The Heterogeneous Profiles of Independent Workers: A Study on Non-Salaried Loggers

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[...] Overall, the working conditions of independents are as varied and heterogeneous as those of salaried workers. Independent workers constitute a highly heterogeneous ensemble of categories from the point of view of working conditions, level of diploma, or remuneration. They share a common philosophy that is the fact of distinguishing themselves both from salaried workers, and from employers who are only concerned with the management of the work of their employees. This status of independent allows us to take the measure of the relationship that the non-salaried worker maintains with their professional activity and to perceive the possible perspectives of social mobility. [...]

[...] The Relationships to Independence of Non-Salaried Loggers' was written based on a field survey conducted in a rural French region over a period spanning from 2007 to 2012. It particularly focuses on the forestry world and especially on logging and it is mainly based on observations made in a work situation and on a report of interviews conducted over these years around two main protagonists. The professional activity of logger studied here is a tool to account for the difference in conditions that exist with this status of independent worker. [...]

[...] The category of independent workers, despite a common history based on an opposition to salaried employment and the market, is characterized by significant internal divergences in terms of income and diplomas. As this text highlights, becoming an independent lumberjack is not expensive, but the sustainable maintenance of his activity passes either by a significant initial capital or by a marital situation that guarantees a monthly income. In addition, the pursued objectives can be different in the sense that independent workers from the working class mostly seek a local activity that is not immediate and that confers a local sociability, whereas the most intellectually gifted workers anticipate a possible layoff and take this status to prepare for this possibility. [...]

[...] Many studies have shown that some of these groups of independent workers, such as merchants and artisans, in particular, have a significant economic capital and it could be affiliated to the traditional French 'bourgeoisie'. This status also affects the popular milieus and is boosted by individual precarious situations such as unemployment, instability of work contracts offered, ease of creating one's own business or campaigns to encourage exercising one's activity independently. The unstable job market situation and the challenges of social mobility are factors that push workers to want to become their own bosses. Conclusion The analysis of independent work does not only focus on what is commonly referred to as 'gig economy'. [...]