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Structural change

Technological drivers for change are interacting closely with other underlying long-term drivers of change, such as demographic shifts, globalisation and environmental challenges. They are profoundly and irreversibly reshaping many aspects of the European economy, society and the world of work. The White paper on the future of Europe maps out the drivers of change in the next decade and presents a range of scenarios for how Europe could evolve by 2025.

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Eurofound expert(s)

John Hurley

John Hurley

John Hurley is a senior research manager in the Employment unit at Eurofound. He took up the role of research manager in February 2012. He is responsible for the European...

Senior research manager,
Employment research unit
Publications results (86)

Social governance of the Recovery and Resilience Facility: Involvement of the national social partners

Three years after the adoption of the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF), this report reviews the quality of the social partners’ involvement in 2023 in the ongoing implementation of reforms and investments funded by that initiative. It also examines the quality of their involvement in the prepa

26 February 2024
Publication
Research report
Industrial relations and social dialogue
Social dialogue
Social partners
Industrial relations
Structural change
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Recovery from COVID-19: The changing structure of employment in the EU

European labour markets have recovered strongly from COVID-19. By the end of 2021, little more than 18 months after the start of the pandemic, employment rates in the EU were almost at pre-crisis levels. This report summarises labour market developments in 2020 and 2021 using quarterly data from the

20 October 2022
Publication
Research report
Structural change
Teleworking
Employment structure
Gender equality
Employment and labour markets
COVID-19
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Going digital: Restructuring trends in retail banking

The retail banking sector is fertile ground for studying the impacts of digitalisation on work and employment. Financial services are increasingly provided online, without the intermediary of customer-facing institutions. Many banks in the sector have been undergoing serial restructuring since the g

26 September 2022
Publication
Research report
Restructuring
Structural change
Anticipating and managing the impact of change
Digitalisation

EU-ANSA mapping report: Socioeconomic aspects of sustainable development

The European Union Agencies Network on Scientific Advice (EU-ANSA) consists of technical and regulatory agencies that provide scientific advice to EU policymakers. This report demonstrates how EU-ANSA member Agencies are addressing the socioeconomic effects of sustainable development. It is based on

05 January 2022
Publication
Other
Skills and training
Social dialogue
Social policies
Structural change
European Green Deal
Gender equality
Anticipating and managing the impact of change
Labour market policies
Just transition
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Business not as usual: How EU companies adapted to the COVID-19 pandemic

This report aims to support European businesses in navigating the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. The focus is on workplace practices and features that have helped establishments across the EU to develop operational resilience while keeping employees and customers safe. The report investigates

09 December 2021
Publication
Research report
Small and medium-sized enterprises
Structural change
Working conditions and sustainable work
Working conditions
Teleworking
Work organisation
COVID-19
Digitalisation
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Exploring the social challenges of low carbon energy policies in Europe

This briefing is co-produced by the European Environment Agency (EEA) and Eurofound. It is based on the results of two complementary analyses by the EEA and the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (Eurofound) on the socioeconomic effects of climate policies, in

29 October 2021
Publication
Other
Social policies
Structural change
European Green Deal
Anticipating and managing the impact of change
COVID-19
Labour market policies
Just transition
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Distributional impacts of climate policies in Europe

With the European Green Deal, the EU is setting in motion a set of policies and measures aimed at preventing and alleviating the effects of climate change. The main objective is to embark on the transition to a climate-neutral economy. These much needed climate policies, however, may have

06 July 2021
Publication
Research report
Social policies
Pay and income
Structural change
Working conditions and sustainable work
European Green Deal
Anticipating and managing the impact of change
Just transition
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Labour market change: Trends and policy approaches towards flexibilisation

What have been the major trends and policy developments regarding the flexibilisation of employment in recent years? Eurofound’s work programme for 2017–2020 set out to document and capture these changes in the world of work. This flagship publication provides an overview of developments in Europe

16 April 2020
Publication
Flagship report
Platform work
Non-standard employment
Working time
Structural change
New forms of employment
Employment structure
Inclusive labour markets
Employment status
Employment relationship
Anticipating and managing the impact of change
Labour market policies
Employment and labour markets
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Game-changing technologies: Transforming production and employment in Europe

Innovation and technological advancement are natural features of developed economies, and they are necessary to maintain and improve sustainable competitiveness in an era of globalisation. However, while most innovation tends to be incremental, some has a disruptive effect on production and service

22 January 2020
Publication
Research report
Small and medium-sized enterprises
Platform work
Structural change
Employment and labour markets
Anticipating and managing the impact of change
Digitalisation
Industrial policy

Working conditions in a global perspective

Job quality is a major focus of policymakers around the world. For workers, the enterprises that employ them and for societies, there are benefits associated with high-quality jobs, and costs associated with poor-quality jobs. This report – the result of a pioneering project by the International

06 May 2019
Publication
Research report
Working conditions and sustainable work
Structural change
Working conditions
Job quality
Online resources results (6)

Cyprus: latest working life developments Q2 2018

An agreement to restore wider public sector salaries and mass redundancies at CCB bank are the main topics of interest in this article. This country update reports on the latest developments in working life in Cyprus in the second quarter of 2018.

6 September 2018
Article
Agreements
Collective bargaining
Pay and income
Structural change

Greece: The third memorandum’s plans for public administration

The third Memorandum of Understanding for Greece came into force from January 2016, which sets out measures that the government will have to implement before the end of 2018. These include tax policy reform, a more sustainable pension system, and improved management of health sector finances.

30 May 2016
Article
Pay and income
Structural change
Working conditions
Employment and labour markets
Industrial relations
Labour and social regulation
Working conditions and sustainable work
Industrial relations and social dialogue

Greece: Report on economy and employment criticises current economic policy

A report by the Labour Institute of the GSEE trade union confederation argues that the economic policy implemented to tackle the economic crisis is incompatible with the Greek economic development model and has, as a result, brought high unemployment, disinvestment, social disintegration and

18 February 2016
Article
Pay and income
Structural change
Collective bargaining
Working conditions
Employment and labour markets
Industrial relations
Working conditions and sustainable work
Industrial relations and social dialogue

Portugal: High and rising emigration in a context of high, but decreasing, unemployment

Emigration is at its highest since 1973 due to high unemployment, job insecurity and deteriorating working conditions. Recent data indicate that an increasing proportion of emigrants are highly qualified, stoking concerns of a 'brain drain'. Meanwhile, official statistics show a drop in unemployment

15 February 2016
Article
Structural change
Migration and mobility
Working conditions
Employment and labour markets
Working conditions and sustainable work

Finland: Working Life Barometer 2013

The Finnish Working Life Barometer is a survey of working conditions from the perspective of employees, conducted annually by the Ministry of Employment and the Economy since 1992. The focus of this article is the 2013 Barometer. It offers a summary of the main findings and an overview of the

24 April 2015
Article
Working time
Job quality
Skills and training
Structural change
Working conditions
Working conditions and sustainable work

Belgium: Effects of the economic crisis on wage indexation

Belgium is one of a small number of countries to use a wage indexation system linking wage rises to the cost of living. However, the recent economic crisis has highlighted problems with the system and the government has even introduced legislation to veto 'cost of living' wage increases as part of

18 February 2015
Article
Pay and income
Structural change
Working conditions
Employment and labour markets
Industrial relations
Working conditions and sustainable work
Industrial relations and social dialogue
Blogs results (3)
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Europe’s quiet revolution is under way

As Europe braces for a winter wave of the Coronavirus, behind the public health indicators that rightly dominate the headlines, a revolution in working life is under way. In early spring, millions of people throughout Europe took their work home and tried to rapidly adjust to the new world in which

12 November 2020
James Higgins
Blog
COVID-19
Platform work
Structural change
Digitalisation
Teleworking
Anticipating and managing the impact of change
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Europe’s low-carbon transition makes economic sense

At the very outset of its mandate, the new European Commission presented the European Green Deal, establishing the objective of becoming the first climate-neutral bloc in the world by 2050. The initiative emphasises the seriousness which the European Commission places on the climate and biodiversity

21 February 2020
James Higgins
Blog
Employment and labour markets
European Green Deal
Industrial policy
Job creation
Just transition
Labour market policies
Structural change
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Europe’s shrinking middle class

The Great Recession depressed real income levels across European countries. But the impact was very unequal across countries and income groups. Countries in the European periphery have been more affected than those in the core, halting the process of income convergence between European countries tha

23 June 2017
Carlos Vacas‑Soriano
Blog
Pay and income
Structural change
Employment structure
Inequality
Living conditions
Employment and labour markets

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