Kick-off Meeting of the Advisory Group for the OECD Guidelines for Measuring the Quality of Working Environment, OECD HQ, Paris, 8-9 December 2015

1. Coordinating the Network of EU Agencies 2015
European Working Conditions Survey
introduction
8 December 2015
Agnès Parent-Thirion
Senior programme manager

2. Coordinating the Network of EU Agencies 2015
6th EWCS: Context
Sixth edition - 1991, 1995, 2000, 2005, 2010 , 2015
From 12 MS in 1991 to 35 European countries in 2015
Cooperation with South Korea, US, China with support of ILO
‘Face to face’ interviews : 45 minutes
Questionnaire revised - input from tripartite stakeholders and users
Cooperation with national working conditions survey producers
Comparability is key : all steps of survey production and over time

3. Coordinating the Network of EU Agencies 2015
6th EWCS: Objectives
Assess and quantify working conditions of employees and self-
employed across Europe on a harmonised basis
Analyse relationships between different aspects of working
conditions
Identify groups at risk and issues of concern and progress
Monitor trends by providing homogeneous indicators
Contribute to European policy development - in particular on
quality of work and employment issues

4. Coordinating the Network of EU Agencies 2015
6th EWCS: Place of work
• Means to many ends
• A product
• Variety of settings
Work as an activity
• High-level political concern at international and
European level
• Important activity for workers and households
• For companies and their representatives
• For governments and societies at large
Work and its
quality
• Result of behaviours at micro level - workers,
companies
• Embedded in different labour markets and
institutional contexts
• Affected by many determinants
Quality of work
and employment
(and job quality)

5. Coordinating the Network of EU Agencies 2015
EWCS : work and health
5
Adapted from La vie professionelle : Age, experience et santé à l épreuve
des conditions de travail, Molinier, Gaudart, Pueyo, ed Octares 2012

6. Coordinating the Network of EU Agencies 2015
EWCS: capturing real work
• Results of the interaction between a
job, an individual operating in a
specific context in a company
• Real work as opposed to prescribed
work
• Descriptors of work and/ or in
relation to a specific outcome
• Build on interdisciplinarity
• This matters for the identification of
the respondent and the information
they own
Working
conditions

7. Coordinating the Network of EU Agencies 2015
• When it s no longuer seen as a natural attribute of
a job that can not be isolated from it
• The result of a collective process including
changes in other areas than work and or one’s
working life : before / after the restructuring;
puting it into discussion with colleagues etc
• AND strategies collective de defense eg air pilot;
care workers
• Outcome versus work related conditions
Emergence of
a working
condition
EWCS: invisibility and obfuscation

8. Coordinating the Network of EU Agencies 2015
• Question wording matter : behaviours and
experiences
• Which point of view ? Workers or objective
external one eg some workers enjoy long hours
• Measurement issue : eg distinguishing between
movement and speed
• Some topics can only be measured through
workers but self reported work in statistical analysis
• Use multiple indicators and questions to measure a
concept
Words
of
workers
EWCS: Words of workers

9. Coordinating the Network of EU Agencies 2015
• Physical, psychosocial risks, violence
• Temporal and spatial dimensions of
work
• Work organisation
• Skills use and learning at the workplace
• Employment conditions
• Social relationships at work
• Meaning and place of work
• The working conditions that matter :
grounds, level of evidence
• Addressing « decoupling » and diversity
Working
conditions
over time
EWCS: a widening scope

10. Coordinating the Network of EU Agencies 2015
• Involve users extensively
• Contribution to research and policy
agenda
• Contribute to the objectives of the
project
• with the support of Eurofound s
tripartite stakeholders
• Gender mainstreaming
• Learn lessons
• Comparability over time and new
interests
• Cross comparability embedded in
the revision process
Revision
Over
time
EWCS: criteria for revision

11. Coordinating the Network of EU Agencies 2015
Source : trends in job quality,
Earnings Prospects
Intrinsic Job
Quality
Working
Time
Quality
Intrinsic Job
Quality
Skill use and discretion
Social environment
Physical environment
Work intensity
EWCS :Job quality 2012 (Green –
Mostafa )

12. Coordinating the Network of EU Agencies 2015
Job quality indices and well being
12
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
: 12

13. Coordinating the Network of EU Agencies 2015
EWCS 2010 : job quality over time
• Improvement in working time quality and training
– BUT declining levels of job quality in job discretion, cognitive
demands and physical risks and intensification
‘Declining job quality across the key component of work organisation’
and a move towards simpler and more intense forms of work
organisation
• Convergence between MS on training and working time
quality ( faster increase of countries at the bottom) but also
in workload ( countries which so far didn’t have very intense
work have been catching up)
• Polarisation increased between ‘good’ countries in relation
to skills and discretion ( mostly Scandinavian countries) and
the other countries which are further lagging behind.

14. Coordinating the Network of EU Agencies 2015
EWCS : learning organisations
Source: ESDE report
forthcoming 14
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%

15. Coordinating the Network of EU Agencies 2015
EWCS 2010 : Job sustainability
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

16. Coordinating the Network of EU Agencies 2015
5th EWCS – reports
Convergence –
Forthcoming
– women
managers

17. Coordinating the Network of EU Agencies 2015
6th EWCS: Time use
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
Women
Men
Women
Men
Women
Men
TotalPartimeFulltime
Main job
Other job
Unpaid
Commuting

18. Coordinating the Network of EU Agencies 2015
6th EWCS: Women managers

19. Coordinating the Network of EU Agencies 2015
6th EWCS: Physical risks
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%
Repetitive movements
Tiring or painful positions
Carrying or moving heavy loads
Noise
Vibrations
Handling chemicals
Handling infectious materials
Lifting or moving people
2015
2010
2005
2000 (EU27)

20. Coordinating the Network of EU Agencies 2015
6th EWCS: Job autonomy
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
Men Women Men Women Men Women
Order of tasks Methods of work Speed or rate of work
2005
2010
2015

21. Coordinating the Network of EU Agencies 2015
6th EWCS: Intense work, occupations
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
45%
50%
Craft and
related trades
workers
Plant and
machine
operators
Managers Professionals Elementary
occupations
EU28 Technicians
and associate
professionals
Clerical
support
workers
Service and
sales workers
Skilled
agricultural
workers
High speed Tight deadlines >3 pace determinants

22. Coordinating the Network of EU Agencies 2015
6th EWCS: Autonomy, occupations
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Plant and
machine
operators
Elementary
occupations
Service and
sales workers
EU28 Craft and
related trades
workers
Clerical
support
workers
Technicians
and associate
professionals
Professionals Skilled
agricultural
workers
Managers
Able to change order Able to change methods Able to change speed

23. Coordinating the Network of EU Agencies 2015
6th EWCS: Working conditions, age

24. Coordinating the Network of EU Agencies 2015
6th EWCS: Organisation participation
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Total
Other services
Health
Education
Public administration and defence
Financial services
Transport
Commerce and hospitality
Construction
Industry
Agriculture
Low involvement organisation Consultative organisation Discretionary organisation High involvement organisation

25. Coordinating the Network of EU Agencies 2015
Points for discussion
Richness and diversity of working lives
Coherence with other statistical norms
Scope – above the quality of working environment indicator and
depth – questions; order; data collection mode
Adding other voices ? Same voice over time ?
Surveys, statistics needed to monitor developments, understand
changes. Should build on interdisciplinary approach, involve data user

26. Coordinating the Network of EU Agencies 2015
Merci
EWCS : apt@eurofound.europa.eu,
More on www.eurofound.europa.eu

27. Coordinating the Network of EU Agencies 2015
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

28. Coordinating the Network of EU Agencies 2015
Finnish quality of working life :
conflicting trends
• Security:
-security of contracts and
employment, long careers
• Commitment:
-stability, lifelong career planning
• Skills deepening:
-knowledge development, lifelong
learning
• Cooperation:
- good teamwork, joint
participation and learning
• Flexibility:
-negative flexibility, work/family
difficulties, precarity
• Mobility:
-easing dismissals, lay-offs
• Productivity:
-overplaying efficiency, short-term
profits, low-paid jobs
• Individualisation:
-constant measuring, individual
pay, less working together
16/12/2015 28Anna-Maija Lehto