The Spanish government and civil service labour unions have signed an agreement, the “social package”, which notably establishes pay rises for civil servants for the next three years. This is the first such agreement in Europe to include a fixed component and a variable component indexed to the country’s economic situation. More specifically, in addition to the cumulative 6.1% increase in pay over the period, civil servants will receive 1.30% if Spain’s GDP growth rate is 3.1% (or higher) in 2018, then 2.5% (or higher) in both 2019 and 2020.

A recent report shows that civil servants who benefit from programmes aimed at improving work-life balance achieve higher performance levels, report greater job satisfaction and are more committed. In light of these good results, the federal administration announced that it would start an awareness campaign for civil service managers.

The administration of the Swiss Confederation has published the results to its latest satisfaction survey of federal employees (carried out every three years). The questions about the role of the hierarchy, career prospects and health impact will be used to establish which components of the working environment have a direct effect on goal-oriented behaviour. The survey participation rate was 68%, five percentage points higher than the previous survey in 2014.