European Social Reality

Transcription

1 On the whole, Dutch citizens seem to be more positive about their lives than are s on average. They generally feel happier with their lives, are more satisfied with elements of their everyday lives and more positive about different aspects of their jobs. They are also more confident about keeping their jobs in the near future. Dutch citizens are relatively positive about their national welfare system and they also have more trust in various political institutions than do s on average. For this reason, perhaps, only a few Dutch citizens fear falling into poverty. They also appear to be relatively open to immigrants and different ethnic groups. Crime is currently the most serious issue for the Dutch but, in the future, they expect the environment to be of most concern. 1. Living in the EU Today QA1 Taking all things together would you say you are happy or not happy...? fe Happy Not happy Happy Not happy 5 6 Happy 8 Happy % % 100% % Very happy Outer Pie - Quite happy Inner Pie - Not happy Overall, Dutch citizens appear to be happier than s on average. The proportion of citizens claiming to be very happy is considerably higher among the Dutch (+ 17 percentage points). The Dutch are also much less inclined to say they are not happy. Young people and, in line with this, students can be said to be the happiest, whereas the unemployed and retired are the least likely to say they are happy. house persons unemployed retired students 9 8% 9 9 8% 88% 1 88% % 94% 9 98% 98% % 4% 0% QA2 Please say for each of the following how important it is in your life? A. Important QA18 I would like to ask you a question about how much trust you have in certain institutions. For each of the following institutions, please tell me if you tend to trust it or tend not to trust it. Leisure A. Tend to trust Work % 54% 5 5 Religion % Politics 68% The council of your city/village The (NATIONALITY) Government The (NATIONALITY) Parliament Political parties When evaluating several aspects of life, the Dutch find politics considerably more important than s on average (+25 percentage points). Conversely, religion plays a less important role in Dutch citizens lives. In terms of importance, leisure is - however - the top choice of the Dutch, followed by work. Compared to s on average, Dutch citizens trust their political institutions considerably more, with over a half saying they trust each institution. The difference in levels of trust is particularly marked for political parties, which are trusted by around half of Dutch citizens but by only onefifth of citizens on average. pg 1 of 5

2 1. Living in the EU Today (continued) QA3 I am now going to read out different aspects of everyday life. For each, could you tell me if this aspect of your life is satisfactory or not? A. Satisfactory QA5 In your opinion, out of the following, which are the two most important things for getting ahead in life? Getting a good education Working hard Your house or flat The quality of life in the area where you live Knowing the right people Being lucky Being smart 2 1 Your state of health Your standard of living 8 94% Coming from a wealthy family Being a man Other (SPONTANEOUS) Travel facilities for going to work, shopping 78% 9 Don't know The shopping facilities The medical services 78% 7 9 Although education is seen as the most important factor for getting ahead in life, luck and intelligence are important as well, according to the Dutch - at least in comparison to what s on average think. Conversely, the average is slightly more inclined to think that working hard guarantees success in life. The time you have available to do the things you want to do The schools Leisure facilities in your town The childcare facilities The job opportunities % 80% QA25 For each of the following statements, please tell me whether you tend to agree or tend to disagree. 5 30% 2 People from other ethnic groups are enriching the cultural life of (OUR COUNTRY) 3 We need immigrants to work in certain sectors of our economy 4 3 The presence of people from other ethnic groups increases unemployment in (OUR COUNTRY) The presence of people from other ethnic groups is a cause of insecurity 54% 60% % The arrival of immigrants in Europe can efficiently solve the problem of Europe s ageing population Tend to disagree Tend to agree The Dutch are generally more satisfied with their everyday life facilities than citizens on average. Leisure facilities, job opportunities and travel facilities for going to work are perceived more positively in the Netherlands than in Europe as a whole. However, levels of satisfaction concerning childcare facilities and schools are below the average. In the Netherlands, citizens generally have more positive views regarding immigration and ethnic diversity than EU citizens on average. High numbers feel that ethnic groups enrich Dutch culture and that immigrants are needed to work in certain sectors of the Dutch economy. Most Dutch disagree that unemployment rises because of the presence of immigrants. pg 2 of 5

3 2. Working Life QA10a How confident would you say you are in your ability to keep your job in the coming months? Base: All people in employment Very confident 18% Outer Pie - Inner Pie - Fairly confident 4 Not confident Confident 8 Confident 8 fe Confident Not confident Confident % Not confident 8% 1 The Dutch appear to be more strongly convinced than s on average about their ability to keep their jobs in the near future. The proportion of Dutch who are very confident in this respect is 24 percentage points higher than the EU average. Furthermore, Dutch men are more confident about this than their fe counterparts. Among the different occupational groups, seem to be the most convinced about keeping their job, whereas other white-collar workers have less confidence in their job situation. QA9 How much do you agree or disagree with the following statements describing positive and negative aspects of your job? Base: All people in employment A. Agree Positive aspects Negative aspects My job allows me to make use of my knowledge and skills 7 8 My work is too demanding and stressful 4 My job requires me to keep learning new things 8 I work in dangerous or unhealthy conditions 2 My job allows me to balance my professional, family and private life 6 My work is dull and boring 4% 1 My job allows me to take part in making decisions that affect my work 6 My job offers good prospects for career advancement 4 The Dutch emphasise the positive aspects of their jobs somewhat more than do citizens on average and they are also less likely to stress the negative aspects. Apparently, more Dutch than s on average feel that they have jobs that require them to learn new things and that allow them to influence decisions regarding their work. Conversely, they are far less likely to feel that they have a job that is too stressful, boring or that makes them work in dangerous conditions. pg 3 of 5

4 3. Welfare in Europe QA22.3 To what extent do you agree or disagree with the following statements? I feel that there is a risk that I could fall into poverty fe Agree Disagree % Agree 1 Disagree Outer Pie - Agree Disagree 54% Inner Pie - Neither agree nor disagree house persons unemployed retired students % 5 28% 5 44% % 18% 54% 1 80% % 70% 7 7 The risk of falling into poverty is generally assessed as very limited or even nonexistent by around three out of four Dutch and only relatively few people think that this is a serious risk. These figures show that Dutch are clearly less worried about falling into poverty than s on average. Unemployed people, in line with the EU average, are undoubtedly most inclined to believe that they risk falling into poverty. Figures for all other sociodemographic categories are far below the averages. QA20 For each of the following please tell me whether you think it applies to the (NATIONALITY) social welfare system? A. Applies fairly well Is too expensive for the 5 (NATIONALITY) society 4 Provides wide enough coverage 5 5 Could serve as a model for other countries 4 6 Compared with s on average, the Dutch seem to be relatively satisfied with their social welfare system. Clear majorities say it could serve as a model for other countries and that it provides adequate coverage. Less than half of the Dutch find their social welfare system too expensive - a figure that is clearly lower than the EU average. pg 4 of 5

5 4. Future Perspectives QA26a&b I am going to show you a card with a list of topics. Thinking of (OUR COUNTRY), please tell me which 3 topics from this list currently concern you the most? And which 3 topics concern you the most for the next generation? TOP 3 PRIORITIES IN THE NETHERLANDS Current Priorities Crime 3 Health care 30% The willingness of people to help others 28% Future Priorities The environment 4 The willingness of people to help others 28% Crime Unemployment The cost of living Pensions Health care Crime The environment Education The care of the elderly Current Future % 30% 30% % 18% 2 1 Terrorism The gap between the rich and the poor Immigration 8% 4% 4 18% 2 Helping others 28% 28% The issues that currently concern the Dutch the most differ from those cited by s on average. While crime and health care concern the Dutch the most, the key issue unemployment is only of marginal importance for them. Meanwhile, the willingness of people to help others is an issue that engages the Dutch significantly more than s on average. For future generations, the Dutch are mainly worried about the environment, followed by the willingness of people to help others and crime. Concerns about the environment are not only significantly stronger in relation to the future, they are also considerably stronger among Dutch citizens than among citizens from the EU as a whole. QA14 In the course of the next five years, do you expect your personal situation to improve, to stay about the same or to get worse? QA17 Generally speaking, do you think that the life of those who are children today will be easier, more difficult or neither easier nor more difficult than the life of those from your own generation? % 64% Improve Outer Pie - Inner Pie - Stay about the same Get worse Easier Outer Pie - More difficult Inner Pie - Neither easier nor more difficult As far as their personal situation is concerned, the Dutch are more inclined than citizens on average to believe that their situation will stay about the same or improve in the next five years. Consequently, the share of Dutch thinking their situation will get worse is below the EU average. More Dutch than s on average are inclined to think that the future life facing today s children will be neither easier nor more difficult. Meanwhile, the Dutch appear to be less pessimistic, but also slightly less optimistic, than s on average about the future facing younger generations. pg 5 of 5