European Working Conditions Survey Research Articles

An assessment of trends in technology use, innovative work practices and employees’ attitudes in Europe

Several studies of innovative work practices show a positive link with firm performance and employees’ task involvement, organizational commitment and citizenship behaviours. One of the recent changes faced by firms is the introduction of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs). Although several empirical studies analyse the links between ICT use, innovative work practices and firm performance, employee-level analyses are scarce. Using data from the European Working Condition Survey (EWCS), this article investigates the relationships between use of the Internet and computers and positive attitudes among employees (social support, job satisfaction, extra effort) in the European context. Our empirical results are based on data for more than 9500 employees from 16 European countries in 2005, and more than 14 000 in 2010. Among the different effects of ICT use, based on the results for the 2005, 2010 and the pooled 2005–2010 sample, and in a within-cohorts change analysis, we find that Internet use is positively related to employees’ job satisfaction and extra effort. We find that computer use is not related to employees’ behaviours. We find also that most of the innovative work practices considered are positively related to employees’ positive attitudes.

The importance of organizational level decision latitude for well-being and organizational commitment

Purpose – This paper aims to focus on participation in the workplace and examines the relative importance of different dimensions of job control in relation to subjective well-being and organizational commitment. These dimensions are job autonomy (within a given job), functional support (from supervisor and colleagues) and organizational level decision latitude (shop-floor consultancy on process improvements, division of labor, workmates, targets, etc.). Interaction with work intensity is looked at as well. Design/methodology/approach – Measurements and data were taken from the European Working Conditions Survey, 2010. The paper focusses on salaried employees only. The sample was further limited to employees in workplaces consisting of at least 50 workers. There are 2,048 employees in the final sample, from Denmark, Ireland, The Netherlands, Finland, Sweden and the UK. In this paper, the focus is not on differences between countries, and adding more countries would have introduced too many country characteristics as intermediate variables. Findings – In the regression analyses, functional support and organizational level decision latitude showed stronger relations with the outcome variables than job autonomy. There was no relation between work intensity and the outcome variables. Two-way interactions were found for job autonomy and organizational level decision latitude on subjective well-being and for functional support and organizational level decision latitude on organizational commitment. A three-way interaction, of all job control variables combined, was found on organizational commitment, with the presence of all types of job control showing the highest organizational commitment level. No such three-way interaction was found for subjective well-being. There was an indication for a two-way interaction of work intensity and functional support, as well as an indication for a two-way interaction of work intensity and organizational level decision latitude on subjective well-being: high work intensity and low functional support or low organizational level decision latitude seemed to associate with low well-being. No interaction was found for any dimension of job control being high and high work intensity. Research limitations/implications – Although this study has all the limitations of a cross-sectional survey, the results are more or less in accordance with existing theories. This indicates that organizational level decision latitude matters. Differentiation of job control dimensions in research models is recommended, and so is workplace innovation for healthy and productive jobs. Originality/value – Most theoretical models for empirical research are limited to control at task level (e.g. the Job Demand-Control-Support model of Karasek and Theorell. The paper aims at nuancing and extending current job control models by distinguishing three dimensions/levels of job control, referring to sociotechnical systems design theory (De Sitter) and action regulation theory (Hacker) and reciprocity (Akerlof). The policy relevance regards the consequences for work and organization design.

Health effects of supplemental work from home in the European Union

Internationalization and technological developments have changed the work organization in developed and developing industrial economies. Information and communication technologies, such as computers and smartphones, are increasingly used, allowing more temporal and spatial flexibility of work. This may lead to an increase in supplemental work, i.e. constant availability or working in addition to contractually agreed work hours. This in turn extends work hours and leads to work hours in evenings and weekends, causing interferences of work hours with biological and social rhythms for sleep, recovery and social interaction. However, empirical findings on the effects of supplemental work and work hours on occupational health are rather scarce. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the association between (1) work-related contacts outside of regular work hours and (2) working in the free time with self-reported work-related health impairments in the fourth and fifth European Working Conditions Surveys (EWCS 2005, EWCS 2010). Out of these cross-sectional, large-scale surveys, data on n = 22 836 and n = 34 399 employed workers were used for weighted logistic regression analyses. About half of the sample reported at least occasional supplemental work. The results showed an increased risk of reporting at least one health problem for employees who had been contacted by their employer (EWCS 2005), or worked in their free time to meet work demands (EWCS 2010) in the last 12 months, compared to those reporting no supplemental work or work-related contacts during free time. These results were controlled for demographic variables, physical and mental work load, worker autonomy, and several work hours characteristics (e.g. hours per week, unusual and variable hours). The risk of reporting health problems was increased by being contacted both sometimes (Odds Ratio [OR] 1.26, 95% Confidence Interval [CI] 1.14–1.39) and often (OR 1.13, 95% CI 1.02–1.25), whereas the frequency of working in the free time showed a clear dose-response effect (sometimes: OR 1.14, 95% CI 1.04–1.24; often: OR 1.60, 95% CI 1.47–1.75), both compared to the category “never”. The findings, thus, indicate that even a small amount of supplemental work beyond contractually agreed work hours may increase the risk of work-related health impairments. Working in the free time was associated with a substantial risk increase and might be a better indicator for actual work load than being contacted by the employer outside of contractually agreed work hours. Thus, in order to minimize negative health effects, availability requirements for employees outside their regular work hours should be minimized. While these effects definitely need further study, especially regarding a quantification of actual supplemental work and its temporal location, addressing the company culture and using incentives and policies might be options to reduce the amount of supplemental work and maintain the risks of health impairments in the working population at a lower level.

Upper body and lower limbs musculoskeletal symptoms and health inequalities in Europe: an analysis of cross-sectional data.

BackgroundMusculoskeletal disorders are the most frequent occupational diseases in Europe. However, their multifactorial aetiology poses several challenges concerning not only the estimation of relative prevalence rates across occupational groups but also how the co-occurrence of known risk factors might differ between disorders of the upper and lower limbs. Against this background, the following objectives are pursued: (1) to estimate the relative odds and prevalence rates of self-reported disorders of the upper limbs and/or shoulders and neck (upper body) and the lower limbs for major ISCO-88 occupational groups, (2) to evaluate to what extent the associations between known risk factors differ for musculoskeletal disorders of the upper body and the lower limbs.MethodsStatistical analysis of cross-sectional data from the European Working Conditions Survey 1995-2010. The probability of reporting upper body and lower limbs pain in the survey sample 2010 is estimated by mixed logistic regression models using the Markov chain Monte Carlo Sampler. Independent variables include some known physical and psychosocial risk factors.ResultsConcerning the first objective, an excess risk of reporting musculoskeketal disorders of the upper body was observed among craft workers (ISCO 7), machine operators (ISCO 8) and workers in elementary occupations (ISCO 9). Concerning musculoskeletal disorders of the lower limbs, service and sales workers (ISCO 5) and workers in ISCO groups 7, 8 and 9 reported symptoms more frequently. Regarding the second objective, similar association patterns were observed for upper body and lower limbs symptoms. Major physical risk factors associated with both symptom types were very frequent exposure to tiring positions, carrying heavy loads and performing repetitive tasks. Standing appears to be an important risk factor for lower limbs symptoms only.ConclusionsResults suggest that the unequal burden of exposure has not changed substantially across occupational groups since 1995, and that there is urgent need of delivering and evaluating the effects of specific interventions targeting workers at high risk of developing musculoskeletal disorders.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/1471-2474-15-285) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Working-time flexibility and autonomy: A European perspective on time adequacy

This study examines the effect of working-time flexibility and autonomy on time adequacy, using the 2010 European Working Conditions Survey. It addresses gender differences and institutional contexts in the UK, Sweden, Germany and the Netherlands, and reveals that time arrangements have gendered meanings. While working-time flexibility and autonomy are positively related to time adequacy for women, for men they tend to imply overtime and work intensification. Furthermore, working-time regimes also shape time arrangements. In the UK, employees have time adequacy primarily when they work fixed hours, while in the Netherlands, employees profit most from working-time autonomy. Moreover, unlike in Germany and the UK, men and women in the Netherlands and Sweden benefit more equally from working-time flexibility and autonomy.

Work autonomy, work pressure, and job satisfaction: An analysis of European Union countries

AbstractBased on European Working Conditions Survey (EWCS) micro-data, we show that, on average, work autonomy has declined and work pressure has increased in most European Union countries since 1995. Since such evolution is substantially detrimental for workers, we examine whether workers of varied skill levels in different countries have been equally impacted. Descriptive analysis shows that low-skill clerical workers are the most affected and that Scandinavian countries fare better. Econometric results show that the decline in job satisfaction is due mainly to the increase in work pressure—which might be reaching a limit for high-skill workers—and that job satisfaction is most affected by an increase in work pressure when this is not accompanied by greater work autonomy.

Overqualification and Subjective Well-Being at Work: The Moderating Role of Job Autonomy and Culture

Overqualification is a form of underemployment wherein people have more skills, experience, knowledge, and abilities than required for a job. Past research has shown that overqualification is negatively related to subjective well-being at work, such as lower job satisfaction. To mitigate this negative impact, drawing on a job design perspective, the authors proposed that job autonomy can buffer overqualification’s negative effects. Based on the model of culture fit in managerial practice, as well as regulatory fit theory, the authors further proposed that the buffering effects of job autonomy apply only to employees from individualistic (vs. collectivistic) cultures. Data from the 5th European Working Conditions Survey were analyzed. Results of a two-level multilevel modeling analysis showed a three way interaction between overqualification, job autonomy, and national culture in predicting subjective well-being at work. Job autonomy buffered the negative effects of overqualification on subjective well-being at work, but only in individualistic cultures.

Job quality, industrial relations and the crisis in Europe

This paper reports results from recent Eurofound research on the impact of the crisis on industrial relations and working conditions in Europe, based on the output of Eurofound's European Working Conditions Observatory and European Industrial Relations Observatory and data from the European Working Conditions Survey. Overall, the crisis – even if it is sometimes difficult to separate the effect of the crisis from megatrends in working conditions and industrial relations – seems to have had an impact on both domains. With reference to industrial relations, the impact of the crisis has influenced actors, processes, and outcomes. Regarding working conditions, the results appear to be in line with the literature on the topic, which relates the crisis to an increase in job insecurity, a decrease in work intensity, in working hours, and in anti-social working time arrangements, and a general improvement in terms of health risks and related outcomes.

Crisis and quality of work in the Nordic employment regime

The Nordic countries have been renowned for labour markets with high-quality jobs. The key question for the article is whether this also holds in the current financial and Eurozone crisis. Focus is on the initial years of the crisis, and indicators from the European Working Conditions Survey are used to trace changes in job quality. Physical job demands are on a lower level in the Nordic region compared to the European level. Instead, time pressure and working to tight deadlines are more common. In general, the downturn in the economy seems to have decreased the intensity in the work situation of employees. Temporary employment and job insecurity are more present in Finland and Sweden than in Denmark and Norway. Still, the Nordic employment regime is characterized by a large proportion of jobs where employees have influence and autonomy, and are rather satisfied with their job. One possible explanation for these encouraging results is the high level of unionization that has persisted through the crisis.

Full- and part-time work: gender and welfare-type differences in European working conditions, job satisfaction, health status, and psychosocial issues

The aim of this study was to analyze the differences between full- and part-time employment (FTE and PTE) in terms of working conditions, on the one hand, and job satisfaction, health status, and work-related psychosocial problems according to gender and welfare state regime, on the other hand, and to analyze the role of working conditions in the association between PTE and FTE. This cross-sectional study was based on a sample of 7921 men and 8220 women from the European Working Conditions Survey aged 16-64 years, who were employed part-time (5-19 or 20-30 hours per week) or full-time (31-40 hours/week). Multiple logistic regression models were fitted separately for each gender and welfare state regime. PTE is associated with poorer working conditions than FTE for all national welfare types. Among women, only those in southern European countries experienced low job satisfaction [odds ratio after adjustment (OR adj) for sociodemographic variables, OR adj1.73, and 1.66, for those working 20-30 and 5-19 hours/week, respectively; reference group: FTE workers], but this association disappeared after further adjustment for working conditions. Low job satisfaction and poorer health status was more common among PTE men from continental (low job satisfaction, OR adj1.80 and 3.61, for 20-30 and 5-19 working hours/week, respectively), and southern European (OR adj, 2.98, for 5-19 working hours/week) countries. PTE tended to be associated with fewer psychosocial problems among women, but with more psychosocial problems among men in continental Europe and those those engaged in "mini-jobs" in southern European welfare regimes. The association between FTE and PTE and job satisfaction, health status, and psychosocial problems is partly driven by working conditions and differs between gender and welfare regime. This highlights the importance of promoting effective measures to ensure equal treatment between FTE and PTE workers and the role of the social norms that form part of these different welfare states regimes.

All Part of the Job? The Contribution of the Psychosocial and Physical Work Environment to Health Inequalities in Europe and the European Health Divide

This study is the first to examine the contribution of both psychosocial and physical risk factors to occupational inequalities in self-assessed health in Europe. Data from 27 countries were obtained from the 2010 European Working Conditions Survey for men and women aged 16 to 60 (n = 21,803). Multilevel logistic regression analyses (random intercept) were applied, estimating odds ratios of reporting less than good health. Analyses indicate that physical working conditions account for a substantial proportion of occupational inequalities in health in both Central/Eastern and Western Europe. Physical, rather than psychosocial, working conditions seem to have the largest effect on self-assessed health in manual classes. For example, controlling for physical working conditions reduced the inequalities in the prevalence of"less than good health" between the lowest (semi- and unskilled manual workers) and highest (higher controllers) occupational groups in Europe by almost 50 percent (Odds Ratio 1.87, 95% Confidence Interval 1.62-2.16 to 1.42, 1.23-1.65). Physical working conditions contribute substantially to health inequalities across "post-industrial" Europe, with women in manual occupations being particularly vulnerable, especially those living in Central/Eastern Europe. An increased political and academic focus on physical working conditions is needed to explain and potentially reduce occupational inequalities in health.

Measuring skills in Europe

Purpose – “Skills” is a central concept in a number of academic and policy debates. Yet measurement of skills of labour force remains highly problematic. The dominant approach uses signals of individual capacities (e.g. level of education) as a proxy of skills. This paper develops and tests a methodology for more direct measurement of skills by focusing on how individuals perform their tasks rather than what they could be capable of doing. Design/methodology/approach – The proposed theoretical framework assumes that skills used at workplace represent the skills an individual has. This is captured by the analysis of how tasks are performed. Level of skills-in-use is measured at three dimensions: degree of uncertainty, level of autonomy and opportunities for continuous skill-building. Empirical analysis utilises survey data on 29 European countries. Findings – First, the paper proposes a novel methodology for measuring skills. Second, it uses data from European Working Conditions Survey to measure skills of workforce in 29 European countries. Research limitations/implications – The depth of indicators used for measurement of skills could be further expanded, if additional questions could be inserted in the pan-European surveys. Practical implications – Findings suggest that the quality of employment domain (tasks, technologies, work organisation, etc.) could be as important as formal education systems in upgrading the skills of labour force. Originality/value – The paper proposes and tests a methodology for more direct measurement of skills than the ones previously employed in academic and policy debates.

Workplace Innovation and Technological Change

This paper explores the extent to which that elusive phenomenon called 'workplace innovation' has pervaded workplaces in Europe and whether it could be one of the answers to Europe’s long-term social and economic challenges that stem from an aging workforce and the need for more flexibility to stay competitive. Basic data drawn from European Working Conditions Survey conducted every five years by the Dublin-based European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions are supplemented by a series of case studies to look at the problems encountered in introducing workplace innovation and possible solutions. One set of case studies examines the following organizations: SGI/GI (Slovak Governance Institute (Slovakia), as representative of the world of small- and medium-sized enterprises; Oticon (Denmark) as representative of manufacturing companies; the Open University (UK), as representative of educational organizations; and FPS Social Security (Belgium) representing the public sector. Two final case studies focus on the country-level, one looking at of how a specific innovation can become fully mainstreamed (in the Netherlands and the ‘part-time economy’) and the other (Finland and TEKES) looking at how a government programme can help disseminate workplace innovation. These six case studies, together with the statistical analysis, constitute the main empirical value added of the report.

A balancing act? Work–life balance, health and well-being in European welfare states

Recent analyses have shown that adverse psychosocial working conditions, such as job strain and effort-reward imbalance, vary by country and welfare state regimes. Another work-related factor with potential impact on health is a poor work-life balance. The aims of this study are to determine the association between a poor work-life balance and poor health across a variety of European countries and to explore the variation of work-life balance between European countries. Data from the 2010 European Working Conditions Survey were used with 24,096 employees in 27 European countries. Work-life balance is measured with a question on the fit between working hours and family or social commitments. The WHO-5 well-being index and self-rated general health are used as health indicators. Logistic multilevel models were calculated to assess the association between work-life balance and health indicators and to explore the between-country variation of a poor work-life balance. Employees reporting a poor work-life balance reported more health problems (Poor well-being: OR = 2.06, 95% CI = 1.83-2.31; Poor self-rated health: OR = 2.00, 95% CI = 1.84-2.17). The associations were very similar for men and women. A considerable part of the between-country variation of work-life balance is explained by working hours, working time regulations and welfare state regimes. The best overall work-life balance is reported by Scandinavian men and women. This study provides some evidence on the public health impact of a poor work-life balance and that working time regulations and welfare state characteristics can influence the work-life balance of employees.

Psychosocial working conditions and psychological well-being among employees in 34 European countries

The aim of this study was to explore the associations between psychosocial working conditions and psychological well-being among employees in 34 European countries. Another objective was to examine whether these associations varied according to occupation and country. The study was based on data from the European Working Conditions Survey 2010 including 33,443 employees, 16,512 men and 16,931 women, from 34 European countries. Well-being was measured by the WHO-5 well-being index. Twenty-five psychosocial work factors were constructed including job demands, role stressors, work hours, job influence and freedom, job promotion, job insecurity, social support, quality of leadership, discrimination and violence at work, and work-life imbalance. The associations between these factors and well-being were examined using multilevel logistic regression analyses. Different models were performed including interaction tests. When all 25 psychosocial work factors were studied simultaneously in the same model with adjustment variables, 13 showed a significant association with poor well-being among both genders: quantitative demands, demands for hiding emotions, low possibilities for development, low meaning of work, low role conflict, low quality of leadership, low social support, low sense of community, job insecurity, low job promotion, work-life imbalance, discrimination, and bullying. The association with low sense of community on poor well-being was particularly strong. A large number of psychosocial work factors were associated with poor well-being. Almost no country and occupational differences were found in these associations. This study gave a first European overview and could be useful to inform cross-national policy debate.

Measuring employment precariousness in the European Working Conditions Survey: The social distribution in Europe

Precarious employment is becoming an increasingly important social determinant of health inequalities among workers. The way in which contemporary employment arrangements and their health consequences are addressed in empirical research is mostly based on the contract-related or employment instability dimension. A broader conceptual approach including various important characteristics of the degrading of employment conditions and relations is needed. The general objective of this paper is to empirically test a new multidimensional construct for measuring precarious employment in an existing database. Special focus is on the social distribution of precarious employment. A subsample of 21,415 participants in the EU-27 from the Fourth European Working Conditions Survey-2005 was analysed. A cross-sectional study of the social distribution of precarious employment was conducted through the analysis of proportional differences according to gender, social class and credentials for the European Union as a whole and within each country. The 8 dimensions of the employment precariousness construct were represented by 11 indicators. In general, women, workers without supervisory authority, those with fewer credentials, and those living in Eastern and Southern European countries suffer the highest levels of precarious employment. Exceptionally, men, workers with supervisory authority and those with the highest credentials suffer the highest levels of long working hours, schedule unpredictability and uncompensated flexible working times. This article offers the first validation for an innovative multidimensional conceptualisation of employment precariousness applied to the analysis of existing survey data, showing the unequal distribution of precarious employment across the European labour force. This set of indicators can be useful for monitoring precarious employment.

Does Job Insecurity Deteriorate Health? A Causal Approach for Europe

This paper estimates the causal effect of perceived job insecurity – i.e. the fear of involuntary job loss – on health in a sample of men from 22 European countries. We rely on an original instrumental variable approach based on the idea that workers perceive greater job security in countries where employment is strongly protected by the law, and relatively more so if employed in industries where employment protection legislation is more binding, i.e. in industries with a higher natural rate of dismissals.Using cross-country data from the 2010 European Working Conditions Survey, we show that when the potential endogeneity of job insecurity is not accounted for, the latter appears to deteriorate almost all health outcomes. When tackling the endogeneity issue by estimating an IV model and dealing with potential weak-instrument issues, the health-damaging effect of job insecurity is confirmed for a limited subgroup of health outcomes, namely suffering from headaches or eyestrain and skin problems. As for other health variables, the impact of job insecurity appears to be insignificant at conventional levels.

Workplace mistreatment: Health, working environment and social and economic factors

Objective: To explore patterns of workplace mistreatment, relationships with health and with selected workplace, economic and social factors in 34 countries. Methods: Secondary data analysis of the European Working Conditions Survey. Results: Patterns of ill treatment (across occupational groups, and sectors) were broadly consistent with smaller, less representative studies. Prevalence was lower than many studies but corresponds with estimates of serious mistreatment. Mistreatment increases the risk of both physical and mental ill health and is associated with a range of work environment factors. Mistreatment is more prevalent in countries with smaller gender gaps, better performance on the GINI index for income inequality and for countries with specific anti-bullying legislation. Conclusions: Mistreatment in work is complex, and interventions are required at the level of the organization. Implementation issues need to be addressed, as specific anti-bullying legislation does not appear to provide sufficient protection.

Work, health, and welfare: the association between working conditions, welfare states, and self-reported general health in Europe.

This article is the first to examine the association between self-reported general health and a wide range of working conditions at the European level and by type of welfare state regime. Data for 21,705 men and women ages 16 to 60 from 27 European countries were obtained from the 2010 European Working Conditions Survey. The influence of individual-level sociodemographic, physical, and psychosocial working conditions and of the organization of work were assessed in multilevel logistic regression analyses, with additional stratification by welfare state regime type (Anglo-Saxon, Bismarckian, Eastern European, Scandinavian, and Southern). At the European level, we found that "not good" general health was more likely to be reported by workers more exposed to hazardous working conditions. Most notably, tiring working positions, job strain, and temporary job contracts were strongly associated with a higher likelihood of reporting "not good" health. Analysis by welfare state regime found that only tiring or painful working conditions were consistently associated with worse self-reported health in all regimes. There was no evidence that the Scandinavian welfare regime protected against the adverse health effects of poor working conditions. The article concludes by examining the implications for comparative occupational health research.

Psychosocial work factors and long sickness absence in Europe

Studies exploring a wide range of psychosocial work factors separately and together in association with long sickness absence are still lacking. The objective of this study was to explore the associations between psychosocial work factors measured following a comprehensive instrument (Copenhagen psychosocial questionnaire, COPSOQ) and long sickness absence (> 7 days/year) in European employees of 34 countries. An additional objective was to study the differences in these associations according to gender and countries. The study population consisted of 16 120 male and 16 588 female employees from the 2010 European working conditions survey. Twenty-five psychosocial work factors were explored. Statistical analysis was performed using multilevel logistic regression models and interaction testing. When studied together in the same model, factors related to job demands (quantitative demands and demands for hiding emotions), possibilities for development, social relationships (role conflicts, quality of leadership, social support, and sense of community), workplace violence (physical violence, bullying, and discrimination), shift work, and job promotion were associated with long sickness absence. Almost no difference was observed according to gender and country. Comprehensive prevention policies oriented to psychosocial work factors may be useful to prevent long sickness absence at European level.