1. Coordinating the Network of EU Agencies 2015 Eurofound activities Agnès Parent-Thirion Senior programme manager Eurofound

2. Coordinating the Network of EU Agencies 2015 Content of my presentation Eurofound : – From active ageing to sustainable work over the lifecourse Job quality and gender Changes in working conditions and the ageing of workers (Molinie – Vendramin et all sustainable work and ageing workforce) Making work sustainable and inclusive – Can job quality be a policy tool ? Linking together the active ageing, the gender equality and the job quality research and policy agenda

3. Coordinating the Network of EU Agencies 2015 Longer working lives careers for men 37.4 years in 2011 … Duration working life – Males, source Eurostat

4. Coordinating the Network of EU Agencies 2015.. Than for women 29,4 hence 8 years shorter than men’s careers Duration working life – Women, source eurostat

5. Coordinating the Network of EU Agencies 2015 No simple explanation Women and men at crossroads Welfare & Family system Labour market structures Gendered Lifecourses & gendered division of domestic labour Segregation Working time Quality Well being

6. Coordinating the Network of EU Agencies 2015 Characteristics of work situation by gender and age group

7. Coordinating the Network of EU Agencies 2015 Work and health over the life Long term consequences of today’s work – work strategies, an important mediating factor ( from Molinie ) 7 Complex effects and inter-relations

8. Coordinating the Network of EU Agencies 2015 Able and willing to do the same job at 60 ?

9. Coordinating the Network of EU Agencies 2015 SEGREGATION

10. Coordinating the Network of EU Agencies 2015 Proportion of women in the largest occupations, by employment status / white & blue collar

11. Coordinating the Network of EU Agencies 2015 Proportion of women in supervisory positions, EC12, EU15 and EU27, 1991 - 2010 (%)

12. Coordinating the Network of EU Agencies 2015 Level of job segregation at the workplace by gender, 2010, EU27 (%)

13. Coordinating the Network of EU Agencies 2015 JOB QUALITY OF WOMEN AND MEN OVER THE LIFECOURSE

14. Coordinating the Network of EU Agencies 2015 Working time quality per lifestages

15. Coordinating the Network of EU Agencies 2015 Prospects across life stages

16. Coordinating the Network of EU Agencies 2015 Intrinsic job quality per lifestages

17. Coordinating the Network of EU Agencies 2015 Income across life stages

18. Coordinating the Network of EU Agencies 2015 TIME USE OF WOMEN AND MEN OVER THE LIFECOURSE

19. Coordinating the Network of EU Agencies 2015 Unpaid working time (care and household activities) over the life course  Union formation  increases unpaid working time for women  decreases for men  During parenting phase employed women spend twice as much hours on these activities as men  When entering parenting phase  women reduce paid work by 4 hrs but increase unpaid work by 25 hrs  men‘s unpaid work increases by 12 hrs  The decision of men to engage in care work is more circumstance dependent than it is for women  working time organisation, atypical working hours

20. Coordinating the Network of EU Agencies 2015 Number of hours spent on paid and unpaid work per week, by gender and working time (EU27) EWCS, 2010

21. Coordinating the Network of EU Agencies 2015 Working hours of the household

22. Coordinating the Network of EU Agencies 2015 WORKING CONDITIONS BY AGE GROUPS

23. Coordinating the Network of EU Agencies 2015 Work characteristics of older workers and general trends in working conditions Demanding working conditions Slow decrease of night and shift work by age : – Globally, slow decrease. – Should be compatible to ageing Same exposure to physical risks by age except for moving heavy load – They are stable or on the increase Less exposure to work intensity – But work has been intensifying Older workers may try to move away from these constraints; the end of ‘soft’ jobs : what protection exists for older workers ?

24. Coordinating the Network of EU Agencies 2015 Exposition to tiring or painful positions over age

25. Coordinating the Network of EU Agencies 2015 Reconciliation of working time with non work With age, regularity increases – About a third of older workers report regular changes in their schedules Work life fit increases in general after 50 Short time off to take care of personal or family issues – Increases slowly with age Very important to determine participation into paid employment and extent of this participation.

26. Coordinating the Network of EU Agencies 2015 Expressive dimensions of work : Are expectations met when age increases ? linked to opportunities for self development, to the content of work, the feeling of success, autonomy and social usefulness learning new things, access to training: Decrease with age latitude to change aspects of the job, expressing one own’s idea Increase slightly with age Collaborative dimension of work : social support – Low social support more reported by older workers Career prospects – Poor prospects for career development increase with age

27. Coordinating the Network of EU Agencies 2015 Little social support at work

28. Coordinating the Network of EU Agencies 2015 No good prospects for career advancement

29. Coordinating the Network of EU Agencies 2015 Socioeconomic conditions Fixed term contracts are less frequent among older workers 40% of women and 10% of men work part time (55-59) 25% of 50+ have a seniority of less than 5 years Increase feeling of job insecurity – Starting at 45 for women – And 50 for men

30. Coordinating the Network of EU Agencies 2015 WELL BEING

31. Coordinating the Network of EU Agencies 2015 Gender gap in well-being starts small in the early life stages, with increasing male advantage up to the point when children enter the household. Women’s well-being remains lower than men’s for the rest of the life stages, and the gap does not close even when the children have left home. Cross-country variation in gender gaps in well-being among working parents Well-being across the life stages

32. Coordinating the Network of EU Agencies 2015 Characteristics of work situation, 40- 49 and 50-59 per country : Country effect is stronger than age effect Richer content More time constraints Less time constraints

33. Coordinating the Network of EU Agencies 2015 Complexities of studying gender effects Gender effects vary across lifestages Gender effects vary across dimensions- women score higher on some, men on others but strong effects Gender effects vary by country- including life stage impacts Gender differences still matter and may widen in the future or narrow through levelling down of men’s job quality- hence gender analyses even more important not less EWCS is an important survey for monitoring trends in working conditions and job quality. EWCS 2015 is on the field now. Watch out for new results in November 2015.

34. Coordinating the Network of EU Agencies 2015 Policy implications Gender equality, improvement of working conditions, progress in well being and economic growth are fundamental issues to address in order to meet the objective of Europe 2020. A number of important social justice choices are to be made. Progress are not “natural” and require to be supported Segregation Policies to promote desegregation in education and jobs, better valuation of female- dominated occupations/ sectors; more opportunities for vertical progression Time Policies to avoid extremes of long or short working hours and to back up better balance between work and other activities with support for working parents Job quality Policies to ensure that job creation at lower end of labour market takes into account working conditions and pay; policies to facilitate life stage changes without long term consequences for job quality; policies to open up prospects for women in particular and to address risks of poor working conditions for men

35. Coordinating the Network of EU Agencies 2015 Policy implications Well being Governments’ policy objectives to include well being alongside growth and to recognise that gender equality may have positive impacts for well being ( including opportunities for employment for women even in childcare life stage) and employers to take action to promote women’s organisational satisfaction Trends Policies to monitor impact of recession/austerity on public sector and gender equality and to ensure that closing of gender gaps comes about through positive upgrading not negative reductions in job quality for men. Addressing short term issues but also preparing for longer term challenges. This may go through the promotion of sustainability of work and employment (older working definition) : Sustainable work is one that allows one to become an older worker and facilitates workers to function not only as a worker, but also member of a household, citizen and an individual. This is done by contributing during their working life duration, to developing their health, well-being, skills and resources and expanding opportunities for choice. This is done by the provision during their various employment situations, of not only manageable but also meaningful work, engagement in collective learning at the workplace, as well as work related and organisation dialogue and reflective practices. Sustainable work will assist workers, companies when they are confronted with dramatic “life and work events” and will support and facilitate their adaptation to change and transitions. Sustainable work systems are work systems in which human and social resources are not just consumed, but preserved and regenerated.

36. Coordinating the Network of EU Agencies 2015 Social justice dilemna to address The success of policies aimed at increasing working life duration will be assessed at workers levels (working life duration); a wide range of actors engaged at different levels which actions are embedded in various national welfare and employment systems will be instrumental in achieving or not this objective. Workers should not bear all moral hazard of new career paths in a volatile environment. Making working life longer implies rethinking the place of work in our societies Different ways to achieve this objective can be identified for example maximizing the employment rate through deregulating labour market and prioritizing individual employability or promoting active security for all in a flexible and innovative economy. Building on Amartya Sen’s capabilities theory as a framework to analyse the links between possibilities and choices on the one hand and social systems (and work arrangements) on the other hand which men and women can make in order to reach better well-being or work-life balance over the life course, raise queries on – the collective resources available to people that enable them to control their working life. What resources – institutionalised and/or negotiated – can contribute to increasing working lives or will lead to involuntary fragmented career. Collective resources come from public policy or collective bargaining or standards and rules. Employment status and related rights are important in opening up areas of freedom or constraining individual work opportunities – to what extent and how can a person convert collective resources into effective achievements and valuable outcomes for herself / himself and the economy. Capacity for work, employment, learning, voice, work life balance, capacity for voice should be considered and will contribute to addressing quality of life A number of tailored policies such as active ageing policies, OSH, health inequalities and gender equality as well as workplace innovation points to the key role that work has on these outcomes and to the need to explain its specific contribution to the achievement of these policies. Will these lead to competition among workers or, on the contrary, will they support all groups of worker and contribute to higher quality?

37. Coordinating the Network of EU Agencies 2015 Merci More on www.eurofound.europa.euwww.eurofound.europa.eu apt@eurofound.europa.eu Presentation based on analyses of the EWCS: -Parent-Thirion et all (2012), 5th European Working Conditions Survey: overview report -Kummerling, Anxo and Franz (2012), Working Time, Work Life Balance in a Life Course Perspective -Smith, Burchell, Rubery, Rafferty, Piasna, Rose and Carter (2013), Work and gender - Vendramin, valenduc,, Molinie, Volkoff, Ajzen, Leonard (2012) Sustainable work and the ageing workforce - Molinie -Dataset available through Essex data archive

38. Coordinating the Network of EU Agencies 2015 Key findings Segregation Multiple layers of segregation- occupational, sectoral, workplace, horizontal and vertical and ownership ( public sector) Harassment linked to segregated occupations Women uneven and lower share of managers but rated just as highly Time Working time patterns associated with segregation Gap between preferred and usual hours by gender suggests a preference for convergence Largest mismatch where working hours longest

39. Coordinating the Network of EU Agencies 2015 Key findings Job quality Gender gaps vary in direction- women benefit from intrinsic job quality, men income. Public sector – better jobs for all but particularly for women Women work shorter/ less unsocial hours, while men have greater control over their schedules. Women holding supervisory positions enhance job quality for all and offer better prospects for women. Life stage effects but these vary by country group Well being Working in gender mixed occupations or for a boss of opposite sex good for well being Lower well being associated with lifestages especially for women Women more satisfied with work than with organisation compared to men.

40. Coordinating the Network of EU Agencies 2015 Exposure to physical risks, at least a quarter of the time, by gender (EU27) EWCS, 2010

41. Coordinating the Network of EU Agencies 2015 The key role of workplace organisations : Job sustainability and working conditions MaleFemaleMaleFemale Autonomy Low4846 Posture related index Low7769 High7267High3935 Work intensity Low6461 Career development possibilities Low49 High5150High6664 Worker participation Low4647 Work life balance unfit4742 High7065fit62 Work well done Never4344 Learning new things Low49 Always6360High6360 41