renovating buildings and in green mobility are among measures that could ensure public support for Europe’s sustainability agenda and a socially just transition.
In quarter four of 2020, weekly working hours in Czechia decreased by 2.8 hours, marking the largest decrease in the EU in a year-on-year comparison with the same period of 2019 and followed by Austria (-1.8 hours per week). The EU’s average for the end-of-year quarter lies at -0.5 hours. This data was recently published in a joint Eurofound and European Commission report (What just happened? COVI
Die wöchentliche Arbeitszeit in Österreich hat sich zu Beginn der COVID-19 Pandemie (2. Quartal 2020) im Vergleich zum Vorjahreszeitraum um 2,6 Stunden verringert. Dies war der größte Rückgang in der EU und liegt über dem EU-Durchschnitt von -0,9 Stunden, wie aus einem gemeinsamen Bericht von Eurofound und der Europäischen Kommission hervorgeht (Was ist gerade passiert? COVID-19-Sperren und Veränd
Weekly working hours in Austria decreased by 2.6 hours at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic (quarter 2 2020) as compared to the same time of the previous year. This was the largest decrease in the EU and far beyond the EU average of -0.9 hours, as reported by a joint Eurofound and European Commission report (What just happened? COVID-19 lockdowns and change in the labour market), which describes
Temporary workers, particularly those in non-teleworkable occupations such as services and sales jobs, elementary occupations and blue-collar occupations, were disproportionately impacted by COVID-19 job loss in Europe, accounting for three-quarters of net job loss in the EU in 2020.
Despite economic restrictions significantly reducing working time in a number of sectors in Europe, overall trends do not fully reflect this due to the polarisation of working time in different sectors; with some workers left with little to do due to restrictions, and others facing burnout due to long working hours and arduous demands.
While 57% of respondents in Spain are pessimistic about the future of their country, only 7% expect their personal life to get worse in the next 12 months. This pessimism gap, which relates to the contrast between societal and personal perceptions of the future, of 50 percentage points in Spain is among the largest of the EU27. The European average equals 34 percentage points, however, the variati
Mental well-being indicators for young people and women have decreased disproportionately across the EU between summer 2020 and spring 2021, against a background of overall decline in mental health well-being across the EU. The long term effects of this for society and the economy are of serious concern. This is according to Eurofound’s large-scale Living, working and COVID-19 online survey.
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Eurofound (European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions) is a tripartite EU body, whose mission is to provide knowledge to assist in the development of better social, employment and work-related policies.
