Home-Based Workers Take on More Clients : Their Characteristics as Employed Workers and as Self-Employed  

Oleh:

Kantani, Takayuki

Jenis: Article from Journal - ilmiah internasional
Dalam koleksi: Japan Labor Review vol. 1 no. 2 (2004), page 76-87.
Topik: WORKERS; home - based workers; self - employed
Fulltext: Takayuki Kantani.pdf (36.67KB)

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Perpustakaan Pusat (Semanggi) Nomor Panggil: JJ134.1 Non-tandon: 1 (dapat dipinjam: 0) Tandon: tidak ada

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As the economy becomes more information - oriented and human resources more fluid, employment and working patterns are diversifying, with the distinctions between them becoming increasingly blurred. Reflecting on such trends, the number of home - based workers has increased from 174,000 in 1997 to 290,000 in 2002, according to the author’s estimate.1 Home - based workers are defined as those who “receive payment on a self - employed basis (contract or freelance) by providing services from home (their own home) via information communication devices.” The increase in the number of home - based workers is due to both demand and supply - side factors. One result of the prolonged recession has been the use of home - based work as a form of outsourcing to reduce labor costs. At the same time, this phenomenon is also due to the growing number of workers who choose to work at home because they believe “they can maintain control over their working style and reach a balance with their personal life.” The JIL Research Report introduced in this article discusses what policy measures and support mechanisms are necessary to handle this phenomenon, and whether it is possible to implement them without undermining the autonomous nature of home - based work. Closely linked with this issue is the question of how policymakers should understand and treat workers who are essentially self - employed workers but economically subordinate to those using their services, as captured in the title of the JIL research report, “Characteristics of Home - based Workers as Employed Workers and as Self - Employed.” The JIL research report consisted of a survey and analysis of home - based workers, an examination of support measures and mechanisms, and proposals for legislative initiatives on a number of issues. In this article we will provide an examination of the trend among home - based workers to expand their client - base and the resulting implications based on the survey portion of the report for which I have responsibility (Chapter 2). It will also attempt to evaluate and review the “Guidelines for Properly Conducting Home - based Work” formulated by the former Ministry of Labour, and to explore future paths. The data in this article is from a 1997 survey conducted by the Japan Institute of Labour (hereafter referred to as the 1997 JIL Survey) and a 2002 survey on home - based workers by the Equal Employment, Children and Families Bureau of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (hereafter referred to as the 2002 MHLW Survey). Both surveys employed the definition of home - based workers mentioned above and used similar methodology.

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