Work Package 1

Quality of life: theoretical, methodological and empirical elaboration
(operationalisation of project objective 1)

Work Package Co-ordinator: Prof. Sonja Drobnič, University of Hamburg

The work package is divided into several strands of activities that include:

1. An extensive literature review of theoretical concepts of quality of life.
2. An assessment of existing standard data sources on objective and subjective indicators.
3. An assessment of longitudinal data sources pertinent to measurement of quality of life in a dynamic perspective.
4. A cross-national comparative analysis of quality of life.
5. Dissemination of results on the national level.

Work Package 2

Quality of work for European employees
(operationalisation of project objective 2)

Work Package Co-ordinator: Prof. Tanja van der Lippe, University of Utrecht

This work package concerns analyses based on survey interviews among employees in all of the participating countries. Work package activities are summarized as follows:

1. To gain entrance to four organisations per participating country.
2. To develop a questionnaire.
3. To translate the questionnaire into all 8 languages and to put the questionnaire onto a website.
4. To collect the resulting data.
5. To analyse the results for each country and to relate the results on the quality of work to country and workplace context.

Work Package 3

Analysis of the institutional context
(operationalisation of project objective 3)

Work Package Co-ordinator: Prof. Siyka Kovacheva, New Europe Centre for Regional Studies

In all eight countries data are obtained from available statistical data, national and European policy documents, from other written sources and from national high-level expert groups. In each country an expert meeting will be organised where the national reports will be presented and discussed. The purpose of the revised national reports is to evaluate the national context of socio-economic trends, public policies and institutional characteristics of the selected countries.

Comparative report summary in English, in Bulgarian, in Finnish, in Hungarian, in Portuguese and German.

Work Package 4

Healthy organisations and sustainable employment
(operationalisation of project objective 4)

Work Package Co-ordinator: Prof. Suzan Lewis, Middlesex University Business School

Work package activities focuses on employee and workplace needs and possibilities for organisational development that address the dual agenda of employee quality of life and workplace effectiveness in different public policy contexts. Specifically, activities will incorporate findings from the Framework 5 Study, Gender, Parenthood and the Changing European Workplace (Transitions).

Work Package 5

Developing an instrument for measuring social quality in European workplaces (operationalisation of project objective 5)

Work Package Co-ordinator: Prof. Jouko Nätti, University of Jyväskylä

Using the findings from WP1, WP2, and WP4 the aim of this work package is to develop an international comparative instrument to measure social quality in workplaces.

Work Package 6

Quality of life and future trends: scenario analyses
(operationalisation of project objective 6)

Work Package Co-ordinator: Prof. Maria das Dores Guerreiro, Centre for Research and Studies in Sociology

The focus of activities in this work package is get a grip on future trends and public and organisational policies as they relate to quality of life and work through the scenario analyse. Scenarios are particularly suitable alternatives to predictions as they are capable of handling complex problems arising over long time periods with many uncertainties.
Work package activities include the following:

1. To collect information from other WPs in order to design possible scenarios.
2. To gain access to expert groups in each country to discuss the scenarios.
3. To develop a framework for guiding scenario discussion meetings.
4. To analyse the results from each country.
5. To summarise the results in national reports and an international comparative scenario report with recommendations for each country.

Work Package 7

The influence of gender
(operationalisation of project objective 7)

Work Package Co-ordinator: Dr. Eva Fodor, Central European University

Gender will matter when it comes to the cost and benefits of changes in social life and in work organisations. The activities of this work package are focused on insuring that each of the other work packages is attentive to gender effects.
Work activities include:

1. Defining an instrument to analyse gender differences.
2. Making sure that a gender perspective is included in the questionnaires and expert meetings in the partner countries.
3. Analysing and interpreting results using a gender perspective.
4. Producing a report on the effects of gender on the quality of life and work in the partner countries.

Work Package 8

Dissemination framework

Work Package Co-ordinator: Prof. Margareta Bäck-Wiklund, Göteborg University

A central activity for this work package is the creation of a website on which project reports, other documentation and important links to similar projects are publicised.
Work includes but is not limited to:

1. Dissemination of summaries of the cross-national reports as well as the final report in national languages.
2. Publish reports and working papers from the project.
3. Develop a common international dissemination strategy targeting European politicians and policy makers, employers and unions, European and world scientific communities and general audiences.

Work Package 9

Management

Work Package Co-ordinator: Prof. Tanja van der Lippe, University of Utrecht

The project management will guarantee the smooth functioning of all project activities and will take care of the overall, contractual, ethical, financial and administrative management. The work activities also include organising meetings with work package co-ordinators, collectively and individually at least twice per year. The first meeting to take place at the start of the project to discuss the consortium agreement, the work and management plan. These meetings will be of technical and strategic nature.
In close cooperation with the partners, the project management will timely and adequately report to the European Commission:

• On the projects progress and finances.
• In the final year of the study, to produce a final project report.
• In close collaboration with WP8 dissemination goals for the project.