This chapter tackles the changes of self-employment over the last 20 years, on the one hand by reviewing the literature that has outlined its characteristics and trends and on the other by reflecting on the changes in its internal composition, which, at least in Europe, sees a steady growth of so-called Independent Professionals (I-PROs). In doing so, some strategic dimensions that characterise current self-employment and which may be useful indicators for understanding its future trends will be considered. Specifically, these are the balance between flexibility and precariousness, the platform work environment, and its ambiguous ability to offer opportunities while exasperating competition and squeezing workers’ rights and earnings, the role that the family play in supporting self-employed careers, and individual factors combined with the complex social environment. The chapter concludes by affirming the need to recognise the multiplicity of conditions, experiences, expectations, and perspectives that characterise self-employment in the present and in the near future, at the same time imagining a common framework of global rights in which flexibility and opportunities for emancipation are combined with an emancipatory and sustainable idea of flexibility.
Navigating Self-Employment in the Evolving Landscape of Work: Reflecting on the Past and Anticipating the Future
Paolo Borghi
2025-01-01
Abstract
This chapter tackles the changes of self-employment over the last 20 years, on the one hand by reviewing the literature that has outlined its characteristics and trends and on the other by reflecting on the changes in its internal composition, which, at least in Europe, sees a steady growth of so-called Independent Professionals (I-PROs). In doing so, some strategic dimensions that characterise current self-employment and which may be useful indicators for understanding its future trends will be considered. Specifically, these are the balance between flexibility and precariousness, the platform work environment, and its ambiguous ability to offer opportunities while exasperating competition and squeezing workers’ rights and earnings, the role that the family play in supporting self-employed careers, and individual factors combined with the complex social environment. The chapter concludes by affirming the need to recognise the multiplicity of conditions, experiences, expectations, and perspectives that characterise self-employment in the present and in the near future, at the same time imagining a common framework of global rights in which flexibility and opportunities for emancipation are combined with an emancipatory and sustainable idea of flexibility.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
