The quality of working life for self-employed workers has not improved since 2007 in Flanders. Latest figures from a 2010 survey of 6,000 self-employed people show that, compared to 2007 figures, this quality – measured as the ‘workability rate’ – has remained at 48%. Members of one group describe themselves as highly motivated and having a lot of learning opportunities, while members of the other express concerns about stress and achieving a good work-life balance.
Background
The Flemish workability monitor was instigated by the Social and Economic Council of Flanders (SERV) in 2003, in order to follow up the policy agreements made in the Vilvoorde Pact (in Dutch, 1.13Mb PDF) on improving quality of work. The Innovation & Work Foundation at SERV was commissioned to develop a scientifically based set of indicators and measure these in a representative sample of Flemish self-employed workers and salaried employees.
In 2004, 2007 and 2010 a measurement was carried out of a representative sample of salaried employees and in 2007 and 2010, some 6,000 self-employed entrepreneurs were surveyed. The report (in Dutch, 355Kb PDF) by Bourdeaud’hui and Vanderhaeghe (2010) presents the results of the 2010 measurement of the self-employed sample and compares them with the results of the 2007 measurement (BE0810019I).
Methodology
After consulting academics, social partners and the Flemish government, four aspects of quality of work were selected as being relevant for the workability monitor: stress at work, well-being at work, learning opportunities and work-life balance. In the spring of 2010, the Innovation & Work Foundation organised a second survey of 6,000 self-employed entrepreneurs in Flanders. The response rate is 37.7%, which is relatively high for a postal survey.
Main workability indicators
Table 1 outlines the main workability indicators for self-employed people in Flanders.
Table 1: Key workability indicators for the self-employed in the Flemish Workability Monitor
| Indicator | Description |
| Stress at work | The extent to which accumulated (mental) fatigue to psychosocial workload can be alleviated, or leads to complaints of stress by employees and to reduced job performance |
| Well-being at work | The extent to which employees are/remain committed or become demotivated due to the nature of the job (content) |
| Learning opportunities | The extent to which employees are able to maintain or further develop their skills through opportunities for training and daily experience at the workplace, with a view to their longer-term employability |
| Work–family balance | The extent to which job demands interfere with a person’s home life |
Source: Bourdeaud’hui and Vanderhaeghe (2010)
Findings
The study showed that the 2010 figures have remained essentially unchanged from 2007. It reports that 47.8% of all self-employed people in Flanders in 2010 (47.7% in 2007):
- are not psychologically exhausted by work;
- have a job that motivates them and provides sufficient learning opportunities,
- have a good work–life balance.
In the workability monitor for employees, this percentage is 54.3%.
Workability problems
This means that 52.2% of all self-employed people in Flanders experience one or more problems with the quality of their working life:
- 26.2% have a problem with one aspect of the quality of their work;
- 20.4% have a problem with two aspects;
- 5.6% have a problem with three or all four aspects.
These workability problems are higher in professions such as doctors and lawyers; and in sectors such as transport and hotels, restaurants and catering. No differences by gender were detected.
Comparison of workability indicators from 2007 to 2010
For all four workability aspects, the report found no statistically significant differences between 2007 and 2010 for self-employed people (Table 2). In 2010:
- 38% of the self-employed experience stress at work (36.7% in 2007);
- 35% have problems achieving a good work–life balance (34.5% in 2007);
- 8.2% struggle with motivational problems (well-being at work) (same as in 2007);
- 4.8% do not have enough opportunities for training in their job (5.6% in 2007).
Table 2: Comparison of workability indicators for the self-employed, Flanders, 2007–2010
| | Problematic | Of which: acute |
| | 2007 | 2010 | 2007 | 2010 |
| Stress at work | 36.7 | 38.0 | 13.0 | 12.4 |
| Well-being at work | 8.2 | 8.2 | 2.7 | 3.0 |
| Learning opportunities | 5.6 | 4.8 | 1.1 | 1.2 |
| Work–life balance | 34.5 | 35.0 | 10.9 | 11.8 |
Source: Bourdeaud’hui and Vanderhaeghe (2010)
In comparison with employees, the self-employed group scores better on well-being at work and learning opportunities, but much worse on stress and especially work–life balance.
This measurement not only reveals the differences between workability problems in the Flemish labour market, but also looks at a number of key factors in the workplace to improve workability.
Risk indicators
The study also measured four risk indicators: workload, emotional load, skill variety and physically demanding working conditions.
The 2010 figures show that, among the self-employed:
- 29.1% are confronted with high emotional load;
- 8.4% lack skill variety;
- 15.9% experience physically (high) demanding working conditions (Table 3).
These rates show no significant difference with the 2007 rates. However, there was a drop in the number of self-employed entrepreneurs with high workloads, falling from 46.6% in 2007 to 42.2% in 2010.
Table 3: Comparison of job risk indicators for the self-employed, Flanders, 2007–2010
| | Problematic | Of which: acute |
| | 2007 | 2010 | 2007 | 2010 |
| Workload | 46.6 | 42.2 | 17.6 | 16.3 |
| Emotional load | 28.8 | 29.1 | 5.2 | 4.9 |
| Skill task variety | 7.9 | 8.4 | 2.2 | 2.1 |
| Physical working conditions | 15.9 | 15.9 | 4.6 | 4.5 |
Source: Bourdeaud’hui and Vanderhaeghe (2010)
Commentary
The self-employed experience more stress, greater workloads and difficult work–life balances compared to the average employee in Flanders. The situation has also not improved in recent years (unlike the results in the employee group). Policy concerns should be raised by these worrying figures.
Guy Van Gyes, Higher Institute for Labour Studies (HIVA), Catholic University of Leuven (KUL)