Eurofound Talks

In this episode of the Eurofound Talks podcast Mary McCaughey speaks with Eurofound Deputy Director Maria Jepsen, and Barry Colfer, Director of Research at the Institute of International and European Affairs (IIEA), about European social change over the past 50 years, Eurofound’s role in these changes, how Ireland itself has developed and changed, and the challenges currently on the horizon.

Over the last decade, information and communication

In this episode of Eurofound Talks, Mary McCaughey speaks with Eurofound Senior Research Manager Sara Riso about what constitutes cyberbullying, how widespread the issue of cyberbullying at work is, and whether there is

They discuss how bullying and cyberbullying have emerged as prominent issues in national policy debates, primarily as problems affecting young people rather than as a more general phenomenon in the workplace and detrimental to workers’ well-being.

Whether online or face to face – it would seem that bullying

In her political guidelines for the incoming European Commission, issued in July, the returning president, Ursula von der Leyen, outlined ambitious proposals for the next five-year European term. They included the appointment of the first commission member whose responsibilities would include housing, as well as the first-ever European Affordable Housing Plan.

In this episode of Eurofound Talks Mary McCaughey speaks with Eurofound Senior Research Manager Hans Dubois about the latest developments in housing and housing policy in Europe. This, the second episode of the series looking specifically at housing, discusses the role of the incoming Commission, what Eurofound’s research can bring to the table, and the different policy tools required.

Climate change is a reality in our everyday lives in Europe. Workers experience the effects of climate change and climate change policy in many ways, both directly and indirectly, from working in heat and experiencing greater exposure to UV radiation, to new occupational safety and health risks and the need for training and re-skilling.

In this episode of Eurofound Talks Mary McCaughey speaks with Eurofound researchers Agnès Parent-Thirion, Tina Weber, and Jorge Cabrita about the extent to which climate change is already influencing working conditions and the labour market in Europe, the role of the green transition, and how policy can help protect workers and safeguard workplaces.

Mary McCaughey speaks with Eurofound Research Manager Carlos Vacas about the situation of the middle class in Europe.

They look at developments over the past two decades, the significance of income adequacy and equality in the development of a robust middle class in Europe, the influence of the welfare state, as well as the understated role of the family.

In this episode of Eurofound Talks Mary McCaughey speaks with Eurofound researchers Eszter Sandor and Massimiliano Mascherini about the situation for young people in Europe, from the impacts of the economic crisis and Great Recession to the aftermath COVID-19 pandemic and voting trends in the recent European Parliament elections.

They discuss how, while there have been some positive trends in employment in recent years, there are concerning issues facing young people in Europe that need to be overcome – not just for the young people in question, but also for broader economic and societal stability.

In a special edition of Eurofound Talks, Mary McCaughey is joined by Eurofound Executive Director Ivailo Kalfin and Ivan Krastev, Chairman of the Centre for Liberal Strategies and permanent fellow at the Institute for Human Sciences in Vienna, to look at the political, social and economic drivers in Europe and how they might influence voters at the ballot box in the European Parliament elections on 6-9 June 2024.

In this episode of Eurofound Talks Mary McCaughey speaks Eurofound Research Manager Daniel Molinuevo about the European Child Guarantee, how bad the situation is with regards to child poverty and social exclusion in Europe, what Member States have committed to doing about it, what the implications are for workers and civil society, and what prospects there are for the future.

Fighting child poverty has become a central dimension of EU social policy. One of the European Commission’s flagship social policy initiatives is the European Child Guarantee: established in 2021 by Council Recommendation, the aim of the Guarantee is to tackle child poverty by ensuring access to key services (such as healthcare) and resources (such as decent housing) for children in need – defined as children at risk of poverty or social exclusion.

The COVID-19 pandemic had multiple impacts on society, but perhaps one of the most enduring in terms of the world of work has been the proliferation of telework. Around one-third of jobs in the EU are teleworkable, and an estimated 40 million people telework on a regular basis. While most workers who can telework have embraced it, there have been notable impacts on work-life balance, stress and other psychological risks. This has given rise to calls for a right to disconnect.

In this episode of Eurofound Talks Mary McCaughey speaks with Eurofound Research Manager Tina Weber about new research on the right to disconnect, the evolution of the right to disconnect in Europe, the reasons why legislative and procedural actions are being called for, the impacts that effective right to disconnect policies can have, and what the debate indicates about the post-pandemic world of work.

In this special episode of Eurofound Talks for International Women's Day 2024, Mary McCaughey speaks with Eurofound researchers Carlos Vacas and Barbara Gerstenberger about the gender pay and employment gaps in Europe.

Despite gender equality being a core principle of the EU, women are less likely to be in employment than men in all EU Member States and are paid less than men in almost every Member State, with the pay gap larger in higher paying jobs. Mary, Carlos, and Barbara discuss what progress has been made on these issues in recent years, the broader consequences of gender inequalities in the world of work, and the challenges that must be addressed if Europe is to meet gender equality targets.