Socio‐economic profile and working conditions of freelancers in co‐working spaces and work collectives

Evidence from the design sector in Greece

Bibliographic Data

ID8360724
AuthorsVasilis Avdikos (0000-0002-2601-0712, Department of Economic and Regional Development Panteion University of Social and Political Sciences Athens Greece, corresponding author), Athanasios Kalogeresis (0000-0003-2421-6925, School of Spatial Planning and Development, Faculty of Engineering Aristotle University of Thessaloniki Thessaloniki Greece)
Year2017
Volume49
Issue1
Pages35-42
Publication date2017-03-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueArea (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0004-0894 • E-ISSN: 1475-4762
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/area.12279
OpenAlexW2470810325
LanguageEN
Citations received37
References cited39

Third places, such as business incubators, co‐working spaces and work collectives, represent a new ecosystem of collaborative working practices in the creative economy that alters significantly the spatial distribution of work and the notion of ‘workplace’. Collaborative workplaces emerged after the gradual collapse of the stable employment paradigm that was one of the main features of the Keynesian welfare state and as a response to precarious working conditions that were augmented during the recent economic crisis and the subsequent recession. The paper contributes to the critical understanding of these new geographies of workplace and working conditions that third places manifest. Using data from a large survey about the economics and the working conditions of Greek designers and from four interviews with freelancers in work collectives and facilitators of co‐working spaces, the paper sheds light on the socio‐economic profile and the working conditions of Greek freelance designers that use co‐working spaces and work collectives as means of reducing precarious working conditions and personal–professional risks. The results show that designers in third places, in contrast to freelancers who use formal workplaces or work from home, work long hours with poor pay and a large proportion have no safety net with regard to social security. Third places can be enclaves of the shadow economy and of very specific precarious working conditions. On the other hand, third places help freelance designers become more embedded to business networks, both local and foreign, rather than working in isolation. Networking effects between freelancers and self‐employed who choose to work in third places usually result in greater opportunities for outsourcing and subcontracting and in more exports

Business · Economic growth · Economics · Political science · Poverty · Recession · Shadow (psychology) · Sociology · Welfare · Work (physics) · Working poor · Cultural Industries and Urban Development · Digital Economy and Work Transformation · Facilities and Workplace Management · Law · Psychology

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