Self-employed workers seek the challenge and want to determine their working times

2013 – The Survey self-employed workers (ZEA-2012) is executed by TNO and CBS at the end of 2012. Consultants, ICT-experts, construction workers, and other self-employed without employees who offer their own man power or services have started their business mainly because of the challenge it delivers them. Besides they want to decide about their working times. They are very happy about this.

For the ‘classic’ self-employed like shop keepers and farmers and for employers new challenges and flexible working times are less important. More often than the new self-employed, they started their career as self-employed. New self-employed are more often than old ones very content about the possibility to work part-time and to determine their own working times. The classic professions offer less possibilities for that. Classic self-employed are relatively often not very content with their incomes. Self-employed with employees are more often than new self-employed content about the market demand of their products.

Embarassments 

New self-employed suffer more from needless consultations and meetings. On the other side they have less problems with needless bureaucracy. New self-employed suffer more of traffic jams, retardations in public transport or other transport problems, which is related to the travelling and the kind of work they do.

The Survey is a pilot and is supported by the Ministry of Social affairs and Employment. At the end of 2012 almost 4 thousand self-employed have completed the ZEA-questionnaire.

The report (in Dutch) is down loadable via: www.monitorarbeid.nl/zea-2012.

Themes: Labour relations, Monitoring & Evaluation, Self steering.

Source: research report

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