Self-employed Men Research Articles

Work-related experiences of prostate cancer survivors in Australia: a qualitative study

BackgroundProstate cancer (PCa) is the most diagnosed cancer in Australian men, and the number of survivors is growing with advances in diagnosis and treatment. Work participation following PCa diagnosis and treatment becomes a significant aspect of quality of life and survivorship. Using a qualitative phenomenological approach, we explored the work-related experiences of PCa survivors in Australia.MethodsSemi-structured telephone interviews were conducted with 16 men (6 salaried employees, 10 self-employed; 8 diagnosed ≥ 5 years) purposively sampled from a community setting. Interviews were inductively analysed.ResultsFive main themes emerged: motivations to work; treatment decisions and work; the effects of PCa and its treatment on ability to participate in work; being an employee versus being self-employed; and personal agency. PCa and its treatment side-effects were detrimental to men’s work capacity and ability, and could persist over an extended period. Most men expressed a strong desire to retain work or return to work. Discussions with healthcare professionals about work-related consequences were largely missing when treatment decisions were made. Self-employed men faced greater challenges than their salaried counterparts due to high financial burden and limited social and business support. Family, workplace and wider community support, and self-care, enhanced men’s work participation experiences.ConclusionsPCa and its treatment substantially and persistently impacted men’s working lives, and their experiences were diverse and multifaceted. Self-employed and long-term PCa survivors face greater challenges and are at high risk of poor work outcomes. A systematic approach and involvement of stakeholders at all levels is required to support ongoing work participation.

Self-interest or self-defeating? How the self-employed voted in the EU referendum

Given the anticipated negative impact of Brexit on the U.K. economy, it might be expected that self-employed individuals would have favoured remaining in the European Union. However, the self-employed are also more likely to have certain demographic characteristics that are associated with voting leave in the 2016 referendum. We investigate such potentially offsetting influences using nationally representative survey data and find that self-employed men were more, and women less, likely to be leave voters compared to the paid-employed. The differences were statistically significant for men but a Gelbach decomposition reveals that they can largely be explained by characteristics, specifically age and education. Our findings, especially for self-employed men, are discussed within the context of the important economic consequences that Brexit continues to have on small businesses in the United Kingdom as well as the need for further evidence on the voting behaviour of the self-employed.

The disjunction between evolutionary psychology and sex-discrimination law and policy

Workplace sexual disparities are often attributed primarily to discrimination or other nefarious causes, leading to findings of legal liability based upon statistical disparities. That conclusion rests implicitly on the Standard Social Science Model, which assumes that the sexes are largely identical and would have similar workplace experiences and outcomes absent discrimination. The findings of evolutionary psychology challenge that assumption. Evolved differences in temperament and cognitive patterns lead to average differences in talents, tastes, and interests. The widely decried “underrepresentation” of women in some, but not all, STEM fields can be explained in part by differences in vocational personality (especially the “people-things” dimension) and cognitive patterns (relative strengths in verbal, quantitative, and spatial abilities). The “glass ceiling” is at least partially attributable to sex differences in personality (e.g., competitiveness and risk-taking), differences in intensity of career commitment, and the tendency of highly able women disproportionately to remove themselves from the labor force voluntarily. The “gender gap” in earnings is attributable in large part to women's working different jobs, working fewer hours, and placing a lower priority on wages than other job attributes than men do, factors that result in a larger earnings gap between self-employed men and women than between male and female employees.

Career prospects for ophthalmologists under 49years old : Asurvey in Germany from 2022

The need for care in ophthalmology is constantly increasing due to demographic changes. The study analyzed the current professional situation and future prospects of ophthalmologists under 49years old. The survey of members of the German Association of Ophthalmologists (Berufsverband der Augenärzte Deutschlands) and the German Ophthalmologic Society (Deutsche Ophthalmologische Gesellschaft) was conducted in 2022. All members under the age of 49years received an online questionnaire on the current professional situation as well as future perspectives (desired working hours, form of organization). The results of the survey were additionally compared with the 2016 survey of the German Association of Ophthalmologists. Asimilar questionnaire was used at that time. Atotal of 1014 people participated in the survey (62.7% women, mean age 39.3 ± 8years, 75.6% specialists). The response rate to the survey was 25%. Specialist practice from0 to 5years showed ahigher number of employed ophthalmologists (21% self-employed vs. 32% employed); over time the number of self-employed ophthalmologists increased (6-10years: 40%, > 10years: 59.3%). Overall, 46% of women were employed in apractice compared with 33% of men. Of the self-employed specialists, 95.9% said they planned to work in the same type of employment in 10years as currently. Regarding ophthalmologists' career future, the other employment types showed adesire to move to independent practice. Compared to the 2016 survey, gender differences related to the current type of employment were evident. The number of self-employed women decreased from 43% to 26% and self-employed men decreased from 63% to 39%. The number of ophthalmologists in ambulatory healthcare centers was doubled compared to 2016. Ophthalmologists reported similar future perspectives at both survey times. The results of the survey of ophthalmologists under 49years in Germany showed similar perceptions as in 2016. It became clear that the desire to be self-employed in 10years is very high; however, ophthalmologists expected large practices or medical care centers to prevail in the market. The number of self-employed doctors is decreasing and the desire for self-employment is difficult to realize.

Gender Differences in Informal Labor-Market Resilience

Abstract This paper reports on the universe of garment-making-firm owners in a Ghanaian district capital during the COVID-19 crisis. By July 2020, 80 percent of both male- and female-owned firms were operational. However, pre-pandemic data show that selection into persistent closure differs by gender. Consistent with a “cleansing effect” of recessions and highlighting the presence of marginal female entrepreneurs, female-owned firms that remain closed past the spring lockdown are negatively selected on pre-pandemic sales. The pre-pandemic sales distributions of female survivors and non-survivors are significantly different from each other. Female owners of non-operational firms exit to non-employment and experience large decreases in overall earnings. In contrast, persistently closed male-owned firms are not selected on pre-pandemic firm characteristics. Instead, male non-survivors are 36 percentage points more likely than male survivors to have another income-generating activity prior to the crisis. Male owners of persistently closed firms fully compensate for revenue losses in their core businesses with earnings from these alternative income-generating activities. Taken together, the evidence is most consistent with differential underlying occupational choice fundamentals for self-employed men and women in this context.

Gain or loss? The well-being of women in self-employment.

Using data from the Chinese Household Income Project survey, we find that self-employed women have lower levels of well-being compared with their male counterparts. When comparing individuals' well-being in self-employment and wage-employment, we discover that self-employed men have higher levels of health, the standard of living, satisfaction, and life satisfaction compared with wage-employed men, whereas self-employed women have lower levels of health and life satisfaction than their counterparts in wage-employment. Furthermore, if a given self-employed man or woman had been selected for wage employment, their well-being would not improve (controlling for individual characteristics that affect the likelihood to enter self-employment). Hence, self-employed women face a double challenge: lower well-being than both self-employed men and wage-employed women. The article discusses recommendations for future research and policy implications.

Social and behavioral factors related to blood pressure measurement: A cross-sectional study in Bhutan

Cardiovascular disease is a leading cause of death in the Kingdom of Bhutan, and early detection of hypertension is critical for preventing cardiovascular disease. However, health-seeking behavior, including blood pressure measurement, is infrequently investigated in Bhutan. Therefore, this study investigated factors related to blood pressure measurement in Bhutan. We performed a secondary data analysis of a target population of 1,962 individuals using data from the "2014 Bhutan STEPS survey data"as a cross-sectional study. Approximately 26% of those with hypertension who were detected during the STEPS survey had never had their blood pressure measured. Previous blood pressure measurement was significantly associated with age and working status in men (self-employed [odds ratio (OR): 0.219, 95% CI: 0.133-0.361], non-working [OR: 0.114, 95% CI: 0.050-0.263], employee [OR: 1.000]). Previous blood pressure measurement was significantly associated with higher income in women (Quartile-2 [OR: 1.984, 95% CI: 1.209-3.255], Quartile-1 [OR: 2.161, 95% CI: 1.415-3.299], Quartile-4 [OR: 1.000]). A family history of hypertension (OR: 2.019, 95% CI: 1.549-2.243) increased the likelihood of having experienced a blood pressure measurement in both men and women. Multivariate logistic regression showed that people with unhealthy lifestyles (high salt intake [adjusted odds ratio (AOR): 0.247, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.068-0.893], tobacco use [AOR: 0.538, 95% CI: 0.380-0.761]) had a decreased likelihood of previous blood pressure measurement. To promote the early detection of hypertension in Bhutan, we suggest that more attention be paid to low-income women, non-working, self-employed, and low-income men, and a reduction of barriers to blood pressure measurement. Before the STEPS survey, a substantial number of hypertensive people had never had their blood pressure measured or were unconcerned about their health. As a result, we propose that early blood pressure monitoring and treatment for people with hypertension or at higher risk of hypertension be given increased emphasis.

Pandemic Depression: COVID-19 and the Mental Health of the Self-Employed

We investigate the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on self-employed people’s mental health. Using representative longitudinal survey data from Germany, we reveal differential effects by gender: whereas self-employed women experienced a substantial deterioration in their mental health, self-employed men displayed no significant changes up to early 2021. Financial losses are important in explaining these differences. In addition, we find larger mental health responses among self-employed women who were directly affected by government-imposed restrictions and bore an increased childcare burden due to school and daycare closures. We also find that self-employed individuals who are more resilient coped better with the crisis.

The janus-faced nature of radical voting: Subjective social decline at the roots of radical right and radical left support

This study advances the decline of Parent-Relative Subjective Social Status (PRSSS) as a reconciling factor among radical right and radical left supporters. While self-employed workers, men and rural residents perceive socioeconomic decline relative to their parents and support the radical right, the well-educated, urbanites and low-income individuals are likely to feel similar decline given the rising levels of unemployment and social inequality. These structural changes may push the latter to support a party which stresses income inequality, a catchcry of the radical left. Using a 2017 Eurobarometer Survey, logistic regressions show positive associations between low PRSSS (versus equal or high PRSSS) and support for right- and left-wing radicalism in 28 European countries. The traditional attitudes of each group magnify the PRSSS effects on radical support: these are reinforced by anti-immigrant support for the radical right and by preference for redistribution for the radical left.

The effects of gender equality on economic development in Europe

Gender equality is increasingly perceived as a central issue and discussed as an essential factor for competition, economic growth and solidarity in society. The starting point of this study is the identification of the main factors influenced by gender equality in the context of the economic performance of countries. Europe was chosen as the study area, with regional differences between Northern, Western/Central, Southern and Eastern Europe also being taken into account. The empirical analysis is based on panel regression models. These confirm that policies designed to increase the share of women in leadership positions and to achieve an equal representation of self-employed women and men have a significant positive impact on a country's economic performance across Europe. In addition, differentiated recommendations for action are derived from the results for the individual subregions.

Employment status and diabetic outpatient appointment non-attendance in middle to senior working generation with type 2 diabetes: the Japan diabetes outcome intervention trial-2 large‑scale trial 005 (J-DOIT2-LT005)

AimsWorkplace demands, support, and relationships differ according to employment status (e.g., employment that is full-time, part-time, or self-employed) and may lead to unequal opportunities to keep diabetic appointments. We investigated the association between employment status and outpatient diabetic appointment non-attendance among working-age adults with type 2 diabetes.MethodsThis was a secondary analysis of a cluster-randomized trial (the Japan diabetes outcome intervention trial 2 large-scale trial). The analysis included 2010 trial participants (40–65 years old) with type 2 diabetes who were regularly followed by primary care physicians (PCPs). The outcome measure was the first non-attendance (defined as a failure to visit a PCP within 2 months of the original appointment) during the one-year follow-up. The association between baseline employment status and non-attendance was examined using Cox proportional hazard model in men and women.ResultsDuring the 1279 and 789 person-year follow-up periods, 90 men and 34 women, respectively, experienced their first appointment non-attendance. Among men, self-employed participants had a higher risk of non-attendance compared with full-time employees (adjusted HR, 1.84; 95% CI, 1.15, 2.95). The trial intervention (attendance promotion) was associated with a significantly reduced risk of non-attendance among self-employed participants (HR, 0.51; 95% CI, 0.26, 0.99). Among women, a significant association between employment status and non-attendance was not observed.ConclusionsSelf-employed men with type 2 diabetes had a twofold increased risk of non-attendance than did full-time employees. Our study suggests that self-employed men with type 2 diabetes should be targeted for interventions promoting appointment adherence.

Who loses more? Identifying the relationship between hospitalization and income loss: prediction of hospitalization duration and differences of gender and employment status

BackgroundThe major determinants of health and well-being include wider socio-economic and political responses to poverty alleviation. To data, however, South Korea has no related social protection policies to replace income loss or prevent non-preferable health conditions for workers. In particular, there are several differences in social protection policies by gender or occupational groups. This study aimed to investigate how hospitalization affects income loss among workers in South Korea.MethodsThe study sample included 4876 Korean workers who responded to the Korean Welfare Panel Study (KoWePS) for all eight years from 2009 to 2016. We conducted a receiver operating characteristics (ROC) analysis to determine the cut-off point for the length of hospitalization that corresponded to the greatest loss of income. We used panel multi-linear regression to examine the relationship between hospitalization and income loss by gender and employment arrangement.ResultsThe greatest income loss for women in non-standard employment and self-employed men was observed when the length of hospitalization was seven days or less. When they were hospitalized for more than 14 days, income loss also occurred among men in non-standard employment. In addition, when workers were hospitalized for more than 14 days, the impact of the loss of income was felt into the subsequent year.ConclusionNon-standard and self-employed workers, and even female standard workers, are typically excluded from public insurance coverage in South Korea, and social security is insufficient when they are injured. To protect workers from the vicious circle of the poverty-health trap, national social protections such as sickness benefits are needed.

TIME ALLOCATION AND FEELINGS OF HAPPINESS OF SELF-EMPLOYED PERSONS – A GENDERED PERSPECTIVE

This article focuses on the division of the daily activities of self-employed persons on entrepreneurial activities, unpaid work, leisure time and other activities, and their interconnection to the feelings of happiness (as part of subjective well-being). Modified Time Use Survey (TUS) methodology was used to gather data on division of time and to identify SWB. The 13 groups of activities and 161 self-employed persons were included in the analysis. The results suggest that both self-employed men and women dedicate more than 8 hours per day for paid work. Daily activities during which the highest part of self-employed men and women feel the happiest belong to leisure activities. Unpaid work activities bring the highest feeling of happiness to 12.5 % of self-employed women. Feelings of happiness of self-employed women are more fluctuating during the paid work than feelings of happiness of self-employed men. In the evening, the feelings of happiness of the self-employed women decrease significantly, which could be caused by double burden of self-employed women.

Father’s participation in childcare and household tasks

The paper presents the results of a study on fathers’ engagement in caregiving and household tasks and their perception of a father’s role in the household. The aim of the paper is to find out what fathers perceive as ˝being responsible˝ and how their perception is related to their engagement and role in the household. Therefore, we carried out research among employed or self-employed men, living with their female partners and children in the same household. The research was carried out in September 2019 in a Central European country (Slovenia). Results of our research support the stereotypic classification of household tasks in terms of gender. Fathers who consider participation in care and upbringing of children as a relevant aspect of a responsible father more frequently do housekeeping, washing the dishes (washing and stacking), garbage collection and hanging up and collecting laundry. Fathers who consider financial support as a relevant aspect of a responsible father more frequently pay the bills; they also agree that a mother is considered to be much more burdened with regard to unpaid work than a father.

Gender and Sibling Dynamics in the Intergenerational Transmission of Entrepreneurship

This project uses gender and sibling dynamics to explore the intergenerational transmission of entrepreneurship. I find that the transmission of self-employment from fathers to daughters is significantly reduced when there are sons in the family. I interpret this as evidence that the intergenerational transmission of entrepreneurship is driven, at least in part, by costly investments by parents, which can be crowded out by or redirected toward brothers. I investigate specific types of parental investments—transfers of money, businesses, and human capital—that potentially underlie this transmission and conclude that sons reduce human-capital acquisition by daughters. If all daughters of self-employed men experienced the “sisters-only” level of transmission, the overall gender gap in self-employment would be reduced by roughly 15%. This paper was accepted by Toby Stuart, entrepreneurship and innovation.

Work-family conflict in Europe. A focus on the heterogeneity of self-employment

ABSTRACT This article aims at analysing how subjective work-family conflict is experienced by different self-employed men and women in comparison to employees and informal workers in Europe. Firstly, it focuses on how job-related resources and demands characterise traditional and emerging types of self-employment affecting the perception of work-family conflict. Secondly, it explores both gender-related institutional and societal dimensions, by analysing how the conflict is differently mediated by reconciliation policies and by the degree of gender equality in society. Based on the 6th European Working Condition Survey, findings show that self-employment is a hybrid area of work which, depending on its characteristics, can be more similar to entrepreneurial, dependent or informal work. As for the work-family conflict, the study indicates that self-employment can only mitigate it in the case of ‘dependent self-employment’, a work arrangement which, however, while facilitating the reconciliation of work and family, poses significant problems in terms of quality of the working conditions, especially in the case of women. Genuine forms of self-employment seem instead to represent a source of conflict, and to suffer the lack of gender equality in different European societies and labour markets.

Self-employment and wage difference an analysis for Brazil

PurposeThe aim of this study is to evaluate the wage gap between men and women who seek self-employment in Brazil, whether because they want to become entrepreneurs out of necessity or because of the flexible hours.Design/methodology/approachThe data used are from the 2015 National Household Sample Survey (PNAD) and the methods are the ordinary least squares (OLS) for the Mean and the unconditional quantile regression (RIF-regression) for the distribution of gains of both genders, both associated with the Oaxaca–Ransom decomposition in order to separate the differential between the part explained by attributes and the unexplained part.FindingsThe main results show that women earn less than men in the mean and throughout the distribution. The average difference is 27.79%, varying between 19.24 and 48.26% in the distribution. The inclusion of occupational variables shows that the glass door phenomenon exists even in self-employment, that is, women choose occupations with lower incomes.Originality/valueStimulating self-employment has been an alternative policy for the insertion of women in the labor market. This is the first study on the wage gap in self-employment in the Brazilian labor market. The presence of wage differentials among self-employed men and women throughout the distribution may point to the need for specific policies that not only target the mean. These policies would be related to sticky floor and to the glass ceiling. Another potential problem concerns the so-called glass door–women access the labor market via professions that pay less, otherwise, the problem points to occupational segregation against women.Peer ReviewThe peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-05-2019-0312

Satisfaction and Self-employment: Do Men or Women Benefit More from Being Their Own Boss?

This paper uses individual self-reported life satisfaction data to analyze the relationship between self-employment and subjective well-being by gender and race/ethnicity. We document substantial heterogeneity, with women appearing to benefit the most from self-employment. Self-employed women have significantly higher rates of being very satisfied relative to both traditionally employed women and self-employed men. We also find that the self-employed have higher rates of dissatisfaction, and this adverse relationship with self-employment is most pronounced for minorities. These nuanced findings broaden our understanding of the relationship between self-employment and subjective well-being and have important implications for both researchers and policymakers.

A fresh look at self-employment, stress and health: accounting for self-selection, time and gender

PurposePast research on self-employment and health yielded conflicting findings. Integrating predictions from the Stressor-Strain Outcome model, research on challenge stressors and allostatic load, we predict that physical and mental health are affected by self-employment in distinct ways which play out over different time horizons. We also test whether the health impacts of self-employment are due to enhanced stress (work-related strain) and differ for man and women.Design/methodology/approachWe apply non-parametric propensity score matching in combination with a difference-in-difference approach and longitudinal cohort data to examine self-selection and the causal relationship between self-employment and health. We focus on those that transit into self-employment from paid employment (opportunity self-employment) and analyze strain and health over four years relative to individuals in paid employment.FindingsThose with poorer mental health are more likely to self-select into self-employment. After entering self-employment, individuals experience a short-term uplift in mental health due to lower work-related strain, especially for self-employed men. In the longer-term (four years) the mental health of the self-employed drops back to pre-self-employment levels. We find no effect of self-employment on physical health.Practical implicationsOur research helps to understand the nonpecuniary benefits of self-employment and suggests that we should not advocate self-employment as a “healthy” career.Originality/valueThis article advances research on self-employment and health. Grounded in stress theories it offers new insights relating to self-selection, the temporality of effects, the mediating role of work-related strain, and gender that collectively help to explain why past research yielded conflicting findings.

Association Between Employment Status and Short Sleep Duration Among Middle-Aged Japanese: the Survey on Time Use and Leisure Activities.

Short sleep duration (SSD) is reported to be highly associated with socio-economic status. There are few studies on the relationship between employment status and SSD in Japan. The authors used the 2006 Survey on Time Use and Leisure Activities conducted by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications Japan, which provides representative samples of Japanese people. The anonymous data of 120,783 people aged 30-59years were analyzed. Authors defined five categories of employment status: "unemployed," "regularly employed," "non-regularly employed," "self-employed," and "other." Authors also defined a sleep duration shorter than 5h per night as SSD. Multivariable-adjusted odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of SSD using regular employment as the reference group were calculated using the logistic regression model, adjusting for potential confounding factors, i.e., age, marital status, education level, communication device use, and the amount of time spent on various daily activities. The prevalence of SSD was 2.8% (1639/58,308) in men and 3.2% (1976/62,475) in women. The multivariable-adjusted OR (95% CI) of SSD for the self-employed was 0.78 (0.65-0.92) in men and 1.78 (1.43-2.21) in women after adjustment for potential confounding factors, i.e., age, marital status, education level, and communication device use. Further adjustment for the time spent on daily activities revealed that the OR (95% CI) of SSD for the self-employed was 0.78 (0.65-0.92) in men and 1.89 (1.52-2.36) in women. Self-employed women had a higher prevalence of SSD. By contrast, self-employed men had a lower prevalence of SSD.