Since its launch in 2020, Eurofound's unique Living and Working in the EU e-survey has provided an overview of the ever-changing developments in living and working since the onset of the pandemic, through the recovery measures and during a time of constant change.
Living and Working in the EU e-survey 2024
In round seven of the Living and Working in the EU e-survey, Eurofound continues to measure how the economic and social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and increases in the cost of living continue to affect people across the EU and beyond. How has the situation changed? What are the main concerns for people? Where are the opportunities for progress and improvement?
This latest e-survey round comes during a year of huge potential political change, as elections take place throughout the democratic world, with 49% of people on the planet having a national election in their country. This is in addition to EU and regional elections.
This round of the e-survey continues on from previous rounds and aims to assess the current situation facing people in the EU. It examines a range of issues around people's quality of life and the quality of society, and has a particular focus on the rising cost of living, levels of social support, access to public services such as healthcare, mental health, work–life balance and changes in telework opportunities.
Round 7: This e-survey captures the situation of European respondents and their post-pandemic concerns and seeks to provide critical support to policymakers as they face the challenges ahead.
Launched on 25 March until 24 May 2024
32,405 respondents aged 18+ in the EU27 Member States
E-survey among panellists and advertised on social media
Questionnaire comprised 144 questions, available in 25 languages
To display this data, use the filters below to select a question. Refine the results by selecting a country (or group of countries), apply additional filters (which vary throughout the surveys) or change the visualisation by selecting a preferred chart type.
Dashboard
Increases in the cost of living continue to be the main concern for respondents across the EU, with low and middle-income households particularly impacted. These households struggle more with making ends meet and affording energy, housing and leisure expenses compared to 2023.
The decrease in working from home, observed in each round of the e-survey since the end of the pandemic, has continued in 2024. There are significant country differences: in some countries, hybrid working in teleworkable occupations is common, suggesting that company policies have introduced permanent rules around teleworking. In other countries, hybrid work has become less frequent, as more respondents return to working fulltime at the workplace.
Trust in institutions, such as the EU, national governments and healthcare systems, has remained relatively stable since the end of the pandemic, at least on average among EU respondents. However, there has been a slight decline in trust toward the EU and satisfaction with democracy compared to 2023 levels. While trust in national governments has shown a consistent decline over the past four years, trust in the EU has remained stable overall.
The deterioration of mental well-being continues, with respondents reporting lower mental health scores. This apparent decline in mental health is visible across all age groups, except those aged 65 or over.
Unmet healthcare needs continue to affect respondents, especially those aged 50–64 and those in low-income households. Older respondents report greater difficulty accessing hospital and specialist services, while younger respondents most frequently cite unmet mental health service needs.
Respondents with disabilities report lower levels of well-being compared to others. However, their life satisfaction scores increase when individuals are aged 65 or over, are employed and have a high income.
Respondents with disabilities are far more likely to live in households facing difficulties making ends meet compared to those without disabilities. In fact, the gap between these groups has widened since 2021.
Respondents with disabilities are more likely to experience unmet medical needs, especially those who struggle to make ends meet. Cost is the most frequently cited barrier for accessing healthcare services among this group.
25 June 2024
This section provides further information targeted in particular at researchers.
Methodology
The e-survey methodology is similar for all rounds of the survey.
Eurofound experts
You can contact the following experts for questions on the survey.
Eszter Sándor
Senior research managerEszter Sandor is a senior research manager in the Social Policies unit at Eurofound. She has extensive experience in survey management, including questionnaire design and scripting, data preparation (processing, cleaning, weighting), and statistical analysis using R. She manages Eurofound’s e-survey (Living and working in the EU) and contributes to the preparation and management of the European Quality of Life Survey. Her research focuses on the quality of life of young people and families, including subjective well-being, mental well-being and living conditions.
Before joining Eurofound, she worked as an economic consultant in Scotland, specialising in economic impact assessments, evaluations, and input-output analysis. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from the Budapest University of Economics and Business and a Master’s degree in Economics and International Relations from Corvinus University of Budapest.
Daphne Ahrendt
Senior research managerDaphne Ahrendt is a senior research manager in the Social Policies unit at Eurofound. She is the coordinator of the survey management and development activity. In 2020, she initiated Eurofound’s Living and Working in the EU e-survey and now leads the 2026 European Quality of Life Survey, which she has worked on since the survey started in 2003. With over 30 years of experience in international survey research, she is also a member of the GESIS Scientific Advisory Board. Beyond surveys, her substantive research focuses on social cohesion, trust and the inclusion of persons with disabilities. Daphne started her career at the National Centre for Social Research in London where she worked on the International Social Survey Programme before moving to the Eurobarometer Unit at the European Commission. She holds a Master's degree in Criminal Justice Policies from the London School of Economics and a Bachelor's degree in Political Science from San Francisco State University.
