Reply to the Second-Phase Consultation under Article 154 TFEU on possible EU action to improve working conditions, health and safety at work and implementation of workers’ rights – Quality Jobs Act
CEC European Managers welcomes the opportunity to contribute to the second-phase consultation on the Quality Jobs Act. As highlighted in our response to the first-phase consultation, CEC considers quality jobs, workers’ well-being, sustainable work organisation and strong social dialogue to be essential elements of the European social model.
Quality jobs and competitiveness should not be considered as conflicting objectives.
Good working conditions, healthy workplaces, access to skills, effective worker participation and sustainable work organisation contribute to the ability of European companies to attract and retain workers and to remain productive, innovative and resilient.
Managers have a particular position in this debate.
They are workers themselves and are exposed to technological, organisational and psychosocial risks. At the same time, they are responsible for organising work, leading teams, implementing technological and organisational change, ensuring health and safety, developing workers’ skills and translating legislative and collectively agreed requirements into workplace practice. Any future European initiative should therefore recognise this dual role, which CEC already emphasised during the first phase of the consultation. The working conditions of managers themselves deserve particular attention.
In 2024, 21.1% of managers in the EU usually worked 49 hours or more per week, compared with 6.6% of employed people overall.
Managers were among the occupational groups most exposed to long working hours. This reinforces the importance of considering managers not simply as actors responsible for implementing rules and protecting their teams, but also as workers whose own workload, autonomy, health and working conditions require protection.
