What do Europeans think about working conditions?
Results from an opinion poll on safety and health at work, by the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work, show there is widespread concern among Europeans that the current economic crisis could adversely affect health and safety at the workplace.
Many Europeans feel well informed about occupational safety and health (OSH) and consider it an important factor for a new job.
The economic downturn puts pressure on European workers. Six out of 10 Europeans expect the global economic downturn to deteriorate working conditions. A majority of respondents (75 per cent) across member states believe ill-health is caused at least to some extent by the job.
EU-OSHA director Jukka Takala recognises the challenges that businesses face today and reminds them of investing in their workers health: “The financial crisis may lead organisations to ignore or minimise the importance of workplace safety and health. And there is even a risk that companies will consider cutting back on their investment in occupational safety and health.
“Our challenge is to convince them that there is no point in making short-term gains at the cost of long-term problems. All our work shows that the more healthy workplaces are, the more productive they tend to be”.
As unemployment increases, people may be more concerned with their immediate job security than with safety and health. Asked about the deciding factors for choosing a new job, EU citizens said they believe job security and salary level are more important than safe and healthy working conditions, which ranked third before working hours.
The encouraging news is that people within many of the member states (particularly EU-15) regard themselves as well informed about risks at the workplace, with 57 per cent believing health and safety at work has improved over the past five years.
The opinion poll also reflects gender variations in attitudes towards OSH. Men regarded salary (61 per cent) and job security (55 per cent) as the most important factor when taking on a new job, in comparison to lower percentages among women (53 per cent and 51 per cent respectively). Women seem to give more importance to working hours (26 per cent) than men (19 per cent).
More men believe health and safety conditions have improved over recent years (62 per cent) than women (only 52 per cent), and men feel better informed on safety and health matters (71 per cent) than women (61 per cent).
Mr Takala said safety and health risks for women at the workplace tend to be underestimated and very often neglected. “The incompatibility of working time with family life, the ‘double shift’ which still affects women disproportionately, and the fact that there is more emphasis on accidents at work than on occupational health, are some of the new challenges ahead,” he added.
The EU-OSHA has played an essential role in promoting safety and health at work in Europe for more than a decade and will continue its proactive approach to improve working conditions. Its Healthy Workplaces campaign, including European Week for Safety and Health at Work between October 19 and 23, is the world’s biggest information campaign on OSH across Europe.
In Malta, positive indications emerge, especially the high level of awareness among respondents about the benefits of occupational health and safety. Malta scored second with regard to occupational health considerations when making a career decision.
A majority of Maltese respondents also claim that the levels of occupational health and safety have improved over the past five years (72 per cent, placing Malta fourth), while only 17 per cent seem to think that such levels have deteriorated).
Mark Gauci, chief executive officer of OHSA-Malta said, “Whereas one should always be cautious when trying to interpret opinion polls, the results usually provide a indication of the prevailing situation. There is now more awareness about the benefits of high levels of OHS and more information available.”
The ‘Pan-European opinion poll on occupational safety and health’ was conducted by TNS Infratest. It involved 1,000 people from each EU member state, with participants selected from a wide range of age, educational and occupational backgrounds. Fieldwork was carried out last April and May.
For complete survey results visit http://osha.europa.eu/mt/statistics/eu-poll/index_html-mt.
For more information, log on to http://osha.europa.eu or http://osha.europa.eu/en/campaigns/hw2008/events/view.