Social well-being of the self-employed in the conditions of labor market transformation

Abstract

The article analyzes the experience of research into the phenomenon of social well-being on the example of the self-employed population. Social well-being is a multidimensional phenomenon. This phenomenon includes several significant characteristics. Social well-being is one of the main indicators of assessing the state of society, various social groups and individuals. In particular, the value-emotional attitude of an individual to his or her social status, the possibility of satisfying his or her needs, interests, as well as a set of assessments that people give to themselves, their daily interactions with each other, with social institutions, communities and society as a whole. In the conditions of digitalization and transformation of the labor market, the process of legalization of the self-employed in the form of a tax on professional income creates great opportunities for the development of this institution. It also seems relevant to monitor the research of social well-being of the self-employed during this experiment, which will certainly affect its effectiveness and efficiency. The design of this study is an analysis of the social well-being of the self-employed in the Russian Federation. The purpose of this study was to identify the relationship between various characteristics of social well-being of the self-employed in Russia: subjective assessments of their social status, the level of satisfaction of their needs and assessments of life satisfaction, access to various benefits. The main method of empirical research was an online questionnaire survey (N=504). Self-employed citizens of the Russian Federation who pay NPD participated in the survey. The study revealed the following main correlations between subjective assessments of social well-being of the self-employed and assessments of satisfaction with life and access to various benefits. The level of material well-being of the majority is average, while access to forms of leisure and free time varies from watching TV, reading books and magazines to sports, handicrafts, attending movies and theater. Life strategies of the self-employed are related to further building up the potential of self-employment, increasing income, free schedule, planning their future activities. The emotional state of the self-employed is positive. Access to basic development resources is high. Self-identification is associated with free access to various sources of development: educational platforms, availability of means for familiarization with the values of science and art, as well as with involvement in the traditional values of Russian culture: love for the country (most people are not going to leave the country), state, family, society (friends, colleagues). The results of the study allow us to conclude that the study of social well-being is an important criterion and indicator of the self-employed population’s adaptation to the new conditions that have developed in recent years in the Russian labor market and are associated, above all, with the processes of digitalization of the Russian economy. The study of the phenomenon of social well-being of the self-employed in the conditions of digitalization and changes in the labor market also allows us to identify certain problems and trends in the development of the process of institutionalization of self-employment in Russian society.