Working Life Survey
What kind of survey is it?
The Working Life Survey provides an overview of work and working time organisation, occupational health, remunerations, employee development and involvement, and collective employment relations in Estonia. Both employers and employees are surveyed to get a comprehensive picture of working life and employment relations in Estonia, to assess the influencing factors, and to compare changes over time.
Who commissions the survey?
For the survey, the main representative of public interest is the Ministry of Social Affairs.
Why are the data needed?
The data from the Working Life Survey provide valuable information on working life. The data can be used to identify bottlenecks of working life and plan how to address them. The data are used for labour market policy analysis and research.
The survey covers employers, i.e. managers or representatives of enterprises and institutions, and employees. It is necessary to survey both parties, as responses may differ. For example, employees may not know how many of their company's employees are on permanent contracts. The employer, on the other hand, may not know whether or not an employee belongs to a trade union. Employers' and employees' expectations and evaluations of the company's working life and employment relations may also differ.
How often is the survey conducted?
The survey is conducted every six years.
How are the participants selected?
Participants – enterprises and institutions – are randomly selected from Statistics Estonia’s business register for statistical purposes. Respondents to the employee survey are also randomly selected from the among the employees of the surveyed enterprises. The number of employees selected to respond from an enterprise depends on the number of employees working in that enterprise.
How are the data collected?
Before the survey starts, a notification is sent to all the people in the sample, explaining the purpose of the survey and how they will be contacted. The notification is sent to the sampled person at the email address indicated in the population register. If no email address is available, a letter is sent by post to the address in the population register.
In this survey, data are collected through
- an online questionnaire
- a face-to-face interview
Where are the results published?
Working life statistics are published in the statistical database under the heading Social life. The results of the survey are used in a wide range of analyses (in Estonian).
How can I make sure that it is a survey by Statistics Estonia?
This survey can be completed online at https://estat.stat.ee. The interview is conducted by a specially trained interviewer. The names of Statistics Estonia's interviewers can be checked here. An individual who has been included in a survey can ask for the interviewer's proof of employment. If you have any questions, please contact our customer support by phone at +372 625 9300 or by e-mail at klienditugi [at] stat.ee (klienditugi[at]stat[dot]ee).