The European Working Conditions Surveys series (the EWCS) · across Europe on a harmonised basis. ... • Gender inequalities / women managers • Employment status in evolution

Coordinating the Network of EU Agencies 2015

The European Working Conditions

Surveys series (the EWCS)

Agnès Parent-Thirion, on behalf of the European Working Conditions Survey team


European Working Conditions survey series

• 6th edition – 1991, 1995, 2000, 2005, 2010 and 2015 – From 12 MS in 1991 to 35 European countries in 2015 – From a module of the EB to a full survey – Cooperation and discussion with South Korea, the USA, China, Brazil with the support of the ILO – Experience in Tanzania, Mozambique, Jamaica and Zanzibar

• Survey of workers according to the LFS definition • ‘Face to face’ interviews at peoples’ homes

– Behaviours and personal experiences rather than opinions, attention to ‘objective’ measures. Knowledge owned by workers

– Explicit commitment to gender mainstreaming

• Comparability across countries is key


Objectives of the EWCS

• Assess and quantify working conditions of both employees and the self-employed across Europe on a harmonised basis.

• Analyse relationships between different aspects of working conditions.

• Identify groups at risk and issues of concern as well as of progress.

• Monitor trends by providing homogeneous indicators on these issues.

• Contribute to European policy development in particular on quality of work and employment issues.


A short overview of the historical development of the questionnaire

over time • 91: Karasek and osh

• 95 : flexibility, women managers, cognitive dimensions of work and collective forms of work organisation, discrimination and intimidation

• 2000 : working time flexibility, remuneration

• 2005 : gender, more on training, conciliation

• 2010 : economically dependant worker, changes restructuring, local gender segregation, working time preferences, psychosocial risks and leadership, job security and employability, psychological well being and general health


5th EWCS – deliverables

Converge

nce – forhcomi

ng

Forthcoming – women managers

http://eurofound.europa.eu/sites/default/files/ef_publication/field_ef_document/ef1443en_0.pdf

http://eurofound.europa.eu/sites/default/files/ef_publication/field_ef_document/ef1384en12.pdf


Coherence in practice 5th EWCS - integrated analysis

Qwe overview report

- job

Trends in job quality Work and health

Sectoral profiles

Convergence

Occupational profiles

- Worker

Work life balance

Women, men and working conditions in Europe

Sustainable work and the ageing population

-Employment Quality of employment conditions and relations

Self employed or not ?

- Work organisation

Work organisation and employee involvement

Contribution to ESDE (chapter)

2012

2013

2014

2015


6th EWCS : trends but adapt to future policy challenges

• Demographics: company size, country of birth

• Working time: Part time / full time status of partner, working time preferences at individual and household level, on call work

• Self employed: map heterogeneity of self employment

• Health: sleeping, chronic diseases

• Measure recent changes in the job, in the organisation

• Address organisational justice at the workplace

• Develop more work life balance and positive experience of work

• Job engagement

• Review place of work, leadership, sustainability of work

• Quantity of training received reintroduced


WORKING CONDITIONS: OVER TIME AND SOME CHALLENGES


What issues come out of the EWCS ?

• Job quality : it matters, it s more than money, different trade offs between dimensions of job quality

• Work organisation a key determinant of job quality and employee well being and human capital development

• Psychosocial risks probably on the increase as illustrated by work intentisification

• Physical risks still present

• Slow progress in gender segregation. Women still bear much of the burden of care activities

• Ageing at work : working conditions matter very much

• Working time / unpaid work

• Gender inequalities / women managers

• Employment status in evolution

• Fronteers are blurring

• Unfavourable working conditions tend to cluster disproportionally in some groups.

• We can improve working conditions and change work but efforts need to be supported


Exposure to physical risks (1990-2010)

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%

Vibrations

Noise

High temperatures

Low temperatures

Breathing in smoke/

dust and/or vapours

Chemical

substances

Tiring or painful

positions

Heavy loads

Repetitive hand or

arm movements

1991 EC12

1995 EC12

1995 EU15

2000 EU15

2000 EU27

2005 EU27

2010 EU27


Evolution of weekly working hours, 1991 – 2010, EC12, EU15 and EU27

(%)

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

1991

1995

2000

2005

2010

1991

1995

2000

2005

2010

EC

12 (

/EU

15

from

1995)

EU

27

20 or less 21 to 34 35 to 38 39 to 41 42 to 48 more than 48


Trends and country comparisons in work intensity −Tight deadlines (at least ¼ of the time)

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

1991 1995 2000 2005 2010

EU12

EU15

EU27

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

Turk

ey

Cyp

rus

Ger

man

yFi

nla

nd

Mal

taIr

ela

nd

Slo

ven

iaA

ust

ria

Un

ite

d K

ingd

om

Swed

en

No

rway

Hu

nga

ryC

zech

Rep

ub

licFr

ance

Gre

ece

Ko

sovo

Cro

atia

Esto

nia

Net

her

lan

ds

Ro

man

iaD

en

mar

kB

elg

ium

FYR

OM

Ital

yA

lban

iaLu

xem

bo

urg

Spai

nLa

tvia

Slo

vaki

aM

on

ten

egr

oP

ola

nd

Bu

lgar

iaLi

thu

ania

Po

rtu

gal


Trends in creative work and task variation

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

Solving

unforeseen

problems

Complex tasks Learning new

things

Applying ow n

ideas

Not monotonous

tasks

Not repetitive

tasks

Creative w ork Task variation

EU15-1995 EU27-2000 EU27-2005 EU27-2010


Proportion of women in supervisory positions, EC12, EU15 and EU27, 1991 - 2010 (%)

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

1991 1995 2000 2005 2010

EC12

EU15

EU27


The decline of learning organisations

Source: ESDE report forthcoming 15

organizational

types across

EWCS waves

(2000 – 2010)

EWCS survey wave

Total

2000 2005 2010

Learning 39.1%a 40.1%a 36.8%b 38.6%

Lean 25.7%a 27.2%b 28.6%c 27.2%

Taylorist 18.6%a 18.8%a 18.3%a 18.5%

Simple 16.6%a 13.9%b 16.3%a 15.8%


Number of hours spent on paid and unpaid work per week, by gender and working time (EU27)

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70

full time

part time

full time

part time

men

wo

men

paid work

commuting time

unpaid work

EWCS, 2010


Characteristics of work situation, 40- 49 and 50-59 per country :

Country effect is stronger than age effect

BG

CZ

DK

DE

EE

EL

ES

FR

IE

IT

CY

LV

LT

LU

HU

MT

NLPL

PT

RO

SI

SK

FI

SE

UK

BE

BG

CZDK

DE

EEEL

ES

FR

IE

IT

CY

LV

LT

LU

HU

MT

NL

PL

PT

RO

SI

SK

FISE

UK

-1

-0.5

0

0.5

1

-1 -0.5 0 0.5 1

BB

less painful

more painful

less rich content

BB

less painful

more painful

Richer content More time constraints

Less time constraints


Characteristics of work situation by gender and age group


Able and willing to do the same job at 60 ?

0,00%

20,00%

40,00%

60,00%

80,00%

100,00%

NL

DE IE

NO

DK

UK SE FI CY IT EE

EU

27

LV BE

AT

RO LT CZ

MT SK LU BG PL

AL

ES

HR

HU FR EL

ME

KO PT

MK SI TR

Yes, I think so I would not want to No, I do not think so


Job sustainability and working conditions

Male Female Male Female

Autonomy Low 48 46 Posture related index

Low 77 69

High 72 67 High 39 35

Work intensity

Low 64 61 Career development possibilities

Low 49 49

High 51 50 High 66 64

Worker participation

Low 46 47 Work life balance

unfit 47 42

High 70 65 fit 62 62

Work well done

Never 43 44 Learning new things

Low 49 49

Always 63 60 High 63 60


JOB QUALITY INDEX

Coordinating the Network of EU Agencies 2015 Source : trends in job quality, eurofound 2012 22

Earnings Prospects

Intrinsic Job Quality

Working Time

Quality

Intrinsic Job Quality

Skill use and discretion

Social environment

Physical environment

Work intensity

Job quality: four indices Operationalisation 2012 (Green –Mostafa )


Job quality indices and well being of job holders (Ardito et all)

23

61

69

0,39

0,26

0

0,1

0,2

0,3

0,4

0,5

0,6

0,7

0,8

0,9

1

40

50

60

70

80

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Deciles of the earning index

54

73

0,45

0,24

0

0,1

0,2

0,3

0,4

0,5

0,6

0,7

0,8

0,9

1

40

50

60

70

80

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Deciles of Intrinsic Job Quality index

57

74

0,43

0,24

0

0,1

0,2

0,3

0,4

0,5

0,6

0,7

0,8

0,9

1

40

50

60

70

80

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Deciles of the prospects index

61

67

0,37 0,30

0

0,1

0,2

0,3

0,4

0,5

0,6

0,7

0,8

0,9

1

40

50

60

70

80

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Deciles of working time quality index Source ‘Health and well being, eurofound 2013

: 23


JOB QUALITY OF WOMEN AND MEN OVER THE LIFECOURSE


No simple explanation Women and men at crossroads

Welfare & Family system

Labour market structures

Gendered Lifecourses & gendered division of

domestic labour

Segregation Working time Quality Well being


Working time quality per lifestages

50

55

60

65

70

75

single 18-35living with

parents/relatives

single <=45 nochildren

couple nochildren, woman

aged <=45

couple withchildren <7

years

couple withchildren 7-12

years


years


46-59

couple nochildren, both

partners >=60

single >=50 nochildren

Wo

rkin

g ti

me

qu

alit

y

Male Female


Prospects across life stages

55

60

65

70


parents/relatives



aged <=45


years


years


years


46-59


partners >=60


Pro

spe

cts

Male Female


Intrinsic job quality per lifestages

60

65

70

75


parents/relatives



aged <=45


years


years


years


46-59


partners >=60


Intr

insi

c jo

b q

ual

ity

Male Female


Income across life stages

700

900

1100

1300

1500

1700


parents/relatives


couple nochildren,

woman aged<=45


years


years


years

couple nochildren,

woman 46-59


partners >=60


Inco

me

Male Female


TIME USE OF WOMEN AND MEN OVER THE LIFECOURSE


Unpaid working time (care and household activities) over the life course

0,0

5,0

10,0

15,0

20,0

25,0

30,0

35,0

40,0

45,0

50,0

Singles w/okids, living

at home(18-35)

Singles w/okids (< 46y)

Couples(women <

46 y) w/ochildren

Couples,youngest

child < 7 y

Couples,yongest

child 7-12y

Couples,youngest

child13-18y

Empty nestcouples

w/oresidentchildren

Oldercouples

w/oresidentchildren

Oldersingles w/o

residentchildren

un

pai

d w

ork

ing

tim

e (

hrs

)

Men Women

Union formation increases unpaid working

time for women decreases for men

During parenting phase employed women spend twice as much hours on these activities as men

When entering parenting phase

women reduce paid work by 4 hrs but increase unpaid work by 25 hrs

men‘s unpaid work increases by 12 hrs

The decision of men to engage in care work is more circumstance dependent than it is for women

working time organisation, atypical working hours


• Gender gap in well-being starts small in the early life stages, with increasing male advantage up to the point when children enter the household. • Women’s well-being remains lower than men’s for the rest of the life stages, and the gap does not close even when the children have left home. • Cross-country variation in gender gaps in well-being among working parents

Well-being across the life stages

4,1

4,2

4,3

4,4

4,5

4,6

single 18-35 living

withparents

single <=45no children

couple nochildren,

womanaged <=45


years

couple withchildren 7-

12 years

couple withchildren

13-18 years

couple nochildren,

woman 46-59

couple nochildren,

bothpartners

>=60

Wel

l-b

ein

g

Male Female


Policy perspectives

• Measuring working conditions is possible.

• Labour markets and social policies are closely linked, and to economic policies more generally.

• A lifetime perspective is crucial in the successful development of labour market, social and economic policies in pursuit of higher levels of employment .

• The improvement of working conditions is not automatic and requires to be supported; there are some concerns for the future. Many improvements do not cost money

• Good working conditions can assist in meeting the ageing challenge and developing our human capital

• Surveys, statistics are needed to monitor developments and understanding changes. They should build on interdisciplinary approach and involve data user


Merci,

[email protected]

More on www.eurofound.europa.eu

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.eurofound.europa.eu/


Proportion of women in the largest occupations, by employment status / white & blue collar


Level of job segregation at the workplace by gender, 2010, EU27 (%)

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

Men Women All

Mostly men

Mostly women

More or less equal number of

men and women


Working hours of the household

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Cze

ch R

epubl

ic

Slova

kia

Slove

nia

Lith

uani

a

Cyp

rus

Finla

nd

Bulga

ria

Den

mark

Franc

e

Hun

gary

Portu

gal

Eston

ia

Polan

d

Latv

ia

Swed

en

Spain EU

Italy

Gre

ece

Belgium

Luxe

mbo

urg

Rom

ania

Ger

man

y

Austri

a

Uni

ted

Kingd

om

Ireland

Mal

ta

Net

herla

nds

both partners w ork fulltime male breadw inner female breadw inner

modified male breadw inner modified female breadw inner both partners w ork parttime


Little social support at work

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

40%

< 25 25 - 29 30 - 34 35 - 39 40 - 44 45 - 49 50 - 54 55 - 59 60+

Men Women


No good prospects for career advancement

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

< 25 25 - 29 30 - 34 35 - 39 40 - 44 45 - 49 50 - 54 55 - 59 60+

Men Women


Policy implications

Gender equality, improvement of working conditions, progress in well being and economic growth are fundamental issues to address in order to meet the objective of Europe 2020. A number of important social justice choices are to be made.

Progress are not “natural” and require to be supported Segregation • Policies to promote desegregation in education and jobs, better valuation of

female-dominated occupations/ sectors; more opportunities for vertical progression

Time • Policies to avoid extremes of long or short working hours and to back up better

balance between work and other activities with support for working parents Job quality • Policies to ensure that job creation at lower end of labour market takes into

account working conditions and pay; policies to facilitate life stage changes without long term consequences for job quality; policies to open up prospects for women in particular and to address risks of poor working conditions for men


Policy implications Well being • Governments’ policy objectives to include well being alongside growth and to recognise that gender

equality may have positive impacts for well being ( including opportunities for employment for women even in childcare life stage) and employers to take action to promote women’s organisational satisfaction

Trends • Policies to monitor impact of recession/austerity on public sector and gender equality and to ensure

that closing of gender gaps comes about through positive upgrading not negative reductions in job quality for men.

Addressing short term issues but also preparing for longer term challenges. • This may go through the promotion of sustainability of work and employment (older working definition) : Sustainable work is one that allows one to become an older worker and facilitates workers to function not only as a worker, but also member of a household, citizen and an individual. This is done by contributing during their working life duration, to developing their health, well-being, skills and resources and expanding opportunities for choice. This is done by the provision during their various employment situations, of not only manageable but also meaningful work, engagement in collective learning at the workplace, as well as work related and organisation dialogue and reflective practices. Sustainable work will assist workers, companies when they are confronted with dramatic “life and work events” and will support and facilitate their adaptation to change and transitions. Sustainable work systems are work systems in which human and social resources are not just consumed, but preserved and regenerated.


Social justice dilemna to address

• The success of policies aimed at increasing working life duration will be assessed at workers levels (working life duration); a wide range of actors engaged at different levels which actions are embedded in various national welfare and employment systems will be instrumental in achieving or not this objective. Workers should not bear all moral hazard of new career paths in a volatile environment.

• Making working life longer implies rethinking the place of work in our societies • Different ways to achieve this objective can be identified for example maximizing the employment rate through

deregulating labour market and prioritizing individual employability or promoting active security for all in a flexible and innovative economy.

• Building on Amartya Sen’s capabilities theory as a framework to analyse the links between possibilities and

choices on the one hand and social systems (and work arrangements) on the other hand which men and women can make in order to reach better well-being or work-life balance over the life course, raise queries on

– the collective resources available to people that enable them to control their working life. What resources – institutionalised

and/or negotiated – can contribute to increasing working lives or will lead to involuntary fragmented career. Collective resources come from public policy or collective bargaining or standards and rules. Employment status and related rights are important i n opening up areas of freedom or constraining individual work opportunities

– to what extent and how can a person convert collective resources into effective achievements and valuable outcomes for herself / himself and the economy. Capacity for work, employment, learning, voice, work life balance, capacity for voice should be considered and will contribute to addressing quality of life

• A number of tailored policies such as active ageing policies, OSH, health inequalities and gender equality as well as workplace innovation points to the key role that work has on these outcomes and to the need to explain its specific contribution to the achievement of these policies. Will these lead to competition among workers or, on the contrary, will they support all groups of worker and contribute to higher quality?


WORKER OUTCOMES

EMPLOYMENT SECURITY

INDIVIDUAL OUTCOMES

(Satisfaction with work,

Absenteeism, Presenteeism, Ability to stay in employment,

Work-family interaction)

JOB INSECURITY (To loose current job in

the next 6 months)

EMPLOYABILITY (To find a similar job)

HEALTH OUTCOMES

(Mental wellbeing, Perceived general health, Physical

complaints, Musculoskeletal complaints, Psychosomatic complaints, Perception of

health or safety at risk, Perception that work affects

health)

The General work environment

MACRO CONTEXT – countries and their socioeconomic policies

MESO SOCIAL CONTEXT – company and sector characteristics

Employment conditions -Contract security

- Income and benefits security -Work security -Employability security

Employment relations -Representation security -Empowerment security

QUALITY OF EMPLOYMENT

Working conditions (Environmental, Ergonomic, Social relationships at work,

Support, Emotional demands, Workspeed)

Job content (Autonomy, Skill

discretion, Control)

QUALITY OF WORK

WO

RK

ER C

HA

RA

CTE

RIS

TIC

S (D

em

ogr

aph

ic,

Soci

oe

con

om

ic)


C. METHODS (iv)

Indicators Description Variables used

Employee representativeEmployee acting as an employee representative at

workplacey10_q63

Self-determination over work

scheduleSelf-determination of working hours y10_q39

Indicators Description Variables usedCommunication and participation

with superiors Index**---

y10_q51c;

y10_q51d;

Consulting employeesManagement holds meetings in which workers express

their viewsy10_q64

2. Empowerment security

Table A.1. Employment security concept: dimensions, indicators and original variables in EWCS Trends Dataset

B. Employment relations

1. Representation security

** Scale

** Scale

** Scale

** Scale


C. METHODS (v)

Indicators Description Variables usedJob insecurity Perceived likelihood of losing current job in the next 6 y10_q77a

Indicators Description Variables usedPerceived possibilities of job

change

Perceived likelihood of finding a similar job if losing the

current oney10_q77f

* Only for self-employed

1. General

2. Concerning employability

** Scale

Table A.1. Employment security concept: dimensions, indicators and original variables in EWCS Trends Dataset

C. Subjective employment security variables


C. METHODS (vi)

Communication and participation with

superiors Index4 0,71 53 Employees 3,9

Autonomy Index 3 0,78 69 All 0,6

Skill discretion Index 4 0,50 41 All 0,9

Control Index 7 0,67 38 All 1,3

Ambiental risk Index 8 0,82 45 All 0,2

Ergonomic risk Index 5 0,69 53 All 0,1

Workspeed Index 3 0,67 60 All 0,4

Emotional demands Index 4 0,55 43 All 1,0

Superiors support Index 5 0,65 44 Employees 5,2

Unwanted social contacts at work Index 13 0,66 20 All 0,2

Mental well-being Index 5 0,87 67 All 0,4

Physical complaints Index 6 0,47 28 All 0,2

Musculoskeletal complaints Index 2 0,63 73 All 0,3

Psychosomatic complaints Index 5 0,56 37 All 0,2

Table A.4. Scales Description

NameNumber of

items

Cronbach's

alpha value

% Variance

explained by

main factor

Base % Missing


Standard employment-like jobs (34.4%)

• Similar to the ideal typical standard employment relation. • (+) High probability of a stable jobs, receiving benefits in nature, having self-determination of work schedules, dispose of an employee representative, and get training opportunities. • Who? More common among men, high educational level employees, skilled technicians and professionals, managers, legislators, public sector employees and big firms. • Related to other advantageous features such as: high control and support, low unhealthy and stressful exposures.

2. European salaried work can be classified in a five-categories

typology of workers:

1. Standard employment-like jobs 2. Instrumental jobs 3. Portfolio jobs 4. Precarious unsustainable jobs 5. Precarious intensive jobs

D. RESULTS (xiii)


Instrumental jobs (28.9%)

• (+) Relatively stable jobs and sustainable income. • (-) Few benefits, opportunities for training and participation and involvement. • Who? More common among women, clerks, service workers and industrial sector (among others). • They are in more adverse situation with regard to the most other indicators of quality of work.


D. RESULTS (xiv)




Portfolio jobs

(10.7%) Highly skilled and flexible upper level of the labour market • (+) Overall beneficial employment conditions and relations. • (-) Two main exceptions: high levels of work intensity and uncompensated flexible working times. •Who? Men, middle-aged workers, highly educated workers, legislators, managers and professionals, employees working in very large companies and in the industrial or services sector. •Beneficial scores on other quality of work indicators except for unwanted social contacts, emotional demands and work speed.


D. RESULTS (xv)




Precarious Unsustainable jobs

(9,9 %) •(-) Overall adverse employment conditions and relations. High probability of part-time & low income. •Who? More common among women, younger workers, employees with a low educational level, service workers, elementary occupations and employees in the service and public administration sectors, and employees working alone.




D. RESULTS (xvi)


Precarious Intensive jobs (16,0 %)

• (-) Full-time employment with the most adverse scores on the other indicators, specially work intensity and high flexibility. •Who? male, younger age, blue collar employed in the agricultural and industrial sector, service workers and those working in (very) small companies. •Also adverse working conditions and poorer job contents are characterising these jobs.


2. European salaried jobs can be classified in a five-categories


D. RESULTS (xvii)


D. RESULTS (xviii)

Typology of jobs distribution, by country

0

0,1

0,2

0,3

0,4

0,5

0,6

0,7

0,8

0,9

1

Alb

ania

Au

stri

a

Bel

giu

m

Bu

lgar

ia

Cro

atia

Cyp

rus

Cze

ch R

epu

blic

Den

mar

k

Esto

nia

Fin

lan

d

Fran

ce

FYR

OM

Ger

man

y

Gre

ece

Hu

nga

ry

Irel

and

Ital

y

Ko

sovo

Latv

ia

Lith

uan

ia

Luxe

mb

ou

rg

Mal

ta

Mo

nte

neg

ro

Net

her

lan

ds

No

rway

Po

lan

d

Po

rtu

gal

Ro

man

ia

Slo

vaki

a

Slo

ven

ia

Spai

n

Swed

en

Turk

ey

Un

ited

Kin

gdo

m

Tota

l

Precariousunsustainable

Portfolio

Precariousintensive

Instrumental

SER-like

Figure 8. Distribution of prevalence of types of jobs by country in 2010.

0

0,1

0,2

0,3

0,4

0,5

0,6

0,7

0,8

0,9

1

Alb

ania

Au

stri

a

Bel

giu

m

Bu

lgar

ia

Cro

atia

Cyp

rus

Cze

ch R

epu

blic

Den

mar

k

Esto

nia

Fin

lan

d

Fran

ce

FYR

OM

Ger

man

y

Gre

ece

Hu

nga

ry

Irel

and

Ital

y

Ko

sovo

Latv

ia

Lith

uan

ia

Luxe

mb

ou

rg

Mal

ta

Mo

nte

neg

ro

Net

her

lan

ds

No

rway

Po

lan

d

Po

rtu

gal

Ro

man

ia

Slo

vaki

a

Slo

ven

ia

Spai

n

Swed

en

Turk

ey

Un

ited

Kin

gdo

m

Tota

l

Precariousunsustainable

Portfolio

Precariousintensive

Instrumental

SER-like

Source: European Working Conditions Survey, 2010.


Figure 1. Associations between types of jobs and worker outcomes adjusted by sex, age, and

working conditions and job content (Odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals)

Source: European Working Conditions Survey, EWCS 2010

D. RESULTS (xx)


Figure 2. Associations between types of jobs and worker outcomes adjusted by sex,

age, and working conditions and job content (Odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals)


D. RESULTS (xxi)


Figure 3. Associations between types of jobs and health outcomes adjusted by sex,

age, and working conditions and job content (Odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals)


D. RESULTS (xxii)


E. Conclusions (ii)

• Typology of jobs concludes in 5 types:

• Standard employment (overall most favourable)

• Instrumental (fairly stable but few benefits, training and participation)

• Portfolio (advantageous but high work intensification & uncompensated

flexible working times)

• Precarious unsustainable (overall adverse with part-time and low

income)

• precarious intensive jobs (overall adverse with high flexibility and

intensive working hours).

• Standard employment and instrumental jobs are still predominant in

Europe

• However, more than one third of workers is in the very flexible and

intensive portfolio jobs or in one of the precarious

• Negative consequences for well-being:

• Adverse general work environment

• Outcomes on general satisfaction, ability to stay in employment,

health and well-being


F. Conclusions (iii)

2. The need to better understand quality of employment

• This is one of the first empirical multidimensional assessments of the

quality of employment transcending conventional approaches only

distinguishing “standard jobs” from “atypical contracts”

• Limitations:

• Lack of uniformity in the indicators included in different editions of

EWCS, which limits time trends estimations, so understanding

evolution over time

• Limited information about informal employment and

unemployment. Time trends are difficult to interpret, as formal

employment, informal and unemployment act as “communicating

vessels” across which workers move especially during economic

crisis.

• Gap between theoretical dimensions of quality of employment

and availability of indicators (eg. Entitlement to employee rights or

collective representation security)


E. Conclusions (iv)

3. Policy relevant conclusions:

• Policies towards more flexibility and competitiveness should take into

account the adverse consequences for well-being, health and

satisfaction of the employees affected.

• Important consequences for the productivity and ability of employees

to stay in employment until later age.

• Policies to elevate employability are needed, specially among those in

the most instable positions.

• Training (objective employability) and prospects for career

advancement (subjective employability) are low specially among the

most vulnerable to flexible and highly volatile jobs.

• Policies to increase worker participation are also needed.

• Communication and participation with superiors is low.

• Less than 50% of workers have an employee representative, being

more frequent among older and higher educated workers.

Documents

The European Working Conditions Surveys series (the EWCS) · across Europe on a harmonised basis. ... • Gender inequalities / women managers • Employment status in evolution