Working conditions
Updated: 27 August 2026
Working life research
Agnès Parent-Thirion
Agnès Parent-Thirion is a senior research manager in the Working Life unit at Eurofound, tasked with the planning, development and implementation of working conditions research projects, in particular the European Working Conditions Survey (EWCS) and its analyses. She is responsible for the EWCS 2021 extraordinary edition and for the preparation of the questionnaire for the EWCS 2024. Her research interests include working conditions, job quality, the monitoring of working conditions, work organisation, gender, the future of work and time. She has been working in the area of European comparative surveys for more than a decade, in all aspects including design, questionnaire development, fieldwork, quality control and analysis. She is a graduate in economics and management from Paris IX Dauphine and Paris I Panthéon Sorbonne universities and holds a Postgraduate Diploma in Statistics from Trinity College Dublin. She has recently completed online courses on artificial intelligence: inquiry-driven leadership with MIT Sloan Executive Education and ‘Les grand enjeux de la transition: re-ouvrir l'horizon, comprendre pour agir’ with the Campus de la Transition. Before joining Eurofound, she worked for a number of years in the European Commission.
Topics of expertise
Agnès is an expert in the following topics.
Research outputs
Agnès is the author of the following publications.
Events, podcast and blog
Agnès has contributed the following events, blog posts and podcast episodes.
29 May 2026
Podcast episode
Behind the scenes of the European Working Conditions Survey
Since its launch in 1990, the European Working Conditions Survey has provided a comprehensive overview of working conditions in Europe. The EWCS 2024 asserts that the European labour market is in transition, pointing to a decline in long working hours and uneven improvements in job quality. In this episode of Eurofound Talks, Mary McCaughey invites Senior Research Manager Agnès Parent-Thirion to talk about the survey behind the headlines, and the work that goes into carrying it out.
In-person event
Own event
Working in the age of AI – How are working conditions changing across Europe?
Event recording available
DateTuesday, 21 April 2026
LocationBrussels, European Parliament
This event is in the past
16 October 2024
Podcast episode
Is climate change making work more dangerous in Europe?
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.
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27 February 2023
Blog post
Violence in the workplace: Women and frontline workers face higher risks
Women and frontline workers are most exposed to the risks of adverse social behaviour at work, such as burnout, exhaustion, anxiety and depression. This is according to the European Working Conditions Telephone Survey 2021 (EWCTS). In this data story, we dive into EWCTS data (EU27) to examine the prevalence of adverse social behaviour in the workplace - also known as ‘violence in the workplace’ - and the health and well-being implications it has for those who experience it.
7 March 2019
Blog post
Women in management: If we want to get serious about gender equality we need to talk about job quality
After more than 60 years of European policy on the equal treatment of women and men, men still outnumber women in management positions by almost two to one. The women who do make it into management are more likely to be in non-supervising management roles where they manage operational responsibilities but not staff, and the minority that do manage staff are more likely to be managing other women.
23 November 2016
Blog post
Jobs, jobs, jobs! Three beautiful words for Mr Trump
Even in the confused and contentious context of the new US President-elect as well as the EU’s post- Brexit deliberations, it is hard to argue otherwise. But, while having a job in the first place is clearly of paramount importance to people - and society at large – there is also a more sophisticated issue at play with wider ramifications for the world of work and life today: the quality of the jobs themselves.
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