According to the latest survey by Eurobarometer, which covers the entire EU28, more than 50 percent of working Europeans say their working conditions are good. At the same time, though, about 60 percent of respondents said their working conditions had gotten worse in the last five years, 27 percent claimed they had remained the same, and 12 percent registered improvement. The survey defines working conditions as working time, work organization, health and safety at work, relations with the employer, and employee representation. The survey revealed significant differences between the EU Member States. For instance, whereas only 16 percent of Greeks described their working conditions as good, 87 percent of the Danes said the same.
The countries, where respondents were happiest about their working conditions, were Denmark (94 percent), Austria (90 percent), Belgium (90 percent), and Finland (89 percent). In contrast, Greece is the only country where less than 50 percent of respondents said that they were satisfied (38 percent). Spain, which has been also battered by the crisis, logged 53-percent satisfaction. The EU average was 77 percent.
One of interesting results of the Eurobarometer is also the fact that people who are currently employed tend to appreciate working conditions in their country more than those who are not working. Interestingly, those in full-time continuous employment tend to speak more positively about working conditions (64 percent) than those who are either self-employed (54 percent) or manual workers (52 percent). The Eurobarometer interviews more than 26,000 people in the working conditions survey.
