Occupational safety and health in Europe - state and trends 2023 
European Agency for Safety and Health at Work – EU-OSHA 90 
These EWCS findings are approximately in line with the results of the Flash Eurobarometer from 2014 
where 77% of the workers respond that they are overall satisfied with working conditions  and 85% 
that they are satisfied with health and safety. In the Flash Eurobarometer for responses to the specific 
question on satisfaction with health and safety at work  (see next figure), Austria, the Netherlands, 
Belgium, Ireland, Denmark, Finland and Estonia are the top seven countries with the highest satisfaction 
rates. Cyprus, France, Croatia, Romania, Spain,  Latvia and Greece form the group of the seven 
countries with the lowest satisfaction rates.247 
 
Figure 29: Flash Eurobarometer 2014 – Satisfaction with health and safety at work248    
 
 
In 2005, just after the accession of 10 new EU Member States, the average EU level was slightly 
different, four percentage points lower at 82% 249 (EWCS, 2005). In that year, the six EU Member 
States with the highest rates of satisfaction were Denmark, Austria, Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands 
and Luxembourg (all around 90%). The lowest degree of satisfaction was reported by the workers of 
Romania (not an EU member at that time), Greece, Bulgaria (not an EU member at that time), Lithuania, 
Latvia and Slovenia, significantly lower than today, between 58% and 72%.  
The most visible change is that in 2005 the lowest degree of satisfaction was exclusively reported in 
south-eastern European countri es and the Baltics. In 2015, three southern and south-western EU 
Member States , that is, France, Italy and Spain, were part of the six countries with the lowest 
satisfaction rate,  while the states from s outh-eastern Europe and the Baltic states showed low but 
increased satisfaction rates.  
In 2015, the percentage of workers who responded to be ‘unsatisfied’ or ‘very unsatisfied’ is 
characterised by the following patterns:250  
• Sectoral: the highest rates of dissatisfaction were reported in the three sectors agriculture, 
hotels and restaurants, and manufacturing.  
• Level of education: 51% of workers with third- level degree (ISCED 5 or 6) 251 report being ‘very 
satisfied’ compared to an average of 25% for the whole sample.  
• Less differences can be seen for the form of work, that is, those with a permanent contract and 
those with ‘Other arrangements’.  
Age and gender have a minor influence on responses to the question on job satisfaction.