Each year, as part of the governing regulation, the Labour Force Survey (LFS) in member states across Europe contains additional questions on specific themes relating to the Labour Market. This bulletin is the second edition of a set of themed bulletin-style outputs from the LFS and is based on analysis of questions relating to the theme Job autonomy and pressure at work. In Ireland, these variables were collected as part of the LFS in Quarter 2 (Q2) 2019 while these variables were also collected across all other EU member states in 2019.
The release of this bulletin today has been timed to coincide with the release of the EU27 results by Eurostat for the Job autonomy and pressure at work subsection of the Work organisation and working time arrangements questions from 2019. The EU results were released by Eurostat at 10am Irish time today (06 October 2020). The EU27 figures included in the text of this release for comparison against the corresponding results for Ireland are taken from the data available in the Eurostat report and tables linked above.
The release of data from one last subsection of the Work organisation and working time arrangements questions from 2019 has been scheduled by Eurostat:
15 October 2020: Main place of work and commuting time in 2019
The Labour Market and Earnings area in the Central Statistics Office (CSO) will also be releasing comparable data for Ireland on the same date as a further edition of these LFS themed bulletins.
For employees in Ireland in 2019, it was most likely that hours worked were recorded automatically (39.1%). This is slightly higher than the corresponding figure for the EU27 (33.1%), with the highest and lowest values across the member states being observed in Slovenia (54.6%) and Denmark (6.8%) respectively.
The frequency of hours being recorded automatically for employees in Ireland decreased as the age of the employee increased (43.8% for those aged 15-34 years and 33.9% for those aged 50-74 years).
In Ireland automatic recording of hours for employees in 2019 was most likely to be observed in the Industry economic sector (61.8%) while it was least likely to be observed in the Education economic sector (11.8%).
Automatic recording of hours for employees was most likely to be observed for those working as Process plant and machine operatives (63.3%) while it was least likely for those classified as working in Professional occupations (25.4%).
The frequency of hours being recorded automatically for employees in Ireland in 2019 increased as the size of the business or enterprise where they work (using the local unit concept) increased ranging from 16.2% for Micro to 52.8% for Large; this trend was also observed in the EU27 and across all individual member states. Please see Background Notes at the end of this bulletin for an explanation of what the size or business or enterprise using the local unit concept refers to.
Hours worked recorded manually by supervisor/colleague was reported by 15.2% of employees in Ireland and only 8% of employees across the EU27 with a large variation observed across members states where values ranged from a high of 37.8% in Lithuania to a low of 1.5% in Sweden.
Female employees in Ireland were more likely to have their working hours recorded manually by a supervisor or colleague (17.3%) than their male counterparts (13.1%).
Approximately one-in-ten of employees in Ireland reported having only their Presence recorded (9.5%) while the corresponding rate for the EU27 was more than twice as high at 20.4%.
In Ireland, approximately one-in-seven employees reported that neither their presence or their working hours were recorded (13.9%) compared to one-in-five from the EU27 (21.2%). Again, there was a lot of variation observed across member states with values ranging from a high of 62.9% in Latvia to a low of 2.5% in Slovakia.
Those working in the Agriculture, forestry and fishing economic sector in Ireland were most likely to report that neither their presence or their working hours were recorded (40.1%) while those working in the Accommodation and food service activities economic sector were the least likely (5.6%).
| Hours worked recorded automatically | Hours worked recorded manually by supervisor/colleague | Hours worked recorded manually by one-self | Hours worked recorded with another method | Presence recorded | None | |
| Agriculture, forestry and fishing | 19.7 | 7.8 | 19.8 | 3.9 | 8.7 | 40.1 |
| Industry | 61.8 | 6.2 | 10.3 | 3.8 | 7.5 | 10.3 |
| Construction | 21.5 | 24.7 | 24.6 | 5.5 | 9.4 | 14.4 |
| Wholesale & retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles | 49.8 | 15.5 | 12.2 | 5.3 | 6.2 | 11 |
| Transportation & storage | 49.1 | 10.2 | 17 | 5.4 | 8.3 | 10.1 |
| Accommodation & food service activities | 44 | 26.3 | 15 | 4.7 | 4.3 | 5.6 |
| Information & communication | 31.4 | 6.4 | 15.2 | 4.7 | 13.5 | 28.7 |
| Financial, insurance and real estate activities | 33.9 | 5.2 | 20.7 | 5.6 | 13.3 | 21.4 |
| Professional, scientific and technical activities | 22.7 | 8.6 | 25.7 | 5.8 | 14.7 | 22.4 |
| Administrative & support service activities | 38.8 | 18.7 | 19.2 | 4.5 | 9.2 | 9.6 |
| Public administration and defence; compulsory social security | 54.5 | 9.4 | 14.8 | 4.1 | 9.7 | 7.5 |
| Education | 11.8 | 20.6 | 14.4 | 9.3 | 20.8 | 23.2 |
| Human health and social work activities | 34.8 | 21.7 | 23.1 | 5.4 | 6 | 8.9 |
| Other services activities | 27.5 | 19 | 20.6 | 4.7 | 8.5 | 19.7 |
| All economic sectors | 39.1 | 15.2 | 17 | 5.3 | 9.5 | 13.9 |
In Ireland, more than one-in-three (35.5%) of those in employment in 2019 were Always or Often under pressure in work. This is very similar to the total for the EU27 (36.1%) while the values across member states ranged from a high of 50.0% in Greece to a low of 24.0% in Estonia.
Persons with atypical working patterns in Ireland are more likely to work Always or Often under time pressure (38.7%) than those working normal patterns (33.0%); the corresponding rates in the EU27 were 40.9% and 33.3% respectively.
Looking at the individual response options, the answer most likely to be given by those in employment in Ireland when asked how often they were under pressure at work was Sometimes (39.6%) which was followed by Never (24.9%), then Often (20.1%) while Always (15.4%) was the least likely response option.
The percentage of those in employment in Ireland who reported that they are Always under pressure at work (15.4%) is higher than average for the EU27 (11.0%) with Ireland ranking fourth highest of all member states. Those in employment in Malta were the most likely to be Always under pressure at work in 2019 (20.9%) while those in employment in Slovakia were the least likely (4.3%).
In Ireland, those working in the Human health and social work activities economic sector were the most likely to report being Always under pressure at work (20.8%) while those working in the Other services activities economic sector which includes those working in the Arts, entertainment and recreation activities were the least likely (9.6%).
The likelihood of a person in employment reporting that they are Always under pressure at work increased as the size of the business or enterprise increased (12.1% for Micro and 20.1% for Large) and as the educational attainment level of the person in employment increased (11.8% for Low and 17.5% for High).
The percentage of those in employment in Ireland who reported that they are Never under pressure at work in Ireland (24.9%) is slightly higher than the average for the EU27 (22.2%). Those in employment in Spain were the most likely to report being Never under pressure at work in 2019 (38.7%) while those in employment in Finland were the least likely (7.7%).
In Ireland, those working in the Other services activities economic sector which includes those working in the Arts, entertainment and recreation activities were the most likely to report being Never under pressure at work (39.4%) while those working in the Financial, insurance and real estate activities economic sector were the least likely (14.1%).
In Ireland 55.0% of Family workers reported Never being under time pressure at work compared to 15.0% for those who were Self-employed with employees.
| Always | Often | Sometimes | Never | |
| Total | 15.4 | 20.1 | 39.6 | 24.9 |
| Sex, Male | 15.7 | 21.2 | 40 | 23.1 |
| Female | 15 | 18.9 | 39.2 | 26.9 |
| Age Group, 15-34 years | 14.7 | 19.1 | 39.8 | 26.4 |
| 35-49 years | 17.5 | 22.8 | 39.8 | 19.9 |
| 50-74 years | 13 | 17.6 | 39.2 | 30.2 |
| Education Level, Low | 11.8 | 14.3 | 35.6 | 38.3 |
| Medium | 13.8 | 18.9 | 38.2 | 29.1 |
| High | 17.5 | 22.6 | 41.7 | 18.2 |
| Employment Status, Self-employed with employees | 21.5 | 27.7 | 35.8 | 15 |
| Self-employed without employees | 14.5 | 19.6 | 39.7 | 26.2 |
| Employee | 15.2 | 19.9 | 39.8 | 25 |
| Family Worker | 4.6 | 5.7 | 34.8 | 55 |
There is a high degree of job autonomy by those employed in the EU27 where just under half of those employed have some or a large influence on content and tasks (49.6%). The degree of job autonomy is above average in Ireland where almost two-in-three employed persons report having some or large influence on the content and order of tasks (64.0%). In fact, Ireland ranks third highest of EU member states for job autonomy with the highest level being recorded by Portugal (75.5%) and the lowest being reported by Cyprus (19.8%).
Men working in Ireland were more likely to have some or a large influence on the content and order of tasks (66.7%) than women (61.0%); this gender gap is smaller in the EU27 with rates of 50.8% for men and 48.3% for women.
The likelihood of an employed person reporting having some or a large influence on the content and order of tasks increased as their age increased, standing at 50.0% for those aged 15-34 years while it was 69.2% for those aged 35-49 years and 72.2% for those aged 50-74 years.
In Ireland, those working in the Agriculture, forestry and fishing economic sector were the most likely to report having had some or a large influence on the content and order of tasks (85.6%) while those working in the Accommodation and food service activities economic sector were the least likely (45.6%).
Those working as Managers, directors and senior officials in Ireland were the most likely to report having had some or a large influence on the content and order of tasks (89.3%) while those working in Elementary occupations, such as labourers or domestic helpers and cleaners, were the least likely (39.9%).
Looking at the results by employment status, those who were Self-employed with employees were the most likely to report having had some or large influence on the content and order of tasks (93.0%) while Employees were the least likely (59.4%).
One-in-four of those employed in Ireland in 2019 (24.4%) reported having low job autonomy, i.e. little or no influence on the content or order of tasks, while the corresponding rate across the EU27 was approximately one-in-three (31.5%). Those in employment in Slovakia were the most likely to report a low level of job autonomy (58.1%) while those working in Luxembourg were the least likely (11.3%).
Those working in the Accommodation and food service activities sector in Ireland are most likely to have low job autonomy with 39.7% having little or no influence on job content and tasks while those working in the Agriculture, forestry and fishing economic sector were the least likely (8.1%).
When it came to occupations, those working as Process, plant and machine operatives and those working in Elementary occupations, such as labourers or domestic helpers and cleaners, were the most likely to report a low level of job autonomy with both recording 45.4% while the rate was only 5.3% for Managers, administrators and senior officials.
| Little or none on content and order of tasks | Little or none on content and some or large on order of tasks | Some or large on content and little or none or order of tasks | Some or large on content and order of tasks | |
| Managers, directors and senior officials | 5.3 | 2.1 | 3.3 | 89.3 |
| Professional | 12.2 | 4.1 | 6 | 77.7 |
| Associate professional and technical | 16.1 | 4.7 | 5.8 | 73.4 |
| Admin and secreterial | 22.5 | 6.6 | 6.8 | 64 |
| Skilled trades | 18.6 | 4.3 | 5.9 | 71.1 |
| Caring, leisure and other service | 32.4 | 6.9 | 9 | 51.6 |
| Sales and customer service | 42.3 | 6.2 | 7.1 | 44.4 |
| Process, plant and machine operatives | 45.4 | 6.1 | 6.3 | 42.2 |
| Elementary | 45.4 | 6.2 | 8.6 | 39.9 |
| All persons | 24.4 | 5.1 | 6.5 | 64 |
The LFS is a quarterly survey conducted by the CSO and is the official source of statistics on employment and unemployment in Ireland. The LFS is governed by a European Regulation which also includes the addition of a set of questions on a specific topic to supplement the core LFS each year. The purpose of these additional questions (known as an ad hoc module) is to provide users with statistics on a specific topic concerning the labour market. Like the core LFS variables, the additional themed variables are captured by all EU member states and collated by Eurostat, the European statistical agency, which allows for the publication of EU estimates.
Information relating to the different sets of themed questions that are collected across Europe as part of the LFS each year are available on the Eurostat website. In 2019, the additional questions were based on the theme Work organisation and working time arrangements. Eurostat has published European results for 2019 today from the subsection Job autonomy and pressure at work of the theme Work organisation and working time arrangements in the form of an article and as a set of tables. The EU27 figures included in the text of this bulletin for comparison against the corresponding results for Ireland are taken from the data available in the tables on the Eurostat website which are linked above.
On 29 September 2020, Eurostat published results from the subsection Flexibility at work also in the form of an article and as a set of tables and the CSO also published a bulletin containing results for Ireland on that date (see Flexibility at work bulletin).
One further release of a final subsection of the Work organisation and working time arrangements questions from 2019 has been scheduled by Eurostat:
15 October 2020: Main place of work and commuting time in 2019
The Labour Market and Earnings area in the CSO will also be releasing comparable Irish data in the form of another one of these bulletins on the same date.
The following provide some background information on some of the classification variables presented in this bulletin.
The local unit is an enterprise or part thereof (e. g. a workshop, factory, warehouse, office, mine or depot) situated in a geographically identified place. At or from this place economic activity is carried out for which one or more persons work (even if only part-time) for one and the same enterprise.
Respondents were asked how many persons, including them, work at their local unit. For the purposes of this bulletin the responses were grouped as follows:
Micro 1-9 employees
Small 10-49 employees
Medium 50-249 employees
Large 250 or more employees
There was a separate category for those for whom the “Exact number of employed was unknown”.
Persons in employment were divided into those who work Atypical and those who work Normal work patterns. Persons were classified as having an Atypical work pattern if they reported working shifts, or if they reported Usually or Sometimes working evenings, nights, Saturdays or Sundays; otherwise they were classified as having a Normal work pattern.
Respondents were asked to report the highest level of education they had successfully completed and for the purposes of this bulletin the levels of education were grouped into Low, Medium and High as follows:
Low ISCED levels 0-2 (less than primary, primary and lower secondary education)
Medium ISCED levels 3 & 4 (upper secondary and post-secondary non-tertiary education)
High ISCED levels 5-8 (third level as known as tertiary education)
Thanks: The CSO would like to thank most sincerely all those who have participated and continue to participate in our household surveys including the Labour Force Survey (LFS) from which the results in this bulletin are based. Without your participation it would not be possible for us to collect and disseminate results such as these. Results from CSO household surveys provide details on the current economic and social situation in Ireland and are used to inform and guide Government policy decisions.
Please Note: The Labour Market and Earnings Division of the CSO is compiling a list of users who have registered to be kept informed in relation to relevant announcements from the CSO relating to Labour Market and Earnings, including publication plans. If you haven't already done so you can register your email address by sending an email to labour@cso.ie asking to be included on this user list.
