The idea that led people to want to have the same job or at least to always be in the same company already sounds like a utopia, both on the part of the worker and the organization.

Rather than being considered a positive or negative option, this way of working should be analysed from the perspective of the inequalities it can bring, even among those who are part of it.

One case is in the Andean countries where self-employed workers in the lowest 25% of the income distribution have a negative or non-significant income premium, meaning that they would be better off in terms of income as salaried employees. In contrast, those in the highest 25% have a positive income premium compared to dependent workers, according to the publication Growing with Productivity: An Agenda for the Andean Region by the Inter-American Development Bank1. These figures show us that self-employment can be beneficial in some cases and not so much in others, without taking away its merits as an interesting work option, but making it clear that it is not the best alternative for everyone.

A changing and unstable work environment, coupled with a hyper-connected and constantly evolving market, gives rise to trends such as self-employment, which is characterized by the idea of ​​working for oneself. Those who are part of this, instead of wanting to be connected to the workplace, long to manage their time, to be away from cubicles and not have bosses. They are even willing to not have a fixed salary. This way of working seems to be gaining more and more strength, especially with the popularization of collaborative spaces in which different types of professionals meet and even end up generating synergy between them: coworkings.

This raises a question: What are the consequences of seeking true economic independence with this work model? This ideal, held by a large part of the region's workforce, can generate anxiety and uncertainty, leading people to spend all day depending on their role and leaving behind issues such as good nutrition, rest, leisure time and social relationships. Mental health could be affected by the pressure that each worker could generate on themselves, partly due to the lack of a group of colleagues, a company and a leader who can act as support. While there is talk of the loneliness of freelancers, many of them live it up to 40 hours a week, which could affect the generation of novel ideas that can come from a team and its forms of relationships.

The issue of self-employment is an interesting challenge that cannot be taken lightly by governments, health promotion entities and entrepreneurs. The decision of many to become self-employed goes beyond the idea of ​​not having bosses, feeling successful and in control of their time and talents. These initiatives, once matured, can be the type of business that evolves and feeds the figure collected in 99 countries by the International Labour Organization (ILO), according to which 70% of employment is created by self-employed workers and small and medium-sized enterprises.

Bibliography:

• Ruiz-Arranz, Marta & Deza, Maria Cecilia (2018). Growing with productivity: an agenda for the Andean region. Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). 
• Small matters: Global data on the employment contributions of self-employed workers, micro-enterprises and SMEs (2019). International Labour Organization (ILO).