The European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions originated in the context of the Council Resolution of 21 January 1974 concerning a Social Action Programme, which identified the improvement of living and working conditions among the objectives of Community social policy and referred to the proposal to establish a European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions. The Foundation was formally established by Council Regulation (EEC) No 1365/75 of 26 May 1975 and became operational in 1976, with its seat in Dublin, Ireland.

From its creation, the Foundation was conceived as a tripartite body, bringing together representatives of governments, employers and workers, with the participation of the European Commission in its governing structure. Under its founding regulation, its task was to contribute to the planning and establishment of better living and working conditions in Europe by developing and disseminating knowledge, encouraging the exchange of information and experience, facilitating contacts between research centres, administrations and social actors, and promoting studies, pilot projects and other forms of concerted action.

Over time, the Foundation developed into a European source of comparative information and analysis on living conditions, working conditions, industrial relations, employment change and related social developments. Its principal long-running survey activities include the European Working Conditions Survey, launched in 1990, the European Quality of Life Survey, launched in 2003, and the European Company Survey, first carried out in 2004–2005 as the European Survey on Working Time and Work–Life Balance. In the field of industrial relations, Eurofound also developed the European Industrial Relations Observatory, active from 1997, while monitoring of restructuring and change was later strengthened through initiatives such as the European Monitoring Centre on Change and, from 2002, the European Restructuring Monitor.

The Foundation’s legal framework was renewed by Regulation (EU) 2019/127 of 16 January 2019, which repealed Regulation (EEC) No 1365/75 and confirmed the agency as the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (Eurofound). Under the current regulation, Eurofound continues as a tripartite agency of the European Union, based in Dublin, providing knowledge to support Union institutions, Member States and the social partners in the development and implementation of policies related to living and working conditions, employment and social dialogue.