Working conditions in the European Union : work organisation

The quality of the working lives of European citizens is strongly dependent upon the forms of work organisation within which they operate. This report examines the four main types of work organisation that exist in Europe, outlines the characteristics that distinguish them, and looks at their prevalence in terms of sector, occupation, company size and from a cross-country perspective. The analysis is based on findings from the fourth European Working Conditions Survey carried out across 31 countries, including the 27 EU Member States. The report investigates the extent to which different forms of work organisation impact on key dimensions of quality of work and employment, such as physical risk factors, working time and satisfaction with working conditions, and it highlights the benefits attached to a discretionary-learning form of work organisation in terms of quality of working conditions.