WALQING
The Project

The walqing project addresses the aim of EU policy to create ‘more and better jobs’. Although more jobs have been created in Europe since 2001, a considerable part of this growth is found in areas with often problematic working conditions, precarious employment and low wages. Little is known about the quality of these jobs, their impact on employees’ quality of life and about the organisational and institutional preconditions that support the development of ‘better’, high-quality jobs within the EU.

walqing investigates the linkages between new and expanding jobs, the conditions of work and employment in these jobs, and the more or less favourable outcomes for employees’ quality of work and life. It does so by integrating several analytical levels and research paradigms:

• the analysis of Europe-wide survey data on the development of employment, the quality of work and life,
• the exploration of sectoral and cross-sectoral stakeholder policies,
• the analysis of strategies of companies and public-sector work organisations in selected industries,
• and the investigation of individual jobholders’ careers, perspectives and aspirations.

Specific attention is given to vulnerable groups on the labour market such as young people, older workers, migrants or women.