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Upworkers in Finland: Survey Results

Author

Listed:
  • Pajarinen, Mika
  • Rouvinen, Petri
  • Claussen, Jörg
  • Hakanen, Jari
  • Kovalainen, Anne
  • Kretschmer, Tobias
  • Poutanen, Seppo
  • Seifried, Mareike
  • Seppänen, Laura

Abstract

Upwork is the world’s largest online labor market platform connecting clients with freelance professionals from various disciplines ranging from administrative support to web development. This study documents the main findings of the Upworkers in Finland survey conducted in December 2017. The survey targeted all freelancers listed on the platform who (a) claimed to reside in Finland and (b) had earned at least $1 since signing up. Of the 207 such freelancers found publicly listed on Upwork on 8 December 2017, 58.9% responded to our online questionnaire. Most Upworkers in Finland are translators, followed by designers and coders. They are typically less than 30 years old, involved in higher education or training (or already have at least a college-level degree), and live in the capital region or another urban area. Approximately one-third are immigrants or other nonnative speakers. They have a strong preference for entrepreneurship/self-employment over paid/salaried employment. Independence, flexibility, and extra earnings are particularly motivators for online work engagement. The respondents are both quite fond of the platform and satisfied with their current online work arrangement.

Suggested Citation

  • Pajarinen, Mika & Rouvinen, Petri & Claussen, Jörg & Hakanen, Jari & Kovalainen, Anne & Kretschmer, Tobias & Poutanen, Seppo & Seifried, Mareike & Seppänen, Laura, 2018. "Upworkers in Finland: Survey Results," ETLA Reports 85, The Research Institute of the Finnish Economy.
    • Handle: RePEc:rif:report:85
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
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    3. Leung, Ming D, 2017. "Learning to hire? Hiring as a dynamic experiential learning process in an online market for contract labor," Institute for Research on Labor and Employment, Working Paper Series qt5rj3f9xg, Institute of Industrial Relations, UC Berkeley.
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    Cited by:

    1. Claussen, Jörg & Kretschmer, Tobias & Khashabi, Pooyan & Seifried, Mareike, 2020. "Two to tango? Psychological contract breach in online labor markets," ZEW Discussion Papers 20-078, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    2. Makó, Csaba & Illéssy, Miklós & Pap, József, 2020. "Munkavégzés a platformalapú gazdaságban. A foglalkoztatás egy lehetséges modellje? [Work on the digital platform economy. Towards a new employment model for the future?]," Közgazdasági Szemle (Economic Review - monthly of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences), Közgazdasági Szemle Alapítvány (Economic Review Foundation), vol. 0(11), pages 1112-1129.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Platform economy; Future of work; Online labor markets; Upwork; Finland;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D26 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Crowd-Based Firms
    • J22 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Time Allocation and Labor Supply
    • M55 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Personnel Economics - - - Labor Contracting Devices
    • O33 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Technological Change: Choices and Consequences; Diffusion Processes

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