Eurofound Talks

The COVID-19 pandemic had multiple impacts on society, but perhaps one of the most enduring in terms of the world of work has been the proliferation of telework. Around one-third of jobs in the EU are teleworkable, and an estimated 40 million people telework on a regular basis. While most workers who can telework have embraced it, there have been notable impacts on work-life balance, stress and other psychological risks. This has given rise to calls for a right to disconnect.

In this episode of Eurofound Talks Mary McCaughey speaks with Eurofound Research Manager Tina Weber about new research on the right to disconnect, the evolution of the right to disconnect in Europe, the reasons why legislative and procedural actions are being called for, the impacts that effective right to disconnect policies can have, and what the debate indicates about the post-pandemic world of work.

In this special episode of Eurofound Talks for International Women's Day 2024, Mary McCaughey speaks with Eurofound researchers Carlos Vacas and Barbara Gerstenberger about the gender pay and employment gaps in Europe.

Despite gender equality being a core principle of the EU, women are less likely to be in employment than men in all EU Member States and are paid less than men in almost every Member State, with the pay gap larger in higher paying jobs. Mary, Carlos, and Barbara discuss what progress has been made on these issues in recent years, the broader consequences of gender inequalities in the world of work, and the challenges that must be addressed if Europe is to meet gender equality targets.

Despite nominal increases in statutory minimum wages reaching an all-time high in the EU in 2023, minimum wage workers in most EU countries saw their purchasing power decline or just about compensated. In this episode of the Eurofound Talks podcast series, Mary McCaughey speaks with Eurofound experts Christine Aumayr-Pintar and Carlos Vacas-Soriano about the adequacy of minimum wages in Europe, how the EU has sought to improve the situation of low-wage earners through a Directive on adequate minimum wages, and how widespread the issue of minimum wage non-compliance is in the European Union.

Episode recorded December 2023.

Climate change objectives and decarbonisation measures are vital for the future of Europe. But how will these objectives impact employment and the labour market? In this episode of the Eurofound Talks podcast series, Mary McCaughey speaks with Eurofound Senior Research Manager John Hurley about new research which shows a marginal increase in net employment from EU decarbonisation measures, but also potentially broad shifts in the labour market that could have a profound impact in several areas.

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 - among several of the sectors and professions deemed essential, key or critical during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In this episode of Eurofound Talks Mary McCaughey speaks with Eurofound Research Manager Tina Weber, Eurofound Senior Research Manager Gijs van Houten, and Giovanni Russo, Senior Expert at CEDEFOP, about Europe’s skills challenges and what can be done to help workers and businesses adapt to future skills demands.

In this episode Mary McCaughey speaks with Eurofound Senior Research Manager Hans Dubois on the issues that feed into housing insecurity in Europe, and the actions that need to be taken to address them. Together, they analyse findings from Eurofound’s recent Unaffordable and inadequate housing in Europe report, which presents data from Eurofound’s Living, working and COVID-19 e-survey, European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions and input from the Network of Eurofound Correspondents on various indicators of housing security and living conditions.

In this episode of Eurofound Talks, recorded for International Women's Day 2023, Mary McCaughey speaks with Eurofound Working Life researchers Jorge Cabrita and Viginta Ivaškaitė-Tamošiūnė about how, when paid and unpaid work are combined, women do eight full-time weeks more work than men per year, and the broader implications of this for society. They also discuss how indicators of work-life balance and work-life conflict differ for women and men, as well as the policy action that can be taken to improve gender equality in Europe

The COVID-19 pandemic had profound implications on the labour market and job quality in Europe, with some workers, particularly those providing frontline services, continuing to work from the workplace under heavy restrictions, while others worked from home also in radically different environments from which they were accustomed. Eurofound has been closely monitoring working conditions in Europe for over 30 years via the European Working Conditions Survey; in 2021, the Agency conducted the European Working Conditions Telephone Survey (EWCTS), providing a detailed picture of the working lives of Europeans at an exceptional time. In this episode of Eurofound Talks, Eurofound Head of Unit for Working Life Barbara Gerstenberger discusses what the EWCTS reveals about job quality, the implications of poor-quality jobs on well-being and broader society, and what policymakers can do to improve the working lives of people in Europe.

Now that Europe moves beyond the COVID-19 pandemic, it is faced with a dilemma. Telework has worked well for many over the past few years, helped them reconcile work and family life, and brought greater autonomy and flexibility; but for others almost the opposite has been the case, with greater work intensification, longer working hours, and greater exposure to psychosocial risks. Is it time to get back to the office? Is telework here to stay? Is hybrid work the solution? In this episode of Eurofound Talks Oscar Vargas and Mary McCaughey use results from the Living, working and COVID-19 online surveys, the European Working Conditions Telephone Survey, and other analyses from Eurofound to investigate what the future holds for telework in Europe, whether the mass rollout of telework has been to the benefit of workers and businesses, and whether the teleworkability of jobs will become the key issue on the labour market in years to come.

This episode of Eurofound Talks looks at care: care for children, care for older people, care for those who are frail or with disabilities, access to care, the quality of care, and the working conditions of care workers. Mary McCaughey speaks with Senior Research Manager Hans Dubois about how care policy has received more attention post-pandemic in the context of the European Commission’s new European Care Strategy on quality, affordable and accessible care services across the EU, as well as the European Parliament’s resolution Towards a common European action on care. They also discuss the impact of care on related areas such as gender equality, Europe's long-term economic development, and ensuring greater social cohesion.

In this episode of Eurofound Talks Mary McCaughey speaks with researcher Dragoș Adăscăliței about how platform work has developed over the past two decades, the profile of platform workers in Europe, how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the development of platform work, the opportunities and risks platform work presents for workers, and how to protect platform workers while preserving the opportunities and benefits that are generated by the platform economy.

The worst of the COVID-19 pandemic may have passed, but in households across Europe its effects linger longer. Add today’s cost of living crisis, rising inflation and the war in Ukraine to the detrimental impacts of COVID-19 and a distressing picture emerges: of mental health issues – especially among young people – of job loss and job insecurity, and of persistent uncertainty about the future. In this episode of #EurofoundTalks, we speak with Daphne Ahrendt, expert on Eurofound’s unique Living, working and COVID-19 e-survey, on these very issues. As Daphne explains, the latest round of the survey reveals many insights that could help policymakers respond to the extraordinary circumstances of day-to-day living and working in Europe.

Eurofound is a tripartite European Union Agency based in Dublin. 

Minimum wages and minimum wage setting processes are not just issues of high political importance in Europe, but also everyday concerns for low-wage earners throughout the EU. In this episode of EurofoundTalks we speak with Senior Research Manager Christine Aumayr-Pintar on the importance of minimum wages in the EU, different processes in place, the latest EU developments in ensuring adequate minimum wages, and the growing issue of inflation for low-wage earners.

Eurofound is a tripartite European Union Agency based in Dublin.

This podcast focuses on our annual update on the state of ‘Living and working in Europe’. It highlights trends and changes – both positive and negative – in the way citizens across the EU work today, and serves as a guide to policymakers at EU and Member State level. Our experts detail these with useful examples and insights which might also help face into the challenges raised by the most recent results from Eurofound’s unique pan-European Living, working and COVID-19 e-survey.

Eurofound is a tripartite European Union Agency based in Dublin. 

During his visit to Dublin, European Commissioner for Jobs and Social Rights Nicolas Schmit talks about using the European Pillar of Social Rights to make Europe a better, fairer, greener and more digital place to live and work. War had just commenced in Ukraine but we were hopeful of a solution. In the intervening period, however, things have deteriorated across a range of areas as revealed by the most recent results from Eurofound’s unique pan-European Living, working and COVID-19 e-survey.

Eurofound is a tripartite European Union Agency based in Dublin.

Women were just beginning to see the fruits of progress in gender equality over many years when the Great Recession hit, followed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, the most recent results from Eurofound’s unique pan-European Living, working and COVID-19 e-survey reveal women again amongst the top losers as a result. This podcast, launched on International Women’s Day this year in conjunction with the European Institute for Gender Equality, debates issues related to closing the gender gaps across pay, employment and caring, and explores innovative options to promote change.

Eurofound is a tripartite European Union Agency based in Dublin.

New day, new data highlighting the devastating impact of COVID-19 on young people across the European Union – most recently Eurofound’s unique pan-European Living, working and COVID-19 e-survey. We know this has taken an unprecedented toll on young people particularly – their mental well-being, their independence and more broadly, inter-generational solidarity as a whole. This podcast drills down to what it means to be a young person in Europe today, their lives, work, opportunities and challenges in the European Year of Youth.

Eurofound is a tripartite European Union Agency based in Dublin.

If you ever wondered what it means to be European today, to live and work in Europe, across 27 countries, young and old, urban, rural, rich and poor, this is the podcast for you. Most recent results from Eurofound’s unique pan-European Living, working and COVID-19 e-survey reveal ongoing challenges for Europeans as they seek to move out of the shadow of the pandemic while facing into the impact of the war in Ukraine. This podcast looks at how these challenges will shape the future of Europe.

Eurofound is a tripartite European Union Agency based in Dublin.

Never before have we had so much discussion about the way we work, the future of work and how this will impact our lives and those of the next generation. COVID-19 turned everything upside down as we have seen from the results of our unique pan-European Living, working and COVID-19 e-survey and we are still striving to make sense of the new hybrid, blended work experience. Will this in fact mean we can finally work longer and better while still maintaining a good quality of life? This podcast takes a deep dive into the opportunities and challenges associated with what we call ‘sustainable work’.

Eurofound is a tripartite European Union Agency based in Dublin.