Over 80% of workers in a Eurofound-commissioned survey of employees in Belgium, France, Italy and Spain report receiving work-related communications outside their contractual working hours during a typical working week.
In the latest episode of Eurofound Talks Mary McCaughey speaks with Eurofound Senior Research Manager John Hurley about new research which shows a marginal increase in net employment from EU decarbonisation measures, but also potentially broad shifts in the labour market that could have a profound impact in several areas.
Workers in Member States that joined the European Union after 2004 have, on average, longer normal annual working time. Workers in these countries also generally have a lower amount of statutory minimum days of leave.
Eurofound projects that the EU’s commitments to achieve a 55% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions compared with 1990 levels by 2030 (‘Fit for 55’) will be marginally positive for employment in the EU, with a net creation of 204,000 jobs.
The working conditions of Europe’s essential workers is the focus of the new episode of the Eurofound Talks podcast.
The rural–urban income gap has increased by nearly 20% over the past decade, with higher incomes in urban areas than in rural areas. This, alongside the employment gap and the relatively poorer provision of public services in rural areas has contributed to a rise in rural communities expressing feelings of being mistreated, disrespected or ignored by their government.
Today is World Mental Health Day, an opportunity to raise awareness of mental health issues around the world and to mobilise efforts in support of mental health.
Poor job quality, including high emotional demand, working at high speed and to tight deadlines, is widespread among several of the sectors and professions deemed essential, key or critical during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Eurofound has just published a new episode of the Eurofound Talks podcast on skills in Europe. In the episode Mary McCaughey speaks with Eurofound Research Manager Tina Weber, Eurofound Senior Research Manager Gijs van Houten, and Giovanni Russo, Senior Expert at CEDEFOP – the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training.
Workers on non-permanent contracts and workers with no formal contract are less satisfied with the functioning of democracy in their country, as are workers experiencing job insecurity.
The EU’s financial commitment to social issues - with government spending on social services such as social protection, education and health claiming a significant 35% of GDP in 2020 - underpinned its resilience to the economic shock of the COVID-19 pandemic.
While some environmental indicators have improved across the EU, there are large inequalities between people at different income levels in Europe, with low-income populations drastically worse off in terms of the quality of their neighbourhood and housing.
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.
