Social Reality EUBAMETER Romanian citizens appear to live in a more negative social reality than citizens on average. They are considerably less happy, more dissatisfied with various aspects of their daily lives and less content with their working lives. They consider their national welfare system to be poor and do not believe it could serve as a model for other countries. Regarding the importance of societal issues, health care, the cost of living and pensions are the main concerns in Romania today while health care, the cost of living and education are primary concerns for the future. Finally, Romanian citizens tend to believe to a greater extent than s on average that their future will be brighter. However their views regarding the future lives of their children are split fairly equally between those who believe that life will be easier and those who expect it will be more difficult. 1. Living in the EU Today QA1 Taking all things together would you say you are happy or not happy...? 9% 8 6 3 fe 8 5 Happy 8 15-24 19% 93% 9 Happy 60% 85% 4 55+ 8 1 91% 93% 6 8 9 7 8 4 house persons 8 unemployed 75% 4 retired 79% 59% students 9 8 61% Outer Pie - Inner Pie - Very happy Happy Not happy Happy Not happy Quite happy Not happy Considerably fewer Romanians than s on average say that they are happy and considerably more indicate that they are not. Compared to EU averages the differences are over 25 percentage points. The level of happiness appears to be particularly linked to age: the younger the respondent is the happier they feel. Those in higher occupational positions also appear to be happier than for example house persons and the unemployed. QA2 Please say for each of the following how important it is in your life? A. Important A. Tend to trust 90% Leisure 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. 75% 8 8 Work 30% Religion Politics 23% 5 8 The council of your city/village The (NATIONALITY) Government Religion plays a considerably more important role in Romanian society than in the EU on average. Only work is given a slightly higher importance than religion. On the other hand, leisure (ranked the highest among s on average) receives significantly fewer mentions in Romania. The (NATIONALITY) Parliament Political parties Romanian institutions do not seem to enjoy a great deal of confidence among respondents. At the highest level, around 2 in 5 say that they tend to trust their local councils. Their trust in the Romanian government is on a par with the EU average while significantly less Romanians have faith in their national parliament and political parties. pg 1 of 5
Social Reality 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 6 Your house or flat The quality of life in the area where you live 70% 9 8 8 Knowing the right people Being lucky Being smart 2 3 2 Your state of health Your standard of living 8 83% 63% Coming from a wealthy family Being a man Other (SPONTANEOUS) 9% 1 1% Travel facilities for going to work, shopping 5 7 Don't know 1% 1% The shopping facilities The medical services 7 7 Being lucky, being smart and coming from a rich family are perceived to be assets in terms of getting ahead in life for significantly more Romanians than s on average. Getting a good education and working hard are still however rated as the most important factors for progressing as is the case in the EU on average. 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 35% 7 6 71% 6 60% Reflecting the relatively high number of citizens who say that they are not happy, Romanians are considerably more dissatisfied with all aspects of life listed here than s on average. This applies particularly to their perceptions of their standard of living and the travel facilities, medical services, leisure facilities and childcare facilities in their local area. At the highest level, more than 4 in 5 Romanians are satisfied with their housing. QA25 For each of the following statements, please tell me whether you tend to agree or tend to disagree. 30% People from other ethnic groups are enriching the cultural life of (OUR COUNTRY) 15% We need immigrants to work in certain sectors of our economy 4 4 4 The presence of people from other ethnic groups increases unemployment in (OUR COUNTRY) 4 4 2 The presence of people from other ethnic groups is a cause of insecurity 4 3 The arrival of immigrants in Europe can efficiently solve the problem of Europe s ageing population Tend to disagree Tend to agree Romanians appear not to believe that there is a need to have immigrants working in certain sectors of their economy with over a half of the poll disagreeing with this statement, significantly more than the EU average. However broadly speaking the attitudes of Romanians appear to be more positive than negative concerning immigration and ethnicity. pg 2 of 5
Social Reality 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 Outer Pie - 33% Inner Pie - Fairly confident Not confident Confident 85% Confident 7 fe Confident Not confident 8 8 8 8 90% 9 8 8 15% Confident 7 8 7 6 8 7 Not confident 1 Romanians are not as confident as s on average about keeping their jobs in the coming months. The share of very confident citizens (33%) is particularly low. This is however partly due to a higher non-response rate in Romania. Within the socio-demographic categories, those aged express more confidence in maintaining their work situation along with workers and. 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 6 7 My work is too demanding and stressful My job requires me to keep learning new things 5 71% I work in dangerous or unhealthy conditions My job allows me to balance my professional, family and private life 69% My work is dull and boring 15% My job allows me to take part in making decisions that affect my work 33% 65% My job offers good prospects for career advancement Romanians appear to be somewhat dissatisfied with their working conditions. Almost half of respondents say that their work is too demanding. Moreover, significantly fewer Romanians than s on average think that their jobs allow them to participate in decision making that affects their work. They are also less likely to think that their jobs enable them to balance their private and working lives or to learn new things. pg 3 of 5
Social Reality 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 19% 23% Outer Pie - Agree Disagree 2 Inner Pie - Neither agree nor disagree fe 55+ retired students 15-24 house persons unemployed Agree Disagree 2 53% 53% 53% 30% 23% 23% 6 2 2 4 3 1 Agree 2 29% 2 3 3 Disagree 4 3 7 3 As in the EU on average, about a quarter of Romanians feel that there is a risk that they could fall into poverty. Conversely, fewer of them disagree with this statement most probably because a higher number of respondents holding a neutral stance towards this question. Respondents aged over 40, the unemployed, the retired and house persons are most likely to fear the possibility of poverty. 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 (NATIONALITY) society 29% 53% Provides wide enough coverage Could serve as a model for other countries 4 Romanians are considerably dissatisfied with their national social welfare system. Only a fifth of respondents believe that the system offers them wide enough coverage and even fewer think that their system could serve as a model for other countries. The perceived low level of social welfare in the country is probably reflected in the small number of citizens who think that the system is too expensive for Romanian society. pg 4 of 5
Social Reality 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 MANIA Current Priorities Health care 59% The cost of living Pensions Future Priorities Health care The cost of living 3 Education Unemployment The cost of living Pensions Health care Crime The environment Education The care of the elderly Current 3 35% 30% 30% 59% 9% 2 1 Future 3 1 Terrorism 23% 1 The gap between the rich and the poor 19% 1 Immigration Helping others Unlike in the EU on average, health care rather than unemployment ranks as the highest concern of Romanians both now and for the next generation. Regarding present-day concerns, health care and the cost of living are significantly more important than anything else but concerns about the future are more evenly spread over other topics such as unemployment, the gap between rich and the poor and education. 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? 2 5% 5 3% 1 3 3 6 Outer Pie - Inner Pie - Outer Pie - Inner Pie - Improve Stay about the same Get worse Easier More difficult Neither easier nor more difficult Romanians believe that their personal situation will be better within five years while s on average are divided on this question. Consequently, significantly fewer believe the status quo will prevail and slightly fewer, compared to the EU average, think that their situation will get worse. Romanians are more positive than s on average about the future of their children. They are divided on the question of whether their children will have an easier or more difficult life with fairly equal shares holding both views. This is in sharp contrast to the two-thirds of s overall who expect that their children will have a more difficult life. pg 5 of 5