Dear Members of the European Parliament,

Eurofound noticed the letter sent to you by BusinessEurope, in which “Eurofound recent survey” data are quoted (BusinessEurope website: http://www.businesseurope.eu...).

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A recent survey by the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working

Conditions found that 87% of workers considered the option of “working more or less hours if

needed” an important factor in determining their satisfaction with work, and only 14% of

respondents said they would be willing to work less hours if it meant a reduction in earnings.

Eurofound wishes to inform you on the source of the data used, which is two European Commission Eurobarometer dataset from 2003.

 1. Data source and Eurobarometer questionnaire

The results quoted in the letter of Business Europe to MEPs are based on two combined data sets: A Eurobarometer survey of the European Commission (60.3), which was conducted in autumn 2003 and the Candidate Country survey from 2003. The questionnaire was developed by a group of experts of the European Commission, which was led by Dr Breedveld from the Social and Cultural Planning Office in The Hague. Eurofound was involved as part of this expert group.

2. Report by Eurofound

In 2006 the European Commission asked Eurofound to produce an in-depth analysis of this survey in connection with our work on the first “European Quality of Life Survey” (EQLS). A contract was commissioned to a group of experts, which were led by Amalia Torres from Lisbon. The report of Eurofound was evaluated in 2006 and published in 2007.

3. Eurobarometer Question

The question quoted in the letter was part of a battery of questions related to working time options and arrangements, which were important to the person interviewed for combining paid work with other (non working) activities as personnel life or family life.

Altogether, 12 different working time options for a better work-life balance were checked including the option “working more or less hours if needed”. Other options examined were

• Saving overtime to take extra time off

• Carry over of holidays

• Taking extra time off to look after relatives
• Early retirement
• Etc

For each working time option and arrangement, it was asked to each interviewed if

• it was of importance to the respondent
• it was available to the respondent
• if the respondent had taken up the option during last 12 month
• the respondent was satisfied with it

4. Specific sample of respondents

As the report was focusing on “working options and arrangements over the life course”, a specific life course approach was developed which restricted the inclusion of specific groups. Therefore the results are valid for:

• People in active employment
• Under 65 years of age
• People NOT belonging to the group of ‘Childless respondents aged between 36 and 50 years of age’, as this category did not fit the chosen life course approach.

5. Results for “working more or fewer hours of work if needed” in order to improve personal work-life-balance for currently self employed and employed

• “Importance personally”:   61%  (Relative highest importance)
  (Second highest importance: Saving overtime to take a day off with 41%)

• “Personal availability”: 50%
• “Take up”: 83% of the persons, for whom it was available, i.e. 41.5% of the total respondents.
• “Satisfaction” (measured as fairly satisfied or fairly dissatisfied): 87% of the population who has taken it up in the last 12 months, i.e. 36.1% of the total set of respondents under point 4.

6. Conclusions

This means: 36% of employees and self employees under the age of 65 and having not being childless respondents aged between 36 and 50 years, see working more or fewer hours of work if needed as satisfactory with regard to improving their work-life balance.

We also wish to inform you that Eurofound informed BusinessEurope on the exact source of the data used in Eurofound’s report.

 

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