Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.The European Company Surveys (ECS) are conducted by the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (Eurofound), an autonomous agency of the European Union, funded from the general budget of the European Commission. The aims of the ECS are to map, assess and quantify information on workplace policies and practices across Europe in a harmonised way and – to a lesser extent – to monitor developments over time. The ECS has been carried out every four years since 2004. It is a questionnaire-based representative sample survey carried out by telephone in the language(s) of the country. Interviews take place with the manager responsible for human resources in the establishment and when possible with an employee representative. The first ECS (known as the Establishment Survey on Working Time and Work-Life Balance, 2004-2005, held under SN 5655) covered workplace practices with regard to working time arrangements and work-life balance. The second ECS, carried out in 2009 (SN 6568), looked at different forms of flexibility as well as accompanying human resource management practices and the nature and quality of workplace social dialogue. The third ECS (SN 7735), carried out in spring 2013, looked at practices with regard to work organisation, human resources management, employee participation and social dialogue in European workplaces. Further information about the ECS can be found on the Eurofound European Company Surveys webpages.
The second ECS: The European Company Survey, 2009 is the second Europe-wide survey of establishments carried out by Eurofound. The 2009 survey focuses on two major themes: flexibility practices in companies and employee participation at the workplace. The 2009 survey covered 30 countries, including the 27 EU Member States, as well as the three candidate countries of Turkey, Macedonia and Croatia. The interviews were carried out in establishments with 10 or more employees, both in the private and public sectors.
Main Topics:
Two questionnaires were fielded for the ECS 2009. From each company the manager responsible for human resources was interviewed, and where available, an interview was conducted with an employee representative. Survey respondents were asked questions on the following specific themes:working time flexibilityhuman resources practicesvariable pay and financial participation schemesworkplace social dialoguecompany performance
One-stage stratified or systematic random sample
Telephone interview
