Working on the Edge? Creative Jobs in Birmingham, Leipzig and Poznan (original) (raw)
The creative industries have generated much political and academic interest in recent years, with the main focus on their economic and employment potential. However, much of the literature on the ‘creative economy’ disregards the ‘quality of work life’ of those in the sector and the fact that much creative employment is typically ‘nonstandard’. Creative work is typically temporary, short-term and project-based; contract working is the norm and there are high levels of self-employment and freelance working. Long working hours are typical (with work often spilling over into home life) and multiple-job holding in associated or different sectors is more frequent than in the general workforce. There is often frequent job changing; earnings areunequal and fluctuating and unpaid work is commonplace. In addition, there is little job protection or security; low levels of unionisation and uncertain career development pathways. This has led many to define working conditions in the creative sector as ‘insecure’ or ‘precarious’. Despite the high levels of risk and uncertainty, however, highly skilled (mainly young) individuals are seeking employment in the creative sector in ever greater numbers. The characteristics outlined above raise important questions about the social and economic sustainability of work and employment in the creative sector, which has implications for policy that argues for an expansion of employment in these industries under present conditions. In this chapter we present an analysis of employment conditions and ‘quality of work’ in the creative sector in three European cities (Birmingham, Leipzig and Poznan), each with different labour market conditions, in order to determine the extent to which creative employment can be regarded as sustainable or insecure and whether creative workers are indeed ‘living on the edge’. We address the following research questions: Are creative workers more exposed to ‘precarious’ and ‘insecure’ forms of employment than workers in other sectors? Do ‘precarious’ employment conditions translate into feelings of job insecurity and dissatisfaction with work, or do autonomy and self-actualisation compensate? Do the characteristics of work and employment in the creative sector reduce or increase gender imbalances? What is the effect of different labour market conditions on levels of ‘precarious’ employment and how does this affect feelings of job satisfaction and job ‘insecurity’?
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