Work and health of self-employed workers

Abstract

Corporations in Taiwan are offering unpaid leave, downsizing staff, and encouraging entrepreneurship - especially among disadvantaged employment groups such as women and middle or advanced-aged groups. This has become one of the government`s priorities in dealing with the problem of unemployment. Compared to salaried workers, self-employed individuals (including employers and own-account workers) are more exposed to market competition and economic fluctuations; however, their social background, work, and health problems have seldom been examined. Reviews of both the domestic and international literature and statistical data concerning self-employment show that the percentage of self-employed individuals in Taiwan has declined slightly. When compared with employers and salaried workers, own-account workers tend to be older and less educated and, among them, females tend to have a higher rate of divorce or being widowed. The tendency for this transition and job competition is disadvantageous to those self-employed individuals whose situation is significantly different from that in other developed countries. With regard to job characteristics, salaried workers have an advantage over self-employed individuals who have no standard workloads, no standards for remuneration, and often devote time and mental and physical efforts into work without any legal protection. Some studies have indicated that, although self-employed individuals enjoy a higher level of job satisfaction, their working hours are longer, work stress and burnout rates are higher, and they face a higher number of work-family conflicts. There are differences in the work environment, causes of stress, and risks to health and family between self-employed and salaried workers. More policies to care for self-employed individuals and to offer them support are needed since they sacrifice their health for wealth.