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Calidad del empleo
La calidad del empleo es un complemento a las medidas relativas a la cantidad de puestos de trabajo a la hora de proporcionar una evaluación de la estrategia de empleo. La calidad del empleo es un concepto pluridimensional en el que diferentes políticas y disciplinas hacen hincapié en diferentes dimensiones.
En la mayoría de los estudios de Eurofound, la calidad del empleo se mide en función del nivel del puesto, teniendo en cuenta, entre otras, las características laborales recopiladas desde una perspectiva objetiva, que pueden observarse y están relacionadas con la satisfacción de las necesidades de las personas a partir de su trabajo. Los indicadores están compuesto por todas las características del trabajo y del empleo que han demostrado tener una relación causal con la salud y el bienestar. Se incluyen las características positivas y negativas de los puestos de trabajo. Estos indicadores reflejan los recursos laborales (aspectos físicos, psicológicos, sociales u organizativos) y las demandas de empleo, o los procesos que influyen en ellos.
Workers will experience the effects of climate change in many ways: job insecurity, changes to their work tasks and responsibilities, and changes in their workplaces that may involve different work...
There is no one future of work for all jobs – policymakers will have their work cut out to ensure that remote and platform working, artificial intelligence and climate change...
Job quality and its improvement is an important policy concern, as quality jobs are crucial for higher labour force participation, higher well-being and increased economic performance. Job quality is also a key component in making work sustainable and enabling workers to remain motivated to remain in work for longer. It is central to the ILO’s Decent Work Agenda, the OECD’s jobs strategy and to the European Union’s quality of work policies to create more and better jobs. For workers, for the enterprises and organisations that employ them and for societies, there are benefits associated with high-quality jobs, and costs associated with poor-quality jobs.
International Labour Organization (ILO): Decent work
Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD): OECD Jobs Strategy
Job quality can be supported by a wide-ranging set of policies and actions at EU level, by national authorities and social partners, and within companies aimed at addressing the issues raised in the EWCS analysis of job quality indices and profiles and that support workers throughout their working lives.
By bundling practices that increase employee autonomy, facilitate employee voice and promote training and learning, businesses can boost performance while improving job quality.
Job quality can be improved by reducing excessive demands on workers and limiting their exposure to risks – and also by increasing their access to work resources that help in achieving work goals or mitigate the effects of these demands. Each dimension of job quality can also be improved through workplace practices and policies.
Workers and employers and their organisations each have a role to play in improving job quality; social dialogue is critical for devising policies in the workplace and beyond. Public authorities should regulate with the common goal of improving job quality in mind.
Being a manager is challenging for both women and men. To increase the attractiveness of managerial positions, job quality for all managers needs to be improved. Linked to this are difficulties in achieving a satisfactory work–life balance. Addressing the working time and work–life balance needs of managers increases the attractiveness of this function and also makes working as a manager more sustainable.
As some employment statuses are linked to poorer quality jobs, labour market policies aimed at addressing global economic competitiveness and combating high unemployment rates hence need to consider the potential effects for job quality.
Eurofound aims to consolidate the position of its European Working Conditions Survey (EWCS) as an important tool for benchmarking job quality in the European Union and beyond, feeding into policy development in the area of quality of work. The data have been used to carry out further research on various topics linked to job quality, including job quality in different work situations, job quality of different groups in the labour market, the impact of job quality on quality of working lives and in-depth analysis of individual dimensions of job quality. The European Company Survey 2019 (ECS 2019) also looks at different dimensions of job quality for workers and employers. Recent research has also looked into job quality in a global perspective.
Eurofound’s EWCS 2015, the sixth edition of the survey, provides an in-depth account of people’s current experience of work in Europe and an overview of working lives through the lens of job quality. The survey gathered detailed data on almost every aspect of working life, from working time to relationships with colleagues to opportunities for training.
To explore what the data say about job quality, Eurofound developed seven indices representing different dimensions of job quality, based on aspects of work that have an independent influence on health and well-being. These are:
Physical environment
Work intensity
Working time quality
Social environment
Skills and discretion
Prospects
Earnings
Those jobs that scored similarly on the seven job quality indices were grouped together in five job quality profiles: High flying, Smooth running, Active manual, Under pressure, Poor quality.
The data show a diverse and heterogeneous labour market, where one in five workers has a 'poor quality' job.
Eurofound's 2021 flagship report on working conditions and sustainable work sums up research on job quality in the past five years. It highlights the relevance of job quality to address challenges in the future: pyschosocial risks at work, ICT-based mobile work, fragmentation of work and the specific challenges in the era of COVID-19.
Company survey: Workplace practices and job quality
The European Company Survey (ECS) looks at workplace practices with regard to work organisation, human resource management and direct and indirect employee participation. These workplace practices are key determinants of the job quality of employees. The ECS 2019 examines job autonomy and complexity, the prevalence of part-time work and permanent contracts, the expectations management has of employees, the motivational drivers that are in place, the training and learning opportunities that are offered to employees, as well as the channels for, and impact of, direct and indirect employee participation. Both the ECS 2013 and the ECS 2019 show that establishments that have workplace practices that ensure good job quality also do better in terms of performance and workplace well-being.
Infographic: How good company practices impact on workplace well-being and performance
Only one-fifth of European companies find secret to combining optimal workplace well-being and business performance.
‘High investment, high involvement’ workplaces have the best outcomes for workers and employers, managing to boost performance and improve job quality.
Using EWCS data, Eurofound has collaborated with the ILO on a pioneering project to provide a comparative analysis of job quality covering approximately 1.2 billion workers in Europe, Asia and the Americas. It analyses the seven dimensions of job quality, finding both important differences and similarities between countries.
How different groups fare on job quality
Eurofound’s policy brief on women in management uses EWCS data to look at the diversity of job quality in management positions, analysing whether the working conditions of managers are better than those of non-managers and whether they are similar for women and men. Analysis of gender equality at work also highlights important gaps in men’s and women’s working conditions and job quality which require specific attention.
Research on working conditions of workers of different ages examines the role of job quality and other work-related factors in workers’ decisions and ability to remain in paid employment. Other research on working time patterns for sustainable work examines from a gender and life course perspective the links between working time patterns and organisation, working time quality and work–life balance, and health and well-being.
The research on working conditions in sectors examines trends in job quality from a sectoral perspective. Findings also reveal that workplace accommodation of the needs of workers with chronic disease can impact their job quality and the sustainability of work.
Determinants of job quality: Employment status, working time patterns
Eurofound’s policy brief on employment status uses EWCS data to investigate the job quality associated with different employment statuses in the EU Member States. The research explores the working conditions of five categories of self-employed and analyses their job quality.
Other research examines the working conditions and job quality associated with ICT-based mobile work and the impact of this form of work on quality of working lives.
Research also looks at human resource management and how employee involvement in decision-making can benefit organisations, helping to improve job quality and working conditions.
Impact of job quality
Research on working conditions and workers’ health examines the interplay between job demands and job resources which support workers in greater engagement and well-being. In terms of reconciling work and life, Eurofound examines the reciprocal relations between working conditions and job quality and people’s lives outside work, and what is most important for people in terms of work–life balance.
The EWCS 2015 demonstrates the positive relationship between each job quality index and worker's experience of the quality of working life in terms of: career and employment security, developing skills and competences, maintaining and promoting health and well-being, reconciling working and non-working life, work sustainability, and meaningful and motivating work.
Labour market change and job quality
Eurofound’s European Jobs Monitor (EJM) tracks structural change in European labour markets. It describes shifts in employment at Member State and EU level, analysing changes in terms of occupation and sector and the implications for job quality.
Mary McCaughey speaks with Eurofound Research Manager Jorge Cabrita about new research that highlights poor job quality - including high emotional demands, working at high speed and to tight deadlines...
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...
Este informe emblemático resumen las principales conclusiones de la investigación de Eurofound sobre las condiciones de trabajo realizada durante el periodo de programación 2017-2020. En él se describen los avances...
El presente informe está basado en la cuarta edición de la Encuesta Europea de Empresas (ECS, en sus siglas en inglés), realizada conjuntamente por Eurofound y Cedefop en 2019. Describe...
Megatrends, such as digitalisation, globalisation, demographic change and climate change, are transforming the world of work, with knock-on effects for working conditions and job quality. Against this background, this report...
El número de trabajadores que viven con enfermedades crónicas en la UE está aumentando. Estas dolencias afectan, en distintos grados, a la capacidad de las personas para trabajar. Mientras que...
15 Octubre 2019
Publication
Policy brief
Ongoing work
Eurofound aims to consolidate the position of its European Working Conditions Survey (EWCS) as an important tool for benchmarking job quality in the European Union and beyond, feeding into policy development in the area of quality of work. The data have been used to carry out further research on various topics linked to job quality, including job quality in different work situations, job quality of different groups in the labour market, the impact of job quality on quality of working lives and in-depth analysis of individual dimensions of job quality. The European Company Survey 2019 (ECS 2019) also looks at different dimensions of job quality for workers and employers. Recent research has also looked into job quality in a global perspective.
Eurofound’s EWCS 2015, the sixth edition of the survey, provides an in-depth account of people’s current experience of work in Europe and an overview of working lives through the lens of job quality. The survey gathered detailed data on almost every aspect of working life, from working time to relationships with colleagues to opportunities for training.
To explore what the data say about job quality, Eurofound developed seven indices representing different dimensions of job quality, based on aspects of work that have an independent influence on health and well-being. These are:
Physical environment
Work intensity
Working time quality
Social environment
Skills and discretion
Prospects
Earnings
Those jobs that scored similarly on the seven job quality indices were grouped together in five job quality profiles: High flying, Smooth running, Active manual, Under pressure, Poor quality.
The data show a diverse and heterogeneous labour market, where one in five workers has a 'poor quality' job.
Company survey: Workplace practices and job quality
The European Company Survey (ECS) looks at workplace practices with regard to work organisation, human resource management and direct and indirect employee participation. These workplace practices are key determinants of the job quality of employees. The ECS 2019 examines job autonomy and complexity, the prevalence of part-time work and permanent contracts, the expectations management has of employees, the motivational drivers that are in place, the training and learning opportunities that are offered to employees, as well as the channels for, and impact of, direct and indirect employee participation. Both the ECS 2013 and the ECS 2019 show that establishments that have workplace practices that ensure good job quality also do better in terms of performance and workplace well-being.
See European Company Survey 2019 infographic.
Working conditions in a global perspective
Using EWCS data, Eurofound has collaborated with the ILO on a pioneering project to provide a comparative analysis of job quality covering approximately 1.2 billion workers in Europe, Asia and the Americas. It analyses the seven dimensions of job quality, finding both important differences and similarities between countries.
How different groups fare on job quality
Eurofound’s policy brief on women in management uses EWCS data to look at the diversity of job quality in management positions, analysing whether the working conditions of managers are better than those of non-managers and whether they are similar for women and men. Research on working conditions of workers of different ages examines the role of job quality and other work-related factors in workers’ decisions and ability to remain in paid employment. Other research on working time patterns for sustainable work examines from a gender and life course perspective the links between working time patterns and organisation, working time quality and work–life balance, and health and well-being.
Determinants of job quality: Employment status, working time patterns
Eurofound’s policy brief on employment status uses EWCS data to investigate the job quality associated with different employment statuses in the EU Member States. The research explores the working conditions of five categories of self-employed and analyses their job quality. Other research examines the working conditions and job quality associated with ICT-based mobile work and the impact of this form of work on quality of working lives.
Impact of job quality
Research on working conditions and workers’ health examines the interplay between job demands and job resources which support workers in greater engagement and well-being. In terms of reconciling work and life, Eurofound examines the reciprocal relations between working conditions and job quality and people’s lives outside work, and what is most important for people in terms of work–life balance.
The EWCS 2015 demonstrates the positive relationship between each job quality index and worker's experience of the quality of working life in terms of: career and employment security, developing skills and competences, maintaining and promoting health and well-being, reconciling working and non-working life, work sustainability, and meaningful and motivating work.
Labour market change and job quality
Eurofound’s European Jobs Monitor (EJM) tracks structural change in European labour markets. It describes shifts in employment at Member State and EU level, analysing changes in terms of occupation and sector and the implications for job quality.
Research continues in this topic on a variety of themes, which are outlined below with links to forthcoming titles.
Agnès Parent-Thirion is a senior research manager in the Working Life unit at Eurofound, tasked with the planning, development and implementation of working conditions research...
This conference at Sheffield Halham University addressed some critical issues relating to how the supply of care workers – both those involved in childcare and those who provide domiciliary care for older people living in their own homes – can be stimulated to match the growing demand for their
In 2001, the Foundation carried out a survey on working conditions in 12 candidate countries: Bulgaria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia. The questionnaire-based survey is identical to the three working conditions surveys
This report analyses the latest findings from the Foundation’s Third European survey on working conditions, examining for the first time the associations between various types of employment and selected health indicators. It shows the impact of factors such as the physical environment, work
Foundation papers aim to highlight knowledge and analysis emanating from the Foundation’s research themes: employment, equal opportunities, social inclusion, time use and diversity. The objective of the papers is to make past, present and future work of the Foundation relevant and accessible in a
This report presents the main findings of the Third European survey on working conditions. The survey was carried out simultaneously in each of the 15 Member States of the European Union in March 2000. These surveys aim to provide an overview of the state of working conditions in the European Union
A summary of the key findings of the Foundation's third European survey on working conditions in Europe. The survey was carried out in 2000 and questioned 21,500 workers in face-to-face interviews on their working conditions (1,500 in each Member State apart from Luxembourg where 500 were
One of a series of papers which examines the impacts of quality improvement initiatives on both services to clients, and, on working conditions in social public services across Member States.
One of a series of papers which examines the impacts of quality improvement initiatives on both services to clients, and, on working conditions in social public services across Member States.
The second European survey on working conditions is a questionnaire-based survey, involving face-to-face interviews conducted outside the workplace. The questionnaire covers all aspects of working conditions: physical environment, workplace design, working hours, work organisation, social
The second European survey on working conditions took place in January 1996 and collated the views of the 15,800 workers from all over Europe. Its findings highlight how pollution, noise, stress and musculo-skeletal disorders are among the rising occupational hazards in the EU. The survey underlines
The Institute for Social and Trade Union Research conducted national surveys on work climate in 2010 and 2012. The subsequent report, presented in 2013, provides a comparative analysis of the job satisfaction of employees, and those who are self-employed, with issues such as job security, pay
A joint study, An analysis of the working conditions of professional sports players (4.31MB PDF) [1], has been carried out by social partners in the sector, including the European Elite Athletes Association (EU Athletes [2]) and UNI Sport PRO, the professional athletes’ branch of the Uni Europa [3]
A study, Green jobs: Working conditions and employment potential (in German, 795KB PDF) [1], was commissioned by the Austrian Chamber of Labour and conducted by the Institute for Advanced Studies [2] (IHS) in 2012. [1] http://media.arbeiterkammer.at/wien/IzUmweltpolitik_Ausgabe_186.pdf [2] http:/
A survey to assess the occupational well-being of employees in Lithuania’s social work sector was carried out in 2011 by researchers from the Lithuanian Social Research Centre (LSTC [1]). The results of the findings were published in 2103 in a report, /Occupational well-being in the sector of social
The Aviva Workplace Health Index [1] is a wide-ranging study of employee health and well-being among Ireland’s workforce. The insurance company’s report (437KB PDF) [2] was published in September 2013 and provides a commentary on some of the main issues in Irish workplaces. [1] http://www
It is vital for business managers in the healthcare sector to be able to accurately assess whether a new product or innovation is going to prove a success. A new business tool has been developed in the Netherlands that can help them decide if a new product, or method to improve services for
Government reforms introduced in Italy in 2009 brought in several compulsory measures aimed at increasing transparency and improving performance in the country’s public administration sector. As part of the reforms, well-being at work was among the issues to be monitored through annual surveys of
The main aim of the report, The impact of the economic crisis on the situation of women and men and on gender equality policies (3MB PDF) [1], is to chart the impact of the financial and economic crisis on those working in the EU and on gender equality [2] policies in particular. The report was
Tekes [1], the Finnish Funding Agency for Technology and Innovation, was founded in 1983 to promote the development of new technology in Finland, but the organisation’s authorising legislation has been revised several times since. The most recent relevant act was in 2008, amended in 2011. The scope
Motivated workers have higher levels of engagement, better health and are able to work longer. Improving motivation at work is therefore a key component in meeting the challenges of Europe’s ageing workforce and improving the EU’s long-term competitiveness on a global scale. This means that fosterin
After more than 60 years of European policy on the equal treatment of women and men, men still outnumber women in management positions by almost two to one. The women who do make it into management are more likely to be in non-supervising management roles where they manage operational responsibiliti
Manual jobs in European manufacturing are being transformed as blue-collar workers take on more intellectual tasks. This is a consequence of the increasing use of digital tools and the growing importance of quality control in production. The severe losses of middle-paying jobs in the manufacturing s
The workings of industrial relations are constantly evolving. In this blog piece, Eurofound authors Christian Welz and Ricardo Rodriguez Contreras discuss a tool that Eurofound has developed to enable this process of change to be monitored and analysed, enabling stakeholders in Member States to asse
Dr Erika Mezger, Eurofound's Deputy Director, outlines what the European Working Conditions Survey (EWCS) says about working conditions among German workers and how they compare to those of the rest of Europe.
Even in the confused and contentious context of the new US President-elect as well as the EU’s post- Brexit deliberations, it is hard to argue otherwise. But, while having a job in the first place is clearly of paramount importance to people - and society at large – there is also a more sophisticate
This policy brief investigates how organisations are adapting their work organisation and practices to hybrid work. Based on case studies and on data from the European Working Conditions Survey 2024, the policy brief examines how hybrid work is being managed in organisations and profiles t