European Working Conditions Survey
 •  European wide survey –  5 waves already: 1991, 1995, 2000 (+01/02), 2005 and 2010
                  currently preparing 2015
 •  1 questionnaire / translated in all the languages 
      2010: 25 languages and 16 variants
 •  Country coverage: EU + neighbour countries
      th
       5  EWCS (2010) : 34 countries covered : EU27 + NO + ACC3 + IPA3
      43000 interviews in total (1000/4000 interview per country)
 •  Workers survey: employees and self-employed (15+) (LFS def) 
 •  Face to face interviews
      2010: 40 min 
 •  Revision of 
      Questionnaire: with  support of a questionnaire development group + Governing Board
      Quality process: strict quality assurance mechanisms & documentation 
                  EWCS: questionnaire
   • Covers many different aspects of the conditions of work and employment of European workers 
     (more than 100 questions) 
      Demographics, structure of workforce, job characteristics, household info (incl work at home)
      Working time : duration, organisation 
      Physical and psychosocial work factors
      Nature of work / place of work / work organisation
      Job content and training
      Work-life balance
      Information and consultation
      Outcomes : health, job satisfaction
      Earnings
   • Trends in EU working conditions in the last 20 years; 
   • Complementary to LFS 
   • Covers all European countries in a completely homogeneous way 
      detailed comparisons between countries, different groups of workers, …
   • Gender mainstreaming : central in reflection on questionnaire
                        Multilevel and Multiactor perspective 
    Level of analysis            Examples of topic and roles 
    The worker                   Fit, able to combine work with care, equipped with 
                                 marketable skills skills, motivated to work, preferences
    The job                      What quality ? 
    The company                  HR and other policies and practices, work organisation 
                                 practices, trade Union role, collaboration between 
                                 workers
    The labour market            Unemployment and participation rates, transitions etc 
    The legal and regulatory     Rights and duties, financial incentives, promoting good 
    framework                    practice, collective agreements
    The welfare state            Safety net, developing capacities, supporting social 
                                 infrastructure 
                                        Criteria for selecting 
                                       job quality features ? 
       -   Well being of workers ?
              Considers dimensions with potential causal positive or 
               detrimental effects on well-being + limit the capacity of workers 
               to take up up a specific job; propsective studies; dir ‘89
       -   Performance of companies ?
              Direct and indirect effects between well-being and performance
       -   Gender equality ?
              Calls at minimum for gender mainstreaming and providing 
               gender disaggregated data. 
       -   European social model ?
              Voice ? Workers participation ? 
       -   Other ? 
                Trends in job quality (Green, Mostafa): 
                      the indices : 69 questions 
   • Builds on Eurofound (2002): 
    - “career and employment security”, “health and well-being”, “reconciliation of working and non-
     working life” and “skills development”
   • Earnings: monthly earnings
   • Prospects : Job security, career progression, contract
   • Intrinsic Job Quality
        - Skills and Discretion
          - skills use (problem-solving, complexity), learning and training, discretion and 
          influence over own work, occupation (incl. average education level in occupation)
        - Good Social Environment
          - good support, absence of bad social relationships
        - Good Physical Environment
          - inverted count of environmental and posture-related hazards
        - Work Intensity
          - high effort requirements (including emotional demands), multiple work pressure 
          sources
   • Working Time Quality : length of working week, weekend, evening & night work, time discretion, 
    time flexibility