Introduction to the Special Issue: Everyday Self-Employment

Abstract

This is the accepted version of the paper.This version of the publication may differ from the final published version. attracted policy concern across national, supranational and global scales, yet sociological thought has been somewhat slower to respond to this phenomenon. In response, this special issue focuses on everyday self-employment amongst workers drawn from countries across the world. The collection of articles in this volume originated, in part, from a recent symposium that took place at City, University of London, which highlighted the contribution of sociology and cognate disciplines to the study of self-employment. The volume considers the social and structural forces that condition this economic activity as an ideology and practice, as well as the constraints and opportunities for its maintenance and reproduction. Permanent repository linkIt also examines the everyday lives of self-employed workers and in particular the ways in which self-employment is experienced across a range of geographical, occupational, and industrial contexts, and with regard to social categories including race, class, nationality and gender. As neo-liberal subjects we are increasingly required to inhabit an entrepreneurial self. As such, a sociological understanding of the global patterns and everyday experiences of self-employment -or entrepreneurialism as practice -is essential for a critical understanding of the economy and society and the cultural legitimations associated with this oft-celebrated and aspirational economic activity. The contributors in this volume often challenge the mainstream view of self-employment and entrepreneurship to reveal the complexity and scope of activity; their perspectives provide new insights for researchers and policymakers regarding the function of self-employment in a changing economy and society. This introduction initiates a discussion of the central debates in the study of self-employment, introduces a working conceptualization of selfemployment, and presents a brief synopsis of the articles in this volume.

Varieties of flexibilisation? The working lives of information and communications technology professionals in the United Kingdom and Germany

“…The beliefs and expectations of the self-employed are often over-optimistic (Cassar, 2012). The positivity evident among our ICT professionals might thus reflect a process of 'adaptive preference formation' (Elster, 1983: 110), in which the structural constraints they experienced -a function of 'everyday' self-employment (Cohen et al, 2019) -were downplayed. Self-employed…”

What is ‘freelance feminism’?

“…In addition, engagement in these fields is unpredictable and intermittent, demanding varying forms of agility (and resilience) to cope with the inevitable ‘bulimic’ patterns of work (Pratt, 2002) – which affects and restricts some groups far more than others. Coupled with these issues, and propelled by wider institutional and structural pushes towards self-employment succeeding the 2008 financial crash (Cohen et al, 2019), creative and cultural industries are today overwhelmingly primarily made up of independent and freelance workers.…”

Trajectories of Vulnerability and Resistance Among Independent Indoor Sex Workers During Economic Decline

“…This context signals the potential for increasing vulnerability among sex workers; a group who already experienced levels of economic vulnerability through the nature of self-employment (Cohen et al, 2018). Varying and intersecting experiences of vulnerability are faced by a diverse sex worker population, according to a range of inherent, situational, and pathogenic circumstances (Mackenzie et al, 2014) and sex workers are not rendered 'powerless' but are capable of proactively negotiating and mitigating vulnerability to achieve 'flourishing' (Emmel, 2017).…”

“…These conditions problematise financial planning, rendering sex workers increasingly economically vulnerable, especially considering the already unpredictable nature of self-employment (Cohen et al, 2018; Sanders et al, 2016). Because of this, many workers feel increasing pressure to earn while work is available:You don’t know when your next client is coming, you might not have anybody for the rest of the week, you think do I cut my nose off to spite my face and risk not seeing you even though I’ve got nothing else on the afternoon.…”