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Abstract

Las estrictas restricciones de salud pública aplicadas por los gobiernos en 2020 para controlar la pandemia de COVID-19 cambiaron bruscamente la vida laboral y siguieron configurándola a lo largo de los dos años siguientes. Entre marzo y noviembre de 2021, se realizaron más de 70 000 entrevistas en 36 países a través de la Encuesta Telefónica Europea sobre las Condiciones de Trabajo (EWCTS), una encuesta basada en la probabilidad de alta calidad. El objetivo era ofrecer una visión detallada de la vida laboral de los europeos en ese momento excepcional.
El informe documenta las condiciones de trabajo de los europeos en 2021. Examina las diferencias en la calidad del empleo e identifica su asociación positiva con el bienestar, la salud, el compromiso laboral y la sostenibilidad financiera del trabajo. Pone de relieve las divergencias en las experiencias de los trabajadores en función de sus propios atributos y del puesto que ocupan. A partir de este análisis, el informe pretende extraer lecciones para el futuro, en concreto en lo que respecta a las marcas perdurables que deja la forma en la que trabajamos y las implicaciones para la organización del trabajo, la calidad del trabajo y la interacción entre el trabajo y la vida privada.

Key findings

Una buena calidad del empleo contribuye al bienestar y constituye el núcleo de una vida laboral de alta calidad. Durante la pandemia, la calidad del empleo tuvo un impacto positivo en el equilibrio entre la vida profesional y la vida privada, la capacidad de llegar a fin de mes y una mayor confianza en el lugar de trabajo. Estos resultados positivos hacen que el trabajo sea sostenible, lo que permite a los trabajadores continuar con su vida laboral durante más tiempo.

La encuesta confirma que persiste la segregación de género en determinados sectores, ocupaciones y lugares de trabajo, lo que indica que estamos lejos de los objetivos de igualdad de oportunidades entre mujeres y hombres y de igualdad de acceso a puestos clave de toma de decisiones en el lugar de trabajo. En 2021, solo uno de cada cinco trabajadores estaba empleado en un lugar equilibrado desde el punto de vista del género, y solo en el caso de un tercio de los trabajadores estaba a cargo de una mujer. Esto exige redoblar los esfuerzos para eliminar los estereotipos que limitan las opciones laborales de mujeres y hombres.

Lo que preocupa es que la encuesta muestra que un elevado número de personas que trabajan en la UE siguieron encontrándose en situaciones vulnerables, con un 26 % con dificultades para llegar a fin de mes y un 17 % incapaz de predecir sus ingresos en los próximos tres meses. Esto pone de relieve la importancia de centrar los esfuerzos políticos en hacer que trabajar sea rentable y centrarse en grupos específicos, como las familias monoparentales y los trabajadores con empleos mal remunerados, que están sometidos a una mayor presión financiera y se han visto más gravemente afectados que otros grupos por las restricciones pandémicas.

La mayoría de los trabajadores no trabajan en un entorno que apoya el desarrollo de sus capacidades. Además, cerca de la mitad de los trabajadores declararon de que no tenían suficientes oportunidades para utilizar sus capacidades y conocimientos en el trabajo, lo que subraya el papel clave que desempeñan las empresas en el apoyo al desarrollo de una mano de obra cualificada. El Año Europeo de las Capacidades 2023 puede contribuir de manera significativa a sensibilizar sobre estos retos.

La calidad del empleo desempeñará un papel fundamental en la transición de la UE hacia una economía neutra en carbono al garantizar que los nuevos empleos y funciones apoyen una vida laboral más larga, más sana y mejor. Los resultados muestran que los nuevos trabajos verdes tendrán potencialmente una mejor calidad del empleo. Sin embargo, muchos puestos de trabajo existentes cuya demanda aumentará en la transición ecológica muestran una peor calidad del empleo, lo que subraya la importancia de integrar también la calidad del empleo en las políticas de ecologización.

EWCTS 2021 data

To accompany the report on ‘Working conditions in the time of COVID-19: Implications for the future’, Eurofound has developed a data explorer focusing on the responses to over 100 questions from the EWCTS 2021 questionnaire. Diving further into the data, a data story examines the prevalence of adverse social behaviour in the workplace in the EU27, and the resulting implications for health and well-being. Explore the data:

The full dataset for the European Working Conditions Telephone Survey (EWCTS) 2021 is available on the UK Data Service. 

Tables and figures

The report contains the following lists of tables and figures.

List of tables

  • Table 1: Change in employment levels and weekly hours worked, year on year by quarter, by age and gender, EU27, 2019–2020 and 2020–2021
  • Table 2: Distribution of workers according to employment situation at time of survey, by gender, EU27 (%)
  • Table 3: Distribution of employees with working hours stated in their employment contract according to usual hours of work, by gender, EU27 (%)
  • Table 4: Dimensions of job quality and corresponding job demands and job resources
  • Table 5: Physical environment – High level of exposure to physical risks and demands, EU27, 2021 (%)
  • Table 6: Social environment – Exposure to intimidation and discrimination and receipt of social support, EU27 (%)
  • Table 7: Job tasks – Work intensity and task discretion and autonomy, EU27 (%)
  • Table 8: Organisational characteristics – Organisational participation and dependence, EU27 (%)
  • Table 9: Working time arrangements – Unsocial work schedules and flexibility in working hours, EU27 (%)
  • Table 10: Job prospects – Job insecurity, training opportunities and career advancement, EU27 (%)
  • Table 11: Intrinsic job features – Intrinsic rewards and opportunities for self-realisation, EU27, 2021 (%)
  • Table 12: Association between job quality, job demands and job resources and well-being and quality of working life indicators
  • Table 13: Reported health problems, by occupation, EU27 (percentage point difference from mean)
  • Table 14: Greening occupational groups
  • Table 15: Job demands of greening occupational groups compared with average
  • Table 16: Job resources of greening occupational groups compared with average
  • Table A1: EWCTS questionnaire structure
  • Table A3: Variables used to identify COVID groups (other than occupation and sector)
  • Table A4: Overview of the job quality dimensions and job characteristics of the quality of the working environment

List of figures

  • Figure 1: Changes in unemployment, employment and inactivity rates, year on year by quarter, EU27, 2019–2020 and 2020–2021 (percentage points)
    Figure 2: Total number of jobs supported by government measures, by month, EU27, 2020–2021 (millions)
    Figure 3: Sectoral shifts in employment, by NACE sector, year on year by quarter, EU27, Q2 2019–Q2 2021 (percentage points)
    Figure 4: Occupational shifts in employment, year on year by quarter, EU27, Q2 2019–Q2 2021 (percentage points)
    Figure 5: Temporary employees as a proportion of all employees, EU Member States, 2019–2021 (%)
    Figure 6: Shares of sectors in total employment, by gender, EU27 (%)
    Figure 7: Distribution of men, women and all workers according to sectoral gender-balance category, EU27 (%)
    Figure 8: Shares of occupations in total employment, by gender, EU27 (%)
    Figure 9: Distribution of men and women according to occupational gender-balance category, EU27 (%)
    Figure 10: Composition of households, by full-time and part-time employment and by gender, EU27 (%)
    Figure 11: Composition of households, by full-time and part-time employment, EU Member States and other European countries (%)
    Figure 12: Workers with temporary contracts, by occupational group and duration of contract, EU27 (%)
    Figure 13: Solo self-employed workers, by dependence status, EU Member States and other European countries (%)
    Figure 14: Employees who worked more than contracted hours, breakdown by sector and occupation according to gender, EU27 (%)
    Figure 15: Main place of work, by employment status, EU27 (%)
    Figure 16: Main place of work, by sector, EU27 (%)
    Figure 17: Main place of work, by occupation, EU27 (%)
    Figure 18: Main place of work, by telework status, EU27 (%)
    Figure 19: Categorisation of working population into COVID groups, EU27 (%)
    Figure 20: High levels of physical risk, by sector, EU27 (%)
    Figure 21: Subsectors with highest levels of exposure to infectious materials and proportion of women employed in each, EU27 (%)
    Figure 22: Exposure to at least one type of intimidation, EU Member States (%)
    Figure 23: Exposure to intimidation and discrimination, by sector and gender, EU27 (%)
    Figure 24: Levels of social support from managers, by COVID group, EU27 (%)
    Figure 25: Working at high speed and to tight deadlines always or often, EU Member States and other European countries (%)
    Figure 26: Autonomy to choose or change methods of work, by occupation, EU27 (%)
    Figure 27: Organisational participation and workplace voice, by COVID group, EU27 (%)
    Figure 28: Working in free time, by place of work, EU27 (%)
    Figure 29: Long working hours, by place of work, EU27 (%)
    Figure 30: Working at short notice, by employment status, EU27 (%)
    Figure 31: Very easy to take an hour or two off work, by occupation and gender, EU27 (%)
    Figure 32: Expectation of undesirable change in the workplace situation, by sector, EU27 (%)
    Figure 33: Access to training opportunities, by COVID group, EU27 (%)
    Figure 34: Recognition at work, by COVID group, EU27 (%)
    Figure 35: Job quality index, EU Member States and other European countries (%)
    Figure 36: Job quality index, by employment status, EU27 (%)
    Figure 37: Job quality index, by sector, EU27 (%)
    Figure 38: Job quality index, by occupation, EU27 (%)
    Figure 39: Extent of influence of a computerised system, a supervisor, and customers on employees’ work, EU27 (%)
    Figure 40: Employees influenced to a large extent by a computerised system, a supervisor and customers, by occupation, EU27 (%)
    Figure 41: Employees influenced by a computerised system, a supervisor and customers, by level of autonomy, EU27 (%)
    Figure 42: Extent of combined influence on employees, by work intensity, EU27 (%)
    Figure 43: Frequency of working with digital devices, by extent of influence of a computerised system, EU27 (%)
    Figure 44: Autonomy of employees influenced by a computerised system, by use of a digital device, EU27 (%)
    Figure 45: Types of work organisation and proportion of EU employees in each, EU27 (%)
    Figure 46: Types of work organisation, by COVID groups, EU27 (% of employees)
    Figure 47: Job quality index, by type of work organisation, EU27 (% of employees)
    Figure 48: Health and safety delegate or committee in the workplace, by sector and workplace size, EU27 (% of employees)
    Figure 49: Health and safety delegate or committee in the workplace, EU Member States and other European countries (% of employees)
    Figure 50: Trade union, works council or similar body in the workplace, by sector and workplace size, EU27 (% of employees)
    Figure 51: Formal employee representation setup, by main place of work, EU27 (% of employees)
    Figure 52: Formal employee representation setup, by COVID group, EU27 (% of employees)
    Figure 53: Distribution of employees according to presence of formal employee representation and meetings in the workplace, EU27 (%)
    Figure 54: Predominant gender in the workplace, by gender, EU27 (%)
    Figure 55: Predominant gender in the workplace in mixed-gender occupations, EU27 (%)
    Figure 56: Predominant gender in the workplace, by COVID group, EU27 (%)
    Figure 57: Gender of the boss, EU Member States and other European countries (%)
    Figure 58: Gender of the boss, by employee gender, EU27 (%)
    Figure 59: Educational level of employees, by gender of boss, EU27 (%)
    Figure 60: COVID groups, by employee gender and gender of the boss, EU27 (%)
    Figure 61: Usual number of days in a working week, by employment status, EU27 (%)
    Figure 62: Usual weekly hours in paid work and their dispersion, by gender, EU Member States and other European countries (weekly hours)
    Figure 63: Distribution of employees and the self-employed according to usual weekly hours in paid work, by gender, EU27 (%)
    Figure 64: Usual weekly hours in paid work, by occupational group, sector and workplace size, EU27 (%)
    Figure 65: Gender gaps in weekly paid, unpaid and total working hours, EU Member States (weekly hours)
    Figure 66: Frequency of unpaid work activities, by gender, EU27 (%)
    Figure 67: Paid and unpaid work, by occupational group and gender, EU27 (weekly hours)
    Figure 68: Paid and unpaid work, by COVID group and gender, EU27 (weekly hours)
    Figure 69: Paid and unpaid work of women and men, by full-time and part-time status, EU27 (weekly hours)
    Figure 70: Paid, unpaid and total work of women and men, by age group, EU27 (weekly hours)
    Figure 71: Daily unpaid work activities, by gender and age group, EU27 (%)
    Figure 72: Paid and unpaid work of women and men, by number of children, EU27 (weekly hours)
    Figure 73: Paid and unpaid work of women and men, by ability to make ends meet, EU27 (weekly hours)
    Figure 74: Workers whose working hours fitted in with family and social commitments outside work well or very well, EU Member States and other European countries (%)
    Figure 75: Poor fit between working hours and family and social commitments outside work, by occupation, sector and employment status, EU27 (%)
    Figure 76: Fit between working hours and family and social commitments outside work, by COVID group, EU27 (%)
    Figure 77: Poor work–life balance, men and women compared, by age group, household type and age of youngest child, EU27 (%)
    Figure 78: Work–life conflicts, by occupation and sector, EU27 (%)
    Figure 79: Work–life conflicts, men and women compared, by COVID group, EU27 (%)
    Figure 80: Worrying about work (always or often), men and women compared, by age group, household type and age of youngest child, EU27 (%)
    Figure 81: Feeling tired after work (always or often), men and women compared, by age group, household type and age of youngest child, EU27 (%)
    Figure 82: Fit between working hours and family and social commitments outside work, by job quality, EU27 (%)
    Figure 83: Work–life conflicts, men and women compared, by job quality, EU27 (%)
    Figure 84: Distribution of usual and preferred weekly hours, by gender and employment status, EU27 (%)
    Figure 85: Working time preferences, by usual weekly working hours and work–life balance, EU27 (%)
    Figure 86: Working time preferences, by age group, employment status, occupation and sector, EU27 (%)
    Figure 87: Working time preferences, by relationship between usual hours and contracted hours, EU27 (%)
    Figure 88: Difference between average usual and preferred weekly working hours, by household type and gender, EU27 (hours)
    Figure 89: Working time preferences, by COVID group, EU27 (%)
    Figure 90: Difficulty making ends meet, by country, EU27 and other European countries (%)
    Figure 91: Difficulty making ends meet, by household type and level of difficulty, EU27 (%)
    Figure 92: Financial sustainability indicators, by COVID group, EU27 (%)
    Figure 93: Job quality index, by ability to make ends meet, EU27 (%)
    Figure 94: Aspects of social climate, by type of work organisation, EU27 (%)
    Figure 95: Aspects of social climate, by COVID group, EU27 (%)
    Figure 96: Social climate indicator, by job quality index, EU27 (%)
    Figure 97: Work engagement, by type of work organisation and COVID group, EU27 (%)
    Figure 98: Work engagement by the job quality index, EU27 (%)
    Figure 99: Employees whose health and safety is at risk because of their work, by sector and occupation, EU27 (%)
    Figure 100: Health problems reported in the 12 months before the survey, EU27 (%)
    Figure 101: Number of health problems, by COVID group, EU27 (%)
    Figure 102: Presenteeism, by place of work, EU27 (%)
    Figure 103: Presenteeism, by gender, EU27 and other European countries (%)
    Figure 104: WHO-5 Well-being Index scores, by sociodemographic group and employment status (mean)
    Figure 105: Job quality index, by health-related indicators, EU27 (%)
    Figure 106: Job quality index, by greening occupational groups (%)
Number of pages
150
Reference nº
EF22012
ISBN
978-92-897-2294-0
Catalogue nº
TJ-03-22-111-EN-N
DOI
10.2806/056613
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As part of our Eurofound Talks podcast series, we have produced two podcasts to discuss the findings of the European Working Conditions Telephone Survey 2021 with experts working on the analysis. The first podcast is on job quality and the second is on work–life challenges for women and men published on International Women's Day 2023. 

Episode 13 - The work-life challenges of women and men

Episode 12 - Job quality

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