Beyond the averages: what the 2024 EWCS really says about work
Managers stand at the fulcrum of Europe’s transition. New Eurofound evidence shows job quality has improved in many ways, yet persistent, and in some cases widening, inequalities risk undercutting engagement, inclusion and competitiveness.
Eurofound’s 2024 European Working Conditions Survey (EWCS) is the reference for understanding how people actually experience work across the EU.
The latest wave goes “beyond the data averages” to expose fault lines by gender, age, sector and migration background. The message from the experts is double-edged: progress is real, but so are the divides.
“We’ve seen improvements in physical conditions, hours and access to training. But work intensity is rising—especially for women.”
Some good news
Since 2010, exposure to noise, fumes and tiring postures has declined. Fewer people work long or atypical hours, while access to flexible schedules is up. The strongest gains are in skills and discretion, driven by wider access to training—critical for digital and green transitions. More workers also report better job prospects, reflecting a tight labour market in 2024.
When asked what matters most at work, over seven in ten picked a safe environment for mental and physical health, followed closely by a trusting workplace. Pay and benefits rank third overall—still decisive for low-paid roles and young men, but no longer the only currency of a “good job”.
The warning lights managers must not ignore
Work intensity is back—and gendered. The index worsened compared to 2015 and 2010, with a clear deterioration for women, especially in public-facing roles that carry high emotional demands. The social environment shows no net progress versus 2010 and is deteriorating for women.
Engagement is slipping. Fewer workers feel energised or “absorbed” by their jobs; nearly half report monotonous tasks. Where engagement is strong, two levers stand out: skills & discretion (using ideas, learning on the job) and a supportive social climate (managerial backing, collegiality, freedom from adverse behaviour).
Hybrid work: benefits with a cost. Telework has stabilised around 28% (mostly hybrid/occasional). Flexibility and autonomy rise—but so do blurred boundaries: out-of-hours contact and work intruding on private time, particularly for women. Over 60% of jobs still cannot be done remotely; hybrid is not a universal fix.
Digitalisation and AI: uneven and unequal. About one worker in eight uses generative AI, with striking cross-country and sector disparities. A gender gap is visible: men report higher use; women more often cite lack of training as the barrier (men point to employer restrictions). Technology is adding more tasks than it removes so far. Sedentary work is rising; episodic heat exposure—consistent with climate change—has increased, notably in transport, construction and agriculture.
Inequalities that shape outcomes—and Europe’s competitiveness
By country. Traditional “north-west advantage” is less rigid, but countries like Denmark, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Finland remain top performers overall. Others excel in specific dimensions (e.g., Malta on prospects; Italy on physical environment).
By sector. Financial services lead on job quality (with high intensity); transport, agriculture, construction and healthcombine multiple deficits and labour shortages—Europe’s competitiveness risk zone.
By gender. Men report higher job quality across most dimensions except working time quality and physical environment. Women face more emotional demands, more difficulty switching off in telework, and lower reported use of generative AI.
By age. Under-30s face poorer prospects, higher intensity and more insecurity. Mid-career workers (30–54) score best overall. Older workers fare better on intensity and working-time quality but face training shortfalls and digital exclusion risk.
By migration background. Overqualification and poorer conditions are a concern; deeper analysis is underway, but early signals confirm a gap that Europe cannot afford if it wants full participation in the labour market.
Voice and representation. Roughly three-quarters of employees have access to some form of representation (works council, union committee or H&S committee). Yet one in five lacks any formal mechanism—especially in SMEs and certain sectors.
What Europe’s managers can do—now
1) Put safety and trust on par with pay.
Treat psychosocial safety (predictable demands, respectful culture, no tolerance for adverse behaviour) as a first-order KPI alongside wage policy. Build trust through clear goals, fair processes and consistent manager behaviour.
2) Manage intensity, not just time.
Audit workload drivers (deadlines, customer-facing volatility, conflicting priorities). Use staffing, sequencing and technology to remove “toil”. Make recovery a norm: quiet hours, right-to-disconnect implementation, predictable scheduling.
3) Make skills & discretion tangible.
Expand on-the-job learning and job crafting so people can apply ideas—not only attend training. Tie learning pathways to real task redesign and career steps, especially for young and older workers.
4) Close the AI gender gap with training by design.
Offer hands-on, role-based AI upskilling with protected time; pair it with governance so safe experimentation is allowed. Track participation and outcomes by gender and age; fix barriers quickly.
5) Hybrid with boundaries.
Codify team-level agreements on contactability, response times and core hours. Monitor after-hours pings and escalation patterns. Equip managers to spot and reduce work-life conflict—particularly for women with care responsibilities.
6) Sector-specific fixes where shortages bite.
In transport, construction, agriculture and health, prioritise schedule quality, social support, safety and career ladders. Use task redesign and tech to reduce exposure (heat, heavy loads) and raise attractiveness.
7) Ensure voice for all.
Where formal representation is absent, create alternative participation channels (safety circles, staff forums, pulse feedback). Pair with transparent follow-up so contributions change decisions.
Quality jobs are a competitiveness strategy because they sustain engagement, retention and readiness to learn—without which digital and green transitions will stall.
The EWCS evidence is clear: when people learn, are trusted, can recover, and feel safe, they create more value—and they stay.
