European Working Conditions Survey (EWCS)

Aims
The European Working Conditions Survey is a unique pan-European survey carried out every 5 years to assess and quantify working conditions of both employees and the self-employed across Europe. It aims to provide a comprehensive picture of the everyday reality of men and women at work, and to do so covers a wide range of themes such as employment status, working time duration, learning and training, physical and psychosocial risk factors, health and safety, work-life balance, financial security and worker participation. The survey has also allowed researchers to analyse relationships between different aspects of working conditions, identify risk groups and issues of concern as well as progress, and monitor the trends of these issues.

Institution
European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (Eurofound)

Geographic coverage - Nations
England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland
Europe - 28 European Union Member States, the five candidate countries for EU membership (Albania, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Turkey) and Norway and Switzerland (EWCS 2015).

Geographic coverage - Regions
Nationwide

Start date
1990

Catalogue record last updated
10/04/2024

Sample type
Repeated cross-sectional study

Sample details
In each wave a new sample of the adult population is selected randomly for a face-to-face interview. In view of the growth of the EU and interest from the EFTA countries, the geographical coverage of the survey has expanded over time.

The target population for each survey consists of all persons aged 15 and above (for Bulgaria, Norway, Spain and the UK, this is anyone aged 16 and above) who are residents of the country and are employed or self-employed at the time of data collection. Those considered to be in employment are those who have worked for pay or profit for at least an hour in the week preceding the interview. For most countries, the target sample size is 1,000, but to reflect the larger workforce in bigger countries, the target was increased proportionately.

For the EWCS 2015, a stratified, multi-stage, random sampling method was used to select participants from the working population of each country. Depending on the availability of high-quality registers, sampling was carried out using individual-level, household-level and address-level registers, or through enumeration using a random-walk approach. Country-level samples were stratified by region and degree of urbanisation. In each stratum, primary sampling units (PSUs) were randomly selected proportional to size. Subsequently, a random sample of households was drawn in each PSU. Finally, unless individual-level registers were used, in each household the selected respondent was the person in work who would have their birthday next.

Sample size at recruitment
1,000 (approx.) – UK sample, EWCS 1991

12,500 – Total European sample, EWCS 1991

Sample size at most recent sweep
2,134 (UK sample) (2021 - EWCS 7)
71,764 (Total European sample) (2021 - EWCS 7)

Sex
All

Age at recruitment
15 years +

Cohort year of birth
Varied