Digitalisation is the ongoing integration of digital technologies and digitised data across the economy and society. The twin green and digital transitions accelerate the pace of change affecting all aspects of our lives and will have many consequences for the future of work. Innovations and developments in advanced technologies are having significant effects in almost all areas of the economy and for society at large. Work, its content, its organisation and design, its regulation and protection, are all undergoing change. The continuous automation and digitalisation of services, and the growing introduction of artificial intelligence (AI) in the workplace, continues to change the nature of work, skills needs, and how tasks are allocated, performed and assessed. This also often brings a blurring of boundaries between work and non-work activity.
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30 March 2025
Psychosocial risks represent a major challenge to the health and well-being of workers in the EU. While the COVID-19 pandemic intensified some of these risks, it also increased awareness of them among policymakers. Using data from the European Working Conditions Telephone Survey 2021 and building on a theoretical model that differentiates between job stressors and job resources, this report examines key psychosocial risks in the workplace and their impact on health. It also assesses job characteristics that could help to protect workers’ health and well-being in post-pandemic workplaces. While the prevalence of psychosocial risks varies across the Member States, work–life interference and work intensity are the most widespread risks in the EU, and the prevalence of the latter increased during the pandemic. Job stressors such as adverse social behaviour and job insecurity continue to be experienced by a significant proportion of workers in the EU. Although resources are available to combat some risks, these may not be sufficient, and preventive policies need to be implemented to prevent risks from arising in the first place.
7 December 2024
3 December 2024
Quality of life data show that in most countries, the capital city has advantages compared to the regions outside the capital. In light of the continued growth of capital city populations and the concentration of resources within them, this policy brief explores the source of the advantages of capital cities in quality of life. Are these advantages mostly related to specific demographics that these cities nurture and attract? Or do these advantages stem from opportunities that major cities provide due to their scale and economic growth?
The policy brief aims to clarify why policy should focus on both the economy and society when it comes to advancing economic, social and territorial cohesion.
About Digitalisation
Learn more about this topic and its relevance for EU policy making.
Highlights for Digitalisation
This is a selection of the most important outputs for this topic.
8 May 2025
Analysis of the job quality of older workers and company practices that support keeping older workers in employment
12 November 2023
Right to disconnect: Implementation and impact at company level
The rise in telework and more flexible working patterns, speeded up by the pandemic, has intensified concerns about an ‘always on’ culture and employees’ constant connection to their workplace, leading them to work additional and often unpaid hours. One of the solutions put forward to help address this issue is the introduction of a right to disconnect. Based on a survey of HR managers and employees, this report explores EU Member States’ legislation around the right to disconnect and assesses the impact of company policies in this area on employees’ hours of connection, working time, work–life balance, health and well-being, and overall workplace satisfaction.
5 December 2024
Blockchain: Implications of gamechanging technologies in the services sector in Europe
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Experts on Digitalisation
Researchers at Eurofound provide expert insights and can be contacted for questions or media requests.
Jorge Cabrita
Senior Research ManagerJorge Cabrita is a senior research manager in the Working Life unit. He is responsible for formulating, coordinating and managing European-wide research, and promoting the dissemination of findings in the areas of working conditions and industrial relations. His main research areas of interest include working conditions and job quality, working time and work–life balance, workers’ health and well-being, gender equality and the socioeconomic impacts of the transition to a climate-neutral economy. He is currently leading research on working time developments and on social dialogue and collective bargaining during the COVID-19 pandemic. Previously, he worked as a researcher at the Centre for Studies for Social Intervention and at the Research Centre on the Portuguese Economy of the Lisbon School of Economics, and as a trainer and consultant in the areas of strategic management, organisational communication, leadership and team building. He holds a BSc in Economics and an MSc in Socio-Organisational Systems of Economic Activity from the Lisbon School of Economics.
Dragoș Adăscăliței
Research officerDragoș Adăscăliței is a research officer in the Employment unit at Eurofound. His current research focuses on topics related to the future of work, including the impact of artificial intelligence on jobs, the consequences of automation for employment and regulatory issues surrounding the platform economy.
Sara Riso 3
Research managerSara Riso is a research manager in the Working Life unit at Eurofound. She is involved in research projects in the areas of employment change and restructuring.
Sara Riso
Research managerSara Riso is a research manager in the Working Life unit at Eurofound. She is involved in research projects in the areas of employment change and restructuring.
Oscar Vargas Llave
Research managerOscar Vargas Llave is a research manager in the Working Life unit at Eurofound and manages projects on changes in the world of work and the impact on working conditions and related policies: organisation of working time, remote work, the right to disconnect, health and well-being and ageing.
Sara Riso 2
Research managerSara Riso is a research manager in the Working Life unit at Eurofound. She is involved in research projects in the areas of employment change and restructuring.
All content for Digitalisation
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