Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

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Who is carrying out this research?

This research is being carried out by the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (Eurofound) in cooperation with Verian. Eurofound is an agency of the European Union focused on how people across Europe live and work, and how this is changing over time.

Eurofound works closely together with European institutions, national governments, employers’ organisations, trade unions, companies, and workers with a view to improving how people work in Europe.

For more information on Eurofound, please visit their website.

Verian is a company advising clients in governments, the public sector, NGOs and NFPs on the delivery of public policy, programmes, services, and communications to the public. At the core, Verian interviews many different people to provide crucial insights in the changing social, political, and business landscape within Europe.

For more information on Verian, please visit their website.

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Why have I been invited to take part?

For this research, approximately 50,000 workers in more than 30 European countries will be interviewed. In each country, a sample has been drawn following rigorous scientific standards to ensure it is representative of all workers in the country. All workers in each country have a known, non-zero probability to be selected.

As part of that process, you have been randomly selected to take part. You are unique and you cannot be replaced. If you don’t take part, working people like you may not be represented as they should be.

We would like to assure you we have no other information about you or your household.

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Why are my views important?

Your answers will provide the evidence base for the betterment of policies dedicated to improving the working conditions and quality of employment for all workers in our country and in Europe as a whole.

For this, we need people from all age groups and backgrounds to take part. Otherwise, the information we collect may not be representative of the workers in our country. In a way, you are speaking for thousands of other people like you.

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What am I asked to do?

Are you between 16 and 74 years old and did you perform any work as employee or self-employee last week- even if for just one hour, provided you were paid money or given a payment in kind? By participating in the EWCS you can make your voice heard and represent workers like yourself.

If you have received a letter inviting your household to take part in the study, simply go to website and enter the unique number and associated password we have provided on the survey invitation.

In households with more than one person aged between 16 and 74 and working, multiple household members can take part.

If you provided us with your email or phone number and have received an invitation over e-mail or SMS, simply follow the survey link which is unique and accessible only to yourself.

The survey link will take you directly to the online survey.

To thank you for your contribution, each individual completing the survey will receive a gift voucher. You may also choose to donate the same amount to charity if you prefer.

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I am experiencing issues accessing the survey online. Who can help me log in?

If you received an invitation letter in the post, you can log in using the username and password included in your invitation letter. If your username and password do not work, please contact us by clicking on Support at the bottom of this screen.

If you were invited in person or by telephone and agreed to participate, you do not need a username or password. You have been sent an email or SMS with a link to the survey and you can access the survey by clicking on this link. If you have not received an email or SMS, or if the link does not work, please contact us by clicking on Support at the bottom of the screen.

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How do I claim my incentive?

To thank you for your contribution, we will offer you a gift voucher. Once you have completed the questionnaire, you will be directed to our rewards website, where you can choose from a range of different vouchers or make a donation to charity.

You will use the same survey login information for authentication.

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What will happen to my answers?

Your information will be used to inform policy and research purposes only. As your answers help us to understand the realities of all workers in Europe, they add to an evidence base for the betterment of policies dedicated to improving the quality of work.

The questions will ask about different aspects of working life, including how you work, your working hours, work-life balance and the way work affects your health. No special knowledge is needed to answer the questions.

In order to carry out the survey properly, we will also ask some personal information. We will make sure your answers are processed in a way that no one can identify you personally from what you have said. This means that your answers will be added to other people’s answers to make a ‘dataset’ that is used to inform policy and research.

The EWCS provides an incredibly rich dataset allowing for analysis in multiple areas. Here are some examples of recent publications:

Privilege or necessity? The working lives of people with multiple jobs
Gender equality at work
How your birthplace affects your workplace
How does employee involvement in decision-making benefit organisations?
Striking a balance: Reconciling work and life in the EU
Working conditions in the time of COVID-19: Implications for the future
Working conditions and workers' health
Working conditions in a global perspective

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More information on the Eurofound follow-up surveys?

At the end of the survey, you will be asked if you would consider taking part in future surveys organised by Eurofound.

If you agree, you will be asked for your contact details. These will be retained by Eurofound for a maximum of two years in order to contact you in the future. For any new survey, Eurofound will communicate the estimated time it will take to complete it.

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How will my data be protected?

Any answers or information you give will be treated in the strictest confidence and the anonymity of each respondent is guaranteed. All the data we collect will be used for research purposes only.

Taking part is entirely voluntary and you will not need any special knowledge to answer the questions.

We take issues of data security, storage, protection, and confidentiality very seriously. Our data security procedures are designed to minimise the risk of data loss and ensure that respondents’ confidentiality is protected at all times.

For more information on this, please see our data protection notice by following this link.

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I want to participate but did not receive an invitation, what can I do?

Participants are randomly selected from among all addresses in your country. This random selection means that people of different ages, regions, social statuses, and education levels will be invited to participate.

While we sincerely value your opinion, you can only participate in the EWCS when you have been personally invited by us.

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How can I get support when experiencing health and safety issues or violence at work?

When experiencing any health and safety issues or violence at work, do not hesitate to consult professional support. A list of helplines and information resources in your country can be found here.

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Who can I talk to if I have more questions about the EWCS?

Answers to the most frequently asked questions about this survey can be found here.

If you have any remaining questions, please contact us directly by clicking on Support at the bottom of this screen. We would be happy to answer any questions you have.

We will get back to you as quickly as possible, usually within five working days.

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