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This report is based on the fourth edition of the European Company Survey (ECS), which was carried out jointly by the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (Eurofound) and the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (Cedefop) in 2019. The purpose of the ECS is to map, assess and quantify information on company policies and practices across Europe on a harmonised basis. The survey collected information from 21,869 human resources managers and 3,073 employee representatives in the 27 EU Member States and the United Kingdom. The unit of enquiry for the survey is the establishment: the local unit or site. This report covers a wide range of workplace practices and strategies concerning work organisation, human resource management, skills use and skills development, and direct and indirect employee involvement in organisational decision-making. A key objective is to show how workplace practices are combined and how these 'bundles of practices' are associated with the win-win outcome of workplace well-being and establishment performance.

The analysis finds that the establishments that are most likely to generate this win-win outcome are those that combine a high degree of worker autonomy, a balanced motivational strategy, a comprehensive training and learning strategy, and high levels of direct employee involvement in decision-making, as well as offering managerial support for these practices. To boost the adoption of employee-oriented practices - particularly in relation to autonomy, skills and employee involvement - managers should be offered appropriate support, as they play a key role in the decision to initiate workplace change. They are also crucial to its success, as they must continuously support the workplace practices implemented.

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Human resources contribute to the success of an organisation though their skills. According to the ability, motivation, opportunity (AMO) model, employee contributions to organisational performance depend on their skills, their motivation to draw on their skills, and the opportunities to do so. Organisations can adopt managerial approaches cultivating ability (A) by facilitating learning, creating opportunity (O) by providing employees with autonomy, and encouraging motivation (M) by leveraging monetary and non-monetary motivational drivers.

This report is based on the 2019 European Company Survey (ECS 2019). It shows that managerial approaches cultivating AMO are positively linked to establishment performance, and that these approaches are driven by an organisational culture that values employees as an asset to the organisation. People-centred managerial approaches that harness workplace wellbeing are central to the mechanism linking human capital utilisation to business outcomes.

Key findings: (1) To ensure policy efforts aimed at increasing the skills base of the labour force have maximum impact, businesses need to ensure employees' new skills are used optimally. Without policies that specifically target the practical application of skills, the benefits generated by increased skills will not materialise; (2) The 2023 European Year of Skills is an important opportunity to focus on policies aimed at stimulating skills use within organisations - and not just policies aimed at reinforcing the skills base in the labour force. It is critical that EU-level policy continues to push for the improved use of human resources in organisations which can boost company performance and strengthen resilience to shocks, such as the recent [Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)] pandemic; (3) New findings underline the importance of creating a motivating workplace for employees and the crucial links between managerial practices and skills use in workplaces. There is a growing awareness and recognition about the role of management in creating the right conditions for employees to make use of their skills and thus improve the efficiency, innovativeness, and adaptability of companies; (4) People-centred managerial approaches that harness workplace well-being are key to making the best use of human capital as well as to more successful business outcomes. This finding holds across different countries, sectors, and organisations of different sizes: promoting workplace well-being is not just beneficial to employees but is an important factor in translating employee skills into positive business performance. Policymakers and social partners have a vital role to play in encouraging managers to adopt a people-centred approach and to create the conditions for this to happen; and (5) Future-oriented policies are essential to ensuring the next generation of managers, leaders, and entrepreneurs understand the importance of a people-centred management culture and practices that create opportunities for employees to develop and use their skills. Universities and management and business schools can contribute to achieving this by integrating these aspects fully in their teaching.

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This report and the accompanying sectoral information sheets aim to capture the diversity prevalent across sectors in Europe in terms of working conditions and job quality. The three information sheets indicate how workers in each sector compare to the European average for all workers, as well as highlighting differences and similarities among different groups of workers. The report pinpoints trends across sectors in areas such as working time and work-life balance, work organisation, skills and training, employee representation and the psychosocial and physical environment. It identifies sectors that score particularly well or particularly poorly in terms of job quality and sheds light on differences between sectors in terms of health and well-being.

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This working paper presents the first findings of a survey on the impact of [Coronavirus Disease 2019] COVID-19 on workplace practices among employers in EU Member States. The survey was developed, organised and fielded at end-2020 by [European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions] Eurofound and [European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training] Cedefop. It explores the impact of the health crisis on companies in the EU-27 and sheds light on how employers reacted to it. As well as reporting on changes to core business activities, infrastructure and work organisation, the paper provides new insight into how the pandemic affected jobs in relation to tasks and knowledge and skills needs, and changes in corporate training strategies, comparing with the situation before the pandemic. The findings reported in this working paper are EU-27-level aggregates. The low number of survey responses in several countries prevents analysis at national level.

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Job quality indexes are constructed on the basis of such aspects of working conditions as earnings, prospects, working time, and intrinsic job quality. Occupations where job quality is consistently low are labelled 'occupations with multiple disadvantages'. This report uses data from the fifth European Working Conditions Survey to identify such occupations. It finds that workers in mid-skilled manual and low-skilled occupations do quite poorly when it comes to earnings, prospects and intrinsic job quality, and they report relatively low levels of both physical and mental well-being. However, their working time quality is generally good. In contrast, workers in high-skilled occupations do relatively well on almost all job quality indicators, except working time.

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