Job quality in Europe (original) (raw)
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This report examines the extent of occupational segregation by gender and how it impacts on the quality of women’s and men’s working lives. The analysis is based on findings from the fourth European Working Conditions Survey carried out across 31 countries, including the 27 EU Member States. The report highlights differences between men and women in key aspects of job quality, such as working hours, job satisfaction, work–life compatibility and work-related health outcomes
Gender, jobs and working conditions in the European Union
2002
The rising proportion of women in employment in recent decades has been one of the major changes affecting European labour markets. This report examines the gender pattern of differences and similarities. It also explains the reasons for the persistent gender segregation of the European labour markets and draws up policy recommendations for action aimed at providing decision makers with the relevant information they need.
Gender, Jobs and Working Conditions in Europe
Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications for the European Communities. 92pp., 2002
The growing proportion of women in employment in recent decades has been one of the major changes affecting the European labour market. However, despite the increasing presence of women in the labour force, gender segregation remains a persistent feature. There is still a 'glass ceiling' reinforced by workplace cultures and informal procedures that makes it difficult for women to break through into the higher levels of management. The unequal division of unpaid household work also persists, as women continue to bear the main responsibility for running the home and looking after children, even when employed full-time. This report examines the gender pattern of differences and similarities in working conditions in Europe, drawing on the findings of the Foundation's Third European Survey on Working Conditions 2000. It explains the reasons for the persistence of gender segregation and sets out policy recommendations for action aimed at decision makers in this field. The report also considers whether the established indicators of working conditions need to be revised to make them more 'gender-sensitive' to particular issues primarily associated with women's jobs, women's experiences in the workplace, or workload issues within households.
Job Quality in the European Policy Debate: Conceptual and Methodological Considerations
2019
Job quality is the precondition for achieving welfare policy goals of social inclusion, as well as the foundation of functioning social security systems. In recent decades, both the academic and institutional literature has emphasisedits importance, yet both European Union (EU) and national employment policies continue to address the quantity rather than the quality of jobs.This article explores the reasons for which job quality and related concepts have been side-tracked in the current EU employment and social policy process. Our analysis attempts to generate clearer parameters for understanding and measuring what constitutes a good quality job,so that such measurements can effectively guide policy formulation and comparative analysis. We argue that what is needed for placing concerns about job quality high on the EU policy agenda is methodological, conceptual and theoretical clarity in defining what job quality is and from whose perspective it should be assessed.
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Brussels: European …, 2009
The study provides an overview of existing indicators of job quality, their development and the relevant on-going work at EU level. It further analyses the strengths and weaknesses of each set of indicators with a view to assessing their significance. The definition of quality of employment, quality of work and the different dimensions contained in these concepts are discussed and some suggestions are presented on the need to promote a European job quality indicator.
Sustainability, 2021
This research aims to explore the relationships between gender, educational attainment, and job quality, including work autonomy, work intensity, and job satisfaction across Germany, Sweden, and the UK. The European Working Conditions Survey 2015 was used to achieve this research objective. Descriptive statistics and multivariate regression analysis were used to determine how educational level plays an important role in creating gender differences in job quality across three countries. The findings show that receiving postsecondary education can improve work autonomy for both German and Swedish women. However, postsecondary education has different impacts on gender gaps in job quality in these countries. While postsecondary education lowers the gender gap in work autonomy and intensity in Sweden, postsecondary education increases the gender gap in work autonomy and intensity in Germany. Postsecondary education does not significantly decrease gender differences in job satisfaction in...
Convergence and divergence of job quality in Europe 1995–2010
2015
Improving and harmonising working conditions are core objectives of the European Union. For example, Article 151 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) declares that the Union and Member States 'shall have as their objectives the promotion of employment, improved living and working conditions, so as to make possible their harmonisation while the improvement is being maintained...'. In addition, a range of policy initiatives support the development of job quality. Many factors affect job quality and their impact may vary between countries, occupations or sectors. As a result, changes in job quality across Europe may be faster in some countries and slower in others, causing job quality to diverge or converge between countries. Divergence will occur when varying rates of change exacerbate differences in job quality, whereas convergence occurs when different rates of change decrease differences. The analysis of convergence and divergence in job quality is therefore an important exercise. It can provide key insights into trends in job quality across Europe, indicate whether changes in job quality are benefiting some groups more than others and point to the factors driving these changes. It can also provide some assessment of whether European policy objectives are being achieved. The aim of this report is to examine the convergence and divergence of job quality across the EU from 1995 to 2010. By examining the statistical significance of trends in key dimensions of job quality and by mapping the patterns of convergence and divergence in job quality, this report provides an up-to-date analysis of changes in job quality across the EU, providing new insights to inform policy making. Key findings Four key aspects of job quality were examined: skills and discretion (including job discretion, cognitive demand and training); work risks (environmental risks, physical demands); work intensity (workload, task interdependence); and working time quality. Assessing developments across Europe involved first examining the general direction of change in job quality and then analysing trends in convergence and divergence. Trends in job quality across the EU Between 1995 and 2010, across the EU15, statistically significant upward trends occurred in training and working time quality. Declining levels of job quality were found across key components of work organisation. These included downward trends in job discretion and cognitive demand, and the growth of physical demands and workload. This suggests a trend towards simpler and more intense forms of work organisation. Convergence and divergence between EU countries There was no clear pattern of convergence or divergence across all aspects of job quality: between 1995 and 2010, neither harmonisation nor polarisation has been a general feature of job quality across the EU15. Convergence: Convergence in specific components of job quality occurred between countries. Training and working time quality converged across the EU15 as a result of faster increases in countries with lower levels of training and working time quality. This pattern of change can be described as 'harmonised improvement'. Workload also converged across the EU15 as a result of faster increases in countries with lower levels of workload. This pattern can be described as 'harmonised decline'.
Convergence and divergence in job quality in Europe 1995-2010
2015
Improving and harmonising working conditions are core objectives of the European Union. For example, Article 151 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) declares that the Union and Member States 'shall have as their objectives the promotion of employment, improved living and working conditions, so as to make possible their harmonisation while the improvement is being maintained...'. In addition, a range of policy initiatives support the development of job quality. Many factors affect job quality and their impact may vary between countries, occupations or sectors. As a result, changes in job quality across Europe may be faster in some countries and slower in others, causing job quality to diverge or converge between countries. Divergence will occur when varying rates of change exacerbate differences in job quality, whereas convergence occurs when different rates of change decrease differences. The analysis of convergence and divergence in job quality is therefore an important exercise. It can provide key insights into trends in job quality across Europe, indicate whether changes in job quality are benefiting some groups more than others and point to the factors driving these changes. It can also provide some assessment of whether European policy objectives are being achieved. The aim of this report is to examine the convergence and divergence of job quality across the EU from 1995 to 2010. By examining the statistical significance of trends in key dimensions of job quality and by mapping the patterns of convergence and divergence in job quality, this report provides an up-to-date analysis of changes in job quality across the EU, providing new insights to inform policy making. Key findings Four key aspects of job quality were examined: skills and discretion (including job discretion, cognitive demand and training); work risks (environmental risks, physical demands); work intensity (workload, task interdependence); and working time quality. Assessing developments across Europe involved first examining the general direction of change in job quality and then analysing trends in convergence and divergence. Trends in job quality across the EU Between 1995 and 2010, across the EU15, statistically significant upward trends occurred in training and working time quality. Declining levels of job quality were found across key components of work organisation. These included downward trends in job discretion and cognitive demand, and the growth of physical demands and workload. This suggests a trend towards simpler and more intense forms of work organisation. Convergence and divergence between EU countries There was no clear pattern of convergence or divergence across all aspects of job quality: between 1995 and 2010, neither harmonisation nor polarisation has been a general feature of job quality across the EU15. Convergence: Convergence in specific components of job quality occurred between countries. Training and working time quality converged across the EU15 as a result of faster increases in countries with lower levels of training and working time quality. This pattern of change can be described as 'harmonised improvement'. Workload also converged across the EU15 as a result of faster increases in countries with lower levels of workload. This pattern can be described as 'harmonised decline'.