European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (EUROFOUND)

The Foundation is a European Union body set up in 1975 to contribute to the planning and establishment of better living and working conditions in Europe. It provides findings, knowledge and advice from independent and comparative research, to governments, employers, trade unions and the European Commission.

The Foundation organises its work around three core areas of expertise, with a focus on the following issues:

• working conditions: including work organisation, time issues in the workplace, flexibility, monitoring of changes in working conditions;
• living conditions: issues that affect the everyday lives of Europe’s citizens, including the balance between work and family life, the provision of social public services and promoting integration into employment;
• industrial relations: industrial change and corporate restructuring, employee participation in decision-making, the Europeanisation of industrial relations

The Foundation recently set up the European Monitoring Centre on Change (EMCC) to analyse and anticipate industrial and company change to support socioeconomic progress.

Foundation research reports can be downloaded free of charge directly from the website or ordered online at www.eurofound.eu.int.

The Foundation has a tripartite Administrative Board, made up of representatives from public authorities (governments and the European Commission), employer organisations and trade unions.