Non-standard work in unconventional workspaces: Self-employed women in home-based businesses and coworking spaces

Abstract

This article looks into the new production dynamics and workspaces related to urban change by examining a rising group of workers: self-employed women who have started their own businesses or freelance activities from home or coworking spaces. This empirical study applies an intersectional approach to examine the job satisfaction and work–life balance of home-based workers according to employment status, gender and generation by means of a mixed-method approach, combining the statistical analysis of a dataset of 43,850 workers from the European Working Conditions Survey with in-depth interviews. The findings reveal that work intensity, working time quality and prospects depend more on an individual being self-employed than on being home-based; however, earnings and time devoted to care work are strongly shaped by working from home. Moreover, the profiles of home-based self-employed workers were completely different by gender and age. Although millennials (i.e. those born between 1980 and 1995) differ significantly from previous generations, gender inequality also prevails among the young. Combining working at home with coworking could be a solution to offset the lack of interactions and social capital of home-based entrepreneurs and to increase their earnings.