More workers in Hungary are exposed to health and safety risks at work than elsewhere in the ten new EU Member States, but nine out of ten workers (91.6%) in Hungary consider themselves well-informed about health and safety risks. This level of information about health and safety risks at work is higher in Hungary than on average in the EU15 (82.4%) and in the new Member States (88.3%).

"The European Working Conditions Survey shows that workers in Hungary are almost as satisfied with their working conditions as on average in the ten new EU Member States, and that fewer Hungarian workers fear loosing their job in the coming six months than on average in the former Eastern European bloc of countries," Jorma Karppinen, Director of Eurofound, the Dublin-based EU agency, will tell representatives from the Hungarian government and social partners in Budapest during a visit on 1-2 October 2007. "There are, however, concerns in relations to pay levels, career prospects, work organisation, and health and safety at work, among Hungarian workers that policy-makers will have to address to reach the Lisbon objectives."

The survey reveals few modern characteristics in the organisation of work in Hungary, with fewer Hungarian workers report using computers, the Internet and email at work, or tele-work from home, than workers in the EU15 and the other new EU Member States. One in three workers in Hungary (29.4%) work with computers, in contrast to the average level in the EU15 (49.8%) and in the new Member States (32.9%). Similarly, only one in four workers in Hungary (21.3%) use internet for work. Similarly negative, the levels of work intensity and working to tight deadlines are serious issues in Hungary with almost two out of every three workers feeling the strain.

The representative survey also put job satisfaction under the spotlight. Three out of four workers in Hungary (75.9%) are satisfied or very satisfied with their working conditions, which is slightly lower with the average figure in the new Member States (77.2%) and the EU15 (84.8%).

Another positive finding, more Hungarian workers (30.6%) report having a woman as an immediate boss, which is a higher proportion than in the EU15 (23.9%) and in the new Member States (28.3%). The report also found comparatively low levels of violence and harassment in the Hungarian workplaces; fewer workers in Hungary (2.7%) report threats of physical violence at work compared to the average level in the rest of the European Union of 15 countries (6.3%) and in the New Member States (5.2%). Four out of five Hungarian workers get help from their colleagues if they ask for it (79.9%), which is higher than the averages for the EU27 (67.6 % ) and the new Member States (76.6 %).