Self-Employment Study Results

This research project intended to find a link between individual’s type of employment and stress levels, work/life balance, work hours, education level, job satisfaction, autonomy, and benefits. The findings were consistent with the research hypotheses. The sample surveyed was a convenient, non-random, non-probability sample that was conducted over the internet using Google surveys. The largest group of respondents were between ages 20 and 35, and were largely self-employed. Overall, self-employed individuals reported more autonomy, less benefits, more work/life balance, less job security, and were moderately satisfied with their job. It was interesting to find that many of the self-employed individuals were still attending college. Recommendations for future research would be to investigate further the link between college students and self-employment, and the increased use of welfare benefits for self-employed individuals. Overall, this study showed that while there are positive outcomes to being self-employed, there are also negative outcomes as well. As the nature of work and employment changes in our world, new possibilities for jobs will arise. Self-employment is one of the avenues that should be researched more in the coming years.