Self-employed Individuals Research Articles

Delay of gratificationand business performancein least developed countries

Purpose Does delay of gratification affect the probability of engaging in self-employment and does it contribute to business performance? This paper aims to quantify impacts of delay of gratification on engaging in self-employment and business performance. Design/methodology/approach Using Lao PDR as a representative of least developed countries, the authors analyze nationally representative survey data from the Lao PDR – STEP Skills Measurement Household Survey and estimate the binary logit/probit model to quantify impacts of delay of gratification on probability of self-employment. And, the impacts of delayed gratification on business performance of the self-employed individuals are also estimated. Findings Those with a lower degree of delayed gratification tend to elect to be self-employed instead of being full-time employees. However, a higher delay of gratification score is found to positively correlate with higher business performance among those who are self-employed. Other control variables such as business characteristics, education level and skills of the self-employed also play an important role in higher business performance. Research limitations/implications Analysis from this paper still shows some weak points and limitations. First, the data set on self-employment has little representation from industry and the service sector and lacks many important variables such as parents’ characteristics and working hours. Second, there is no clear measurement of delay of gratification, as the measurements use only hypothesis money. Finally, there is a lack of studies to back up the result of delay of gratification on business performance, especially in a least developed country such as Lao PDR. The authors suggest that future research be conducted with richer data regarding the self-employed in industries and services. It would be quite interesting to study further the effect of delay of gratification along with grit, another behavioral variable, on business performance. Practical implications Based on the findings, it is therefore crucial that the Lao Government support a policy that helps strengthen both cognitive and noncognitive skills and the delay of gratification along with education to make Lao self-employment more productive. Social implications Providing the self-employed with adequate skills to succeed in their enterprises can lead them and the nation to escape the poverty trap. Family, school and government should promote delay of gratification among young children. Encouraging special activities that foster emotional and behavioral skills learning and practice for children, such as religious learning and meditation, might boost their ability to delay gratification. Moreover, support for skills training, both basic and job-relevant skills, could promote business experience exchange by creating an organization that provides guidelines, information and advice for self-employment. Originality/value Even though there is extensive research indicating that delayed gratification exists in many contexts, there are very few studies investigating the impact of delayed gratification on the business, especially on the decision to be self-employed and the resulting business performance. The delay of gratification could be one factor that influences decisions on job selection or employment status and that influences business performance as well. This paper is also the first one conducted in a least developed country such as Lao PDR.

402P - Work-related outcomes among cancer survivors in Singapore

BackgroundCancer survivors have been reported to face challenges as they return to work after completing antineoplastic treatment. In order to understand the burden of return-to-work challenges among cancer survivors in Singapore, we aim to describe the work-related outcomes, including employment rates, absenteeism and presenteeism, among local cancer survivors. MethodsThis was a cross-sectional study conducted at the National Cancer Centre Singapore in 2018. Breast cancer, colorectal cancer and lymphoma survivors who were in disease remission and have completed treatment for at least 6 months were recruited. Employment history and absenteeism data in the past 6 months were collected using self-administered questionnaires. Presenteeism was self-reported using the Work Limitations Questionnaire. ResultsA total of 501 patients were recruited. Most participants were Chinese (79.6%), followed by Malay (11.8%), Indian (4.6%) and other ethnicities (4.0%). Over half were breast cancer survivors (69.5%), followed by colorectal cancer (15.5%) and lymphoma (15.0%) survivors. The median age of the participants was 55.7 years (IQR: 50.1 to 60.5 years) while the median time after primary treatment completion was 3.7 years (IQR: 1.9 to 6.1 years). The majority of cancer survivors were employed with most participants reporting working full-time (47.5%), followed by part-time workers (10.2%) and self-employed individuals (5.8%). Out of the survivors who did not have paid employment, a substantial proportion (24.3%) were unemployed due to health-related reasons. Among employed participants, 56.9% reported taking time off work due to ill health or to see a physician in the past 6 months. The median absenteeism rate reported among working survivors was 0.8% of working time (range: 0 to 73.1%) while the median presenteeism or productivity loss at work due to health-related problems was reported to be 1.2% (range: 0 to 20.3%). ConclusionsA significant proportion of cancer survivors in Singapore require time off from work or leave employment due to health-related issues. Further studies should be conducted to identify survivors who are at high risk for return-to-work challenges and should be offered occupational rehabilitation. Legal entity responsible for the studyThe authors. FundingSingapore Cancer Society. DisclosureAll authors have declared no conflicts of interest.

Working-class entrepreneurialism: Perceptions, aspirations, and experiences of petty entrepreneurship among male manual workers in Turkey

AbstractThis article examines working-class entrepreneurialism in Turkey from a comparative perspective. Based on ethnographic fieldwork conducted in a working-class neighborhood of İstanbul, the article focuses on the perceptions, aspirations, and entrepreneurial attempts of manual workers employed in formal jobs. It aims to contribute to the understudied literature on working-class entrepreneurialism, which is often overlooked or underestimated by the critical research on labor and the working class. First, the article demonstrates that the level of entrepreneurialism among manual workers is rather high. Alongside revealing the popularity of aspirations for self-employment and the working-class roots of many self-employed individuals, I present an ethnographic account of five workers’ transition from wage work to self-employment. Second, the article finds that a colloquial phrase, “el işi” or “a stranger’s business,” is widely used to refer to wage work. I argue that this phrase perfectly manifests the popular resentment felt toward wage labor in a social milieu where self-employment seems accessible. Finally, by drawing on a review of a scattered set of studies, I claim that entrepreneurialism among working-class men seems to be quite common, especially in peripheral countries.

МАРКЕТИНГ ТЕЛЕКОМУНІКАЦІЙНИХ ТА ІНФОРМАЦІЙНИХ ТЕХНОЛОГІЙ: СВІТОВИЙ ТА НАЦІОНАЛЬНИЙ ВИМІРИ

Introduction. The development of the information and communication technologies (ICT) market creates the conditions for further growth of other sectors of the economy. ICT companies provide companies, individuals and government with software, Internet, mobile and fixed communications, and so on. The purpose of the article is to study the current state of the ICT market in the world and in Ukraine, to identify major trends and threats for further development of the ICT market. Results. The ICT market is one of the largest dynamically developing markets in the world. Research conducted by leading consulting companies in the world shows that after 2020, the market can grow from 13 to 33 trillion and the blockchain market to 3.1 trillion $. International Data Corporation emphasizes that digital technologies and solutions can reach 60% of global GDP by the end of 2022. The world leader in the number of ICT corporations is the United States, with headquarters of the 65 world's largest companies, 20 in China, Taiwan - 17, Japan - 14, South Korea - 6, India - 5 companies. The IT services market accounts for 0,5% of the global IT services market. In Ukraine there are 125 registered self-employed individuals that are used by large companies to optimize their tax burden. Income of such American ICT companies such as Apple, Amazon, Alphabet, Microsoft significantly exceeds the size of the state budget of Ukraine, and part of the revenues from the ICT market occupies only 4,5% of GDP, which is clearly insufficient and is evidence of an economic development lag. Conclusions. The imperfection of domestic legislation, the lack of incentives for ICT organizations, the possibility to monopolize the market, the insecurity of the interests of individuals and private companies do not stimulate foreign investments in this sector of the economy. In spite of this, Ukraine has a great potential for its growth, for which it is necessary to develop a national concept and model for the development of the ICT market, to restrain the departure of specialists abroad, to ensure the implementation of the business-state partnership strategy, etc. Keywords: telecommunications market, IT market, telecommunications market and IT services, marketing research, investments, ICT companies.

Work–family conflict, sleep, and health

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine how the experiences of work–family conflict (WFC) and health- and sleep-related outcomes differ among traditionally employed and two forms of self-employment (SE): incorporated and unincorporated workers. Moreover, to explore whether the rationale in one’s decision to enter SE might influence these experiences, the authors additionally examined work-family (WF)- and non-WF-related reasons behind an individual’s decision to pursue incorporated vs unincorporated SE status.Design/methodology/approachUsing anonymous Mechanical Turk survey data from a high-quality US adult worker sample (n=711; 62 percent male, age M=33.94) consisting of traditionally (78 percent) and self-employed individuals, the authors conducted an analysis of covariance to test hypotheses regarding the relationships between employment status, reasons for pursuing SE, WFC, sleep disturbance, sleep hours and physical health complaints.FindingsResults showed WFC was positively related to sleep disturbances and physical health complaints and this relationship was exacerbated for self-employed workers, particularly those who were incorporated. Unincorporated self-employed individuals indicated more WF-balance-related reasons for pursuing SE compared to incorporated workers. Moreover, individuals who pursued SE for WF-balance reasons tended to report fewer negative reactions to WFC.Practical implicationsSE is associated with more negative sleep and health-related outcomes in response to WFC. This is particularly true for incorporated workers. Individuals should bear in mind these outcomes when considering whether to pursue SE. Moreover, governmental policies, and calls for change in such policies, should not only address financially related detriments (e.g. higher taxes, fewer benefits and protections) but also increasing support and providing resources (e.g. health insurance, family leave and entrepreneurial workplace initiatives) regarding the work/family and health-related impairments common for this growing, independent portion of the workforce.Originality/valueThis is the first study to examine WF-related rationales for pursuing SE and differing sleep and health outcomes in response to WFC as a function of SE status and type.

Can Behavioral “Nudges” Improve Compliance? The Case of Colombia Social Protection Contributions

The Government of Colombia imposes a variety of taxes that must be paid by individual wage earners, called in their entirety “social protection contributions”. Since 2007 individual payments have been collected using an on-line mechanism. In order to improve compliance, the Government used a controlled field experiment in which various “pop-up messages” were sent to individuals when making their on-line payments, as behavioral “nudges”. We examine the impact of these nudges on individual reporting behavior. We find mixed evidence that these messages increased compliance rates relative to a control group that received a so-called “neutral” message. However, we also demonstrate that the use as the control group of individuals receiving a so-called “neutral” message creates considerable bias; that is, the receipt of any message of any type clearly influences behavior. Instead, we show that the appropriate control group should be individuals who receive no message at all. When this control group is used, we find that self-employed individuals generally increase their contributions; individuals who are making declarations on behalf of all employees in their company are less likely to respond to messages in a systematic way.

Workers Age 55 and over Working with Pain. A Descriptive Interpretive Study.

Purpose In most industrialized countries, the share of workers in the age 55+ age group is increasing while there is a shortage of young workers. Although data suggest that at least one in five older workers suffers from chronic musculoskeletal pain, most will continue working despite pain. The objective of this study is to explore factors associated with staying at work for workers with musculoskeletal pain. Methods An interpretive descriptive method was used. Semi-structured individual interviews were conducted. Inclusion criteria were: manual/mixed occupations, persistent musculoskeletal pain, and working 28h weekly or more. Analysis was performed using themes from the conceptual model created. Results Fourteen participants were included, ages 55-70. They ranged from self-employed individuals to employees of large organizations. For most, the perception of being useful, having peer recognition and feeling that work contributes to health were essential drivers for staying at work. Flexibility at work was deemed essential by all but took various forms. Individual cost of staying at work varied from low to high. Conclusion This study identified both personal and work-related factors associated with working in the presence of pain. New concept of cost of staying at work appears promising.

Exploring the differences in perceptions of work importance and job usefulness to society between self-employed and employed individuals

A quintessential bane in the modern workforce is finding meaningful work, or work that is perceived to meaningfully contribute to society. Given that entrepreneurial undertakings are characterized by both fulfillment and challenges, whether self-employed individuals perceive their work to be more important or useful to society than those who are employed is an open question. Using two samples – 33,162 participants from 35 European countries in the 2015 European Work Conditions Survey (EWCS 2015), and 8110 participants from 36 countries in the 2015 International Social Survey Programme (2015 ISSP) – we examine the association between self-employment and the importance and usefulness to society that individuals assign to their work. We find that though there are no substantive differences between self-employed and employed individuals on doubts about the importance of their job (from EWCS 2015 sample), however, self-employed individuals do perceive their jobs to be more useful to society (from 2015 ISSP sample).

Tax climate manipulation on individual tax behavioural intentions

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to extend the slippery slope framework by exploring different dimensions of compliance quality and tax minimisation under different tax climate manipulation by groups. Design/methodology/approach The authors run a random assignment of tax climate manipulations through questionnaire with 301 usable data collected from the full-time postgraduate students, employed individuals and self-employed individuals. Manipulation check and results are generated via multivariate analysis of variance. Findings The results confirm the biggest impact of synergistic climate on voluntary compliance, and small to medium impact of antagonistic climate on tax evasion across three groups. Research limitations/implications The manipulation of this research is constrained with two treatments in addition to the common pitfall of social desired responses of self-report. Practical implications Theoretically, this study empirically explores tax minimisation dimensions and provides new insights that only illegal tax minimisation is at maximum under the prevailing negative antagonistic climate, but not for legal tax minimisation. Second, the effect of tax climate represented by trust and power on enforced compliance is minimal, as compared to the strong effect of positive synergistic climate on voluntary compliance. As for policy implications, possible guidelines and interventions are outlined to policy makers which would lead to a better quality of compliance behaviour. Originality/value This study operationalises and manipulates tax climate from perceptions of trust, legitimate power and coercive power. It also further affirms the prior inconsistent findings in respect of tax behavioural intentions due to sampling group and cultural differences.

Self-employment’s vulnerability to socioeconomic and working conditions: results from the Korean Working Condition Survey (2006-2014)

# Background Self-employed professionals are responsible for the major part of the labor market. It is essential to understand the characteristics of the self-employed to promote decent for this segment of workers. The current study aimed to describe the personal and work-related attributes of the self-employed group in South Korea. # Methods We used data from the 2006, 2010, and 2014 Korean Working Condition Survey (KWCS). For the current study, a total of 41,775 subjects included and classified them into for self-employed workers (small business owners with 0-4 employees and middle to large business owners with more than 5 employees) and workers with standard full-time employment. Socio-demographic variables included age, gender, educational attainment, income per month, and occupation. Work-related attributes included work time, weekend work, presenteeism, and work--life balance. # Results The percentage of self-employed people increased to 32.78% in 2010 and then decreased to 32.2% in 2014 to return to the same level in 2006. In comparison to middle to large business owners or workers in standard employment, small business owners were more likely to be older and male, earn lower levels of monthly income, attain lesser levels of education, and were engaged in manual and service positions. They worked longer weekday hours, worked more often on the weekends, and worked even when they were sick. Small business owners were particularly susceptible to imbalances between work and other aspects of their lives. # Conclusions Our descriptive investigation showed that self-employed individuals, especially those heading small businesses, were more likely to be exposed to socioeconomic disadvantages and to the worst working conditions than standard waged workers.

Not All Are Equal: A Latent Profile Analysis of Well-Being Among the Self-Employed

This study uses a person-centered approach to distinguish between subpopulations of self-employed individuals using multidimensional well-being indicators. Data were obtained from European Social Survey including a sample of 3461 self-employed individuals from 29 European countries. The analysis has empirically identified six distinct profiles named ‘unhappy’, ‘languishing’, ‘happy’, ‘satisfied’, ‘passionate’, and ‘flourishing’. The profiles were associated with significant differences in well-being, health and work-related variables. The results highlight the heterogeneity of the self-employed population, and describe the complex—both hedonic and eudaimonic—character of the well-being concept in this population.

Coach and no regrets about it: On the life satisfaction, work-related mental strain, and use of supervision of workplace coaches

ABSTRACTPrevious research indicates that coaches frequently experience negative effects for themselves from their work and therefore live with potential stressors due to their work. This study examines whether or not workplace coaches are satisfied with their life. Data were gathered from 110 coaches (75% of which were self-employed) from Germany, Austria, and Switzerland via an online survey. Coaches were asked about different aspects of life satisfaction (concerning their job, financial situation, and leisure time) and work-related mental strain (i.e., cognitive and emotional strain). Compared to German population norm scores (including both employed and self-employed working individuals), coaches show higher satisfaction with their job and leisure time, and less work-related mental strain. Moreover, the vast majority of coaches would choose to be a workplace coach again in retrospect. Coaching supervision had a significant buffer effect on coaches’ job satisfaction when they experienced a high amount of work-related mental strain. Findings imply that coaches are able to counterbalance the possible negative effects on life satisfaction of their work as coaches. The use of coaching supervision appears to be a successful measure to maintain high satisfaction with their work as coaches despite an elevated level of mental strain.

Comparative well-being of the self-employed and paid employees in the USA

Drawing upon the job demand-control model and analyzing more than 600,000 responses from the nationally representative Gallup survey data over the 2010–2016 period, we find that self-employed individuals in the USA report lower life satisfaction than paid employees (i.e., evaluative well-being). The self-employed also experience both positive feelings such as happiness and enjoyment and negative feelings such as anger and stress more than their wage-earning peers, leading to a stark emotional dichotomy in how they experience their daily lives (i.e., hedonic well-being) consistent with both high job control and high job demand that are prevalent in self-employment. Lastly, the self-employed also report more health problems and lower physical well-being. Income (and low local unemployment to some extent) successfully mitigates the negative effects of self-employment on subjective well-being while enhancing the positive, but education does not do so. Overall, the results suggest that self-employment is associated with predominantly negative well-being effects in the USA.

Money might not make you happy, but can happiness make you money? The value of leveraging subjective well-being to enhance financial well-being in self-employment

In recent years there has been a growing interest in understanding the relationship between subjective well-being and self-employment. Extending this body of work, we ask whether subjective well-being is associated with financial well-being for self-employed individuals, and whether those with financial skills are better able to leverage subjective well-being to realize higher financial well-being. Using a sample of 332 self-employed individuals in the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's (CFPB's) National Financial Well-Being Survey, we find that there is a positive association between subjective well-being and financial well-being, and this association is strengthened among those with higher financial skills. These findings highlight the need for assessing the association between different types of well-being from self-employment.

"It suits my needs": Self-employed individuals with psychiatric disabilities and small businesses.

Small business is a favorably regarded institution in America. Given employment disparities among individuals with psychiatric disabilities compared to other workers, self-employment has potential to promote career development and community integration. However, little is known about what has helped or hindered current small business owners with psychiatric disabilities. This exploratory study identified characteristics of individuals' work and disability histories, as well as business characteristics, that can inform policy and practice development in support of disability-owned small businesses. A nonprobability sample of 60 U.S. adults with a history of psychiatric disability who were self-employed in 2017 completed a web-based survey that asked about demographics, experiences of disability, motivations for self-employment, and business characteristics. Most survey respondents were operating new, very small, unincorporated home-based service businesses on a part-time basis. Respondents were educated, typically with extensive work histories, but had experienced discrimination and unpleasant attitudes from coworkers and supervisors. Responses highlighted the importance of freedom and work-life balance. Self-employment is not necessarily a fit for everyone, but for individuals with psychiatric disabilities, it may be a pathway back to work. The size of the respondent businesses and the part-time nature of the work suggests that individuals with psychiatric disabilities are operating very small businesses that may serve as a wage employment alternative if they are able to grow in the future, or be sustained as a part-time adjunct to public benefits or other paid or unpaid work. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

I will sleep when I am dead? Sleep and self-employment

Anecdotal evidence suggests that entrepreneurs report fewer hours of sleep. However, in samples of 12,086 individuals in the 2012 and 2014 cross-sections of The Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), and 47,851 individuals in the 2013–2016 National Health Interview Sample cross-sections, our results indicate that self-employed individuals report more sleep. The results in these two samples further show that psychological distress mediates the relationship between self-employment and lower self-reported sleep time and poorer sleep quality. In the third sample of 7714 individuals in waves 1 and 4 of the UK Household Longitudinal Survey, self-employed individuals reporting increase in sleep from wave 1 to wave 4 also reported a very small increase in monthly gross income, indicating limited, if any, gains to income from increasing sleep hours.

Comparison of occupational health problems of employees and self-employed individuals who work in different fields

We used a representative sample of the working population of Korea to compare the occupational health problems of employees and self-employed individuals who performed different types of work. The Korean Working Conditions Survey (KWCS) of 2014 was used to compare the working conditions and occupational safety and health (OSH) issues of employees and self-employed individuals performing different types of work. Relative to paid employees, self-employed individuals were older, more likely to perceive their health as bad, and had less education, longer working hours, more exposure to workplace ergonomic hazards, more musculoskeletal problems, and poorer mental well-being. Relative to those performing “mental work” or “emotional work”, individuals performing “physical work” were more vulnerable to OSH problems. In conclusion, self-employed individuals in the sample were more vulnerable to OSH problems.

The Economic Burden of Crime

I estimate the impact of the recent and unprecedented surge in drug-related violence in Mexico on the labor market outcomes of Mexican workers. Using a nationally representative longitudinal data set that allows me to account for unobserved time-invariant heterogeneity, I find that there is a negative relationship between local violence and labor market outcomes. Self-employed individuals are the most sensitive to a violent environment, with men experiencing significantly reduced earnings and productivity, while women decrease their hours of work or exit the labor force entirely. I also find suggestive evidence that fear of victimization plays an important role explaining these changes.

The returns to occupations: The role of minimum wage and gender in Nigeria

This paper examines the economic returns to being employers, paid workers and self-employed own account individuals in a lower middle income economy using quantile regressions while accounting for selection using Heckman selection models. The results suggest that although the majority of employers experience labour wage premiums throughout the income distribution, self-employed own account individuals experience a wage penalty at the lower quantiles of the income distribution where paid workers reap benefits from minimum wage guarantees, suggesting that minimum wage legislations may push individuals with low skills into self-employment. Furthermore, female employers and paid workers tend to be relatively well educated implying that education enables females to escape the job glass ceiling although males typically earn significantly more than females.

Labor of love? The influence of work-conditions among self-employed and work stress

Self-employment represents work conditions distinct from wage employment. Applying concepts from the Effort-Reward Imbalance model to work characteristics typical to self-employment—autonomy, meaningfulness of work, and physical demands of work—we explore the association between these work conditions and work stress. In a sample of 225 self-employed individuals in the American Working Conditions Survey (AWCS), our results indicate that autonomy has a positive association with work stress. Furthermore, meaningfulness serves to suppress the relationship between autonomy and work stress, while physical work demands have no influence on this association. Our findings have implications for the work characteristics of self-employed and their well-being.