1

Thesizeandcharacteristicsoftheon-demandeconomyintheUKand

Europe

UrsulaHuws,NeilH.SpencerandSimonJoyce

Therapidgrowthoftheon-demandeconomyseemstocontinueunabated.1Injustseven

years,Uberhasgonefromstart-uptoaglobalcompanyvaluedat$60billion.2Intheeight

yearssinceitwasfounded,Airbnbhasbecomearguablythelargesthotelierintheworld.3

Whilethesebignamebrandscontinuetomaketheheadlines,smalleron-demand

companiesproliferate,defyingattemptstokeeptrackofthem.Alongsidewhathaverapidly

becomewellknownnames,suchasUber,TaskRabbitandDeliveroo,recentadvertising

campaignsontheLondonUndergroundhavepromotedmyriadnewcompanies.ZipJetwill

collectyourdirtylaundryanddeliveritcleanedandironed.4DogBuddywillwalkyourdog,or

lookafteritwhileyouareawayfromhome,orjustbusy,andwillevensenddigitalphotosof

yourpetforyourpieceofmind–aswillitsrivalTailster,whichusesGPStrackingtokeep

youupdatedondog-walkingprogress,andalsoprovidescat-sittingservices.5Meanwhile,to

easethestressesofmodernlife,Urbanmassagewillsendcertificatedtherapiststoprovidea

rangeofrelaxationtreatmentsintheconvenienceofyourhomeoroffice.Whatismore,

togetherwithinformationabouthowcustomerscanaccess–andpayfor–theirservices,

thesewebsitesallprovidedetailsofhowwould-belaundry-drivers,dog-walkers,cat-sitters,

andmassage-therapistscanearnincomefromprovidingthoseservices.

Attemptstoestimatethesizeandcharacteristicsoftheon-demandeconomyarefraught1TheresearchpresentedherewasconductedbytheHertfordshireBusinessSchool,UniversityofHertfordshire,UK,inassociationwiththeFoundationforEuropeanProgressiveStudies(FEPS),andUNI-Europa.Forfurtherdetails,seeHuws,SpencerandJoyce(2016)(Forthcoming),CrowdworkinEurope:PreliminaryresultsfromasurveyintheUK,Sweden,Germany,AustriaandtheNetherlands.2Thisvaluationhasbeendisputed.SeeKaminska,I.(2016),'MythbustingUber'svaluation',FinancialTimes,13September.Availablehere:http://ftalphaville.ft.com/2016/09/13/2173631/mythbusting-ubers-valuation/?Authorised=false&_i_location=http%3A%2F%2Fftalphaville.ft.com%2F2016%2F09%2F13%2F2173631%2Fmythbusting-ubers-valuation%2F&_i_referer=&classification=conditional_registered&iab=barrier-app(Accessed1November2016).3Economist(2016),'NewYorkdeflatesAirbnb',TheEconomist,29October.Availablehere:http://www.economist.com/news/business/21709353-new-rules-may-temper-airbnb-new-york-its-future-still-looks-bright-new-york-deflates(Accessed1November2016).4https://www.zipjet.co.uk(Accessed1November2016).5https://uk.dogbuddy.com;https://www.tailster.com(Accessed1November2016).

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withdifficulties,however,whicharerootedinthesheervarietyofthisrapidlyexpanding

areaofeconomicactivity,aswellasitsnewness.Thiscombinationofnoveltyand

heterogeneitypresentsresearcherswithconsiderableempiricalandmethodological

challenges,aswellasproblemsofaconceptualnature.Inparticular,thereisasignificant

difficultyconcerninghowtheon-demandeconomyisdefined,6withdifferentdefinitions

leadingtodifferentestimatesofitssize–aswillbediscussedbelow.Despitethese

difficulties,though,progressispossible.

Theapproachadoptedbytheresearchpresentedbelowwastofocusononeparticular

aspectoftheon-demandeconomy;namely,crowdwork.Here,crowdworkisdefinedas

paidworkthatisorganisedbyanonlineplatform.Whileitisorganisedandmediatedonline,

crowdworkcanactuallybecarriedoutonlineoroffline;inthecrowdworker'shomeorin

thecustomer'shome;inaplaceofwork,suchasafactory,office,warehouse,orretail

outlet;orinpublicspacessuchasstreetsorparks.Crowdworkmayrequireonlineskills,or

traditionalcraftskills,orlittleskillatall.Crowdworkersmaybeclassedasemployees,self-

employed,orfreelanceworkers.Butthecommonfactoristhattheworktheydois

organisedbyanonlineplatform,andthatthecrowdworkerhopestogainanincomeby

doingit.Asothercontributionstothisvolumeshow,suchhopesarenotalwaysfulfilled.Yet,

therapidgrowthofthistypeofworkrequiresurgentinvestigationinordertogainan

understandingofwhoisdoingwhatwork,andwhy.

Consequently,thischapterpresentsfindingsfromthefirstattempttoestimatethescaleof

crowdworkinEurope.Thechapterbeginsbydiscussingtheconceptualandempirical

problemsalreadymentioned,followedbythesolutionsthatwereadoptedfortheresearch.

Subsequently,themainfindingsarepresented,andconclusionsdrawn.Asmustinevitably

bethecasewithexploratoryresearchinanewandrapidlychangingfield,someconclusions

remaintentative.Nevertheless,aswillbeshown,theresearchdoesgiveussomeuseful

insightsintotheextentandcharacteristicsofcrowdworkinEurope.

6Huws,U.(2016)AReviewontheFutureofWork:OnlineLabourExchanges,or‘Crowdsourcing’:ImplicationsforOccupationalSafetyandHealth,EuropeanAgencyforSafetyandHealthatWork,Bilbao.Availablehere:https://osha.europa.eu/en/tools-and-publications/publications/future-work-crowdsourcing(Accessed1November2016).

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Whatisknownaboutthescaleandcharacteristicsofcrowdwork:An

overviewofpreviousresearch

Todate,empiricalresearchoncrowdworkhasbeensomewhatlimited.Thissectiongivesan

overviewandofwhatliteratureisavailable.First,previousattemptstoestimatethescaleof

crowdworkarediscussed,followedbyanoutlineofpreviousresearchontypesofwork

done,andthedemographicsofcrowdworkersthemselves.

Extentofcrowdwork

Attemptstoestimatethesizeoftheon-demandeconomyfaceanumberofdifficulties,

whichmainlyderivefromissuesdiscussedabove;namely,thesignificantvarietyofcrowd

workandthelackofcleardefinitionsandacceptedterminology.Inthefaceofsuch

difficulties,researchershaveadoptedanumberofstrategies.Somehavetriedtomake

broadestimatesoftheeconomicvalueofcrowdwork.Othershaveconductedresearchon

particularplatforms.Anotherapproachhasbeentomakeuseofinformationprovidedby

theplatformsthemselves.Morerecently,someresearchershaveattemptedestimatesby

lookingatwiderpopulations.Despitethesevariedefforts,though,reliableestimatesforthe

overallsizeoftheon-demandeconomyremainelusive.

Previousattemptstoassesstheglobalmarketforcrowdworkconfirmitssizeandrapid

growthbutvaryconsiderablyintheirconclusions.Lookingatskilledonlinecreativeand

professionalwork,Elance/oDesk(nowUpwork)estimatedtotalmarketvaluewouldgrow

from$1.6billionin2013to$47billionby2020,7whileStaffingIndustryAnalystsestimated

thevalueofonlinecrowdworkwouldgrowfrom$1billionin2012to$5billionby2018.8

Morebroadly,Kaganeretal.estimatedglobalrevenueof‘humancloud’platformsgrewby

53%in2010and74%in2011.9Massolutionsestimatedin2012thatcrowdworkernumbers

wereincreasingbymorethan100%eachyear.10Itisfarfromclear,though,howsuch

estimatestranslateintonumbersofactualcrowdworkers.

7Hippler,K.(2014)‘Theonlineworkrevolution’,presentationtoDynamicsofVirtualWork(COSTActionIS1202)Meeting,UniversityofBucharest,28March,2014.8TheEconomist(2013)‘”Talentexchanges”onthewebarestartingtotransformtheworldofwork’,TheEconomistJune1.9Kaganer,E.,Carmel,E.,Hirschheim,R.andOlsen,T.(2013)‘ManagingtheHumanCloud’MITSloanManagementReview,Winter.10Massolutions(2012)CrowdsourcingIndustryreport:Enterprisecrowdsourcing:marketproviderandworkertrends,http://www.massolution.com/

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Inprinciple,itshouldbepossibletoarriveatafigureforthetotalnumberofcrowdworkers

bystartingfromthenumbersregisteredoneachplatform.Thisinformationisheldbythe

platforms,andmany–especiallythosemediatingonlinework,inapotentiallyglobalmarket

–displayfiguresforthenumberofworkersregistered.Forinstance,German-basedTwago

claimsover576,000'experts',including239,743programmers,85,622appdevelopers,

176,953developers,68,498writers,and57,081onlinemarketers.11However,theaccuracy

ofsuchnumbersisopentoquestion.Forinstance,thesefiguresarelikelytoincludepeople

whoareinactive,orregisteredonanumberofdifferentplatforms.Furthermore,thefigures

displayedbyplatformsoftendemonstratethelackofcleardefinitionsalreadynoted.For

instance,Freelancerclaimsmorethan20million'registeredusers'andover10million'total

jobsposted'.12Amongthe'registeredusers',however,nodistinctionismadebetween

workersandcustomers.Upworkissimilarlyvague,claiming'100,000+top-ratedweb

programmers','10,000+top-ratedmobiledevelopers','25,000+top-ratedwritersand

editors',and'15,000+top-ratedconsultants',amongmanyothers.13Notonlyarethese

numbersinexact,butitisnotclearwhetherorhowmanyindividualsareregisteredinmore

thanonecategory.

Forplatformshandlingthemosthighlyskilledandhighstatus,professionalwork,numbers

aremuchsmaller.Forinstance,intheUK,Axiomofferstheservicesof'over1500+

employeesacross3continents'providingarangeofbusinessservicesfrom'attorneys'and

'paralegals'to'managedservices'and'projectmanagers'.14Smallerstill,EdenMcCallum

offers500managementconsultants.15

Platformsthatmediateworkcarriedoutofflineseem,ifanything,evenlessconcernedabout

postingexactnumbersofregisteredworkers–perhapsbecausetheyservemorelocal

markets.Forinstance,whileRatedPeopleclaims50,000'qualitylocaltradespeople',16and

cleaningplatformHassle(nowpartofHelpling)claims'morethan2,500independent

11https://www.twago.com(Accessed14October2016).12http://www.freelancer.co.uk(Accessed14October2016).13https://www.upwork.com(Accessed14October2016).14http://www.axiomlaw.com(Accessed14October2016).15TheEconomist(2015)‘Freelanceworkersavailableatamoment’snoticewillreshapethenatureofcompaniesandthestructureofcareers’,TheEconomist,January3.16https://www.ratedpeople.com/trades/(Accessed15October2016).

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cleaners',17nonumberofregistered'Taskers'couldbefoundontheTaskrabbitwebsite.18

Uberclaims'morethan30,000'driversinLondon,19althoughthisnumberisnotmentioned

onitswebsite.Oncemore,aswithplatformsforonlinework,manyofflineworkplatforms

aremuchsmaller.Forinstance,TaskpandasprovideshouseholdservicesinfiveUKcities,

andclaims‘over1,500activePandaslookingtoearnsomeextramoneyintheseuncertain

times’.20Notsurprisingly,gaugingthetotalnumberofpeopleworkingviasuchplatformsis

farfromstraightforward.

Tocomplicatemattersfurther,thenumberofcrowdworkplatformsisverylarge.While

someareinternational,othersoperateonlyatlocal,regionalornationallevel.21Moreover,

systematicdocumentingofonlineworkplatformsappearslacking.In2014,StaffingIndustry

Analystsidentified'145onlinestaffingplatformbusinesses'globally,including33inChina,

butadded,'thereareactuallylikelytobealargernumberoftinyplatformbusinesseswe

havenotdetected'.22Giventherapidexpansionofthissectoroftheonlineeconomy,and

theproliferationofcrowdworkplatforms,thesenumbersseemratherlow;indeed,the

uncertaintyexpressedaboutthenumberofsmallerplatformsaccuratelyreflectsthe

difficultiesinvolvedinkeepingpacewithchangeinthisarea.Clearly,then,thelargenumber

ofplatforms,extremerangeofnumberscitedbydifferentplatforms,inexactfigures,and

lackofclarityastowhatthesenumbersreferto,combinetopresentmajordifficultiesfor

estimatingatotalnumberofcrowdworkersstartingfrominformationgivenbythe

platformsthemselves.

Analternativeapproachtoestimatingparticipationincrowdworkhasbeentoexamine

patternsofeconomicactivity,especiallyformsofemployment,acrossnationalpopulations.

Unfortunately,officialemploymentstatisticshavesofarnotkeptpacewiththespeedof17Archivedpressrelease.https://hassle.com/uk/press-releases/national-expansion(Accessed15October2016).18https://www.taskrabbit.co.uk(Accessed15October2016).19https://www.ft.com/content/2bedda7a-4e7e-11e6-88c5-db83e98a590a20http://www.taskpandas.com/about_us.php(Accessed15October2016).21Green,A.,deHoyos,M.,Barnes,S-A.,Baldauf,B.andBehle,H.(2014)'ExploratoryResearchonInternet-enabledWorkExchangesandEmployability.Analysisandsynthesisofqualitativeevidenceoncrowdsourcingforwork,fundingandvolunteers',inEuropeanCommissionJointResearchCentreInstituteforProspectiveTechnologicalStudies,JRCScientificandPolicyReports;Mandl,I.,(2014)EuropeanFoundationfortheImprovementofLiving&WorkingConditions,‘StatusquoandfirstfindingsoncrowdemploymentandICTbased,mobilework’,presentationtoDynamicsofVirtualWork(COSTActionIS1202)Meeting,UniversityofBucharest,28March,2014.22http://www2.staffingindustry.com/eng/Research/Research-Topics-Reports/North-America/2014-Online-Staffing-Platform-Landscape-Can-more-be-better(Accessed15October2016).

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developmentofnewformsofworkorganisationand,consequently,reliablenationalfigures

aregenerallylacking.ThesedifficultieswereexemplifiedrecentlybyadebateintheUSA

thatwassparkedbyofficialfiguresshowingnogrowthinself-employment.Sinceitis

commonlyassumedthatariseinself-employmentwouldaccompanyagrowthofcrowd

working,thesefiguresledtheWallStreetJournal23toquestionwidespreadperceptionsof

rapidgrowthintheonlineand‘gig’economy.Aswasquicklypointedout,however,other

setsofofficialstatisticstoldadifferentstory,withsomesupportingclaimsofgrowth.24

Indeed,theproblematicnatureofofficialstatisticsinthisareawassoonapparent.One

analystexpressedthefrustrationsofmany:'itseemsridiculousthatithasprovensodifficult

totrackandcounttheselabormarkettrends'.25Amajorunderlyingdifficulty,though,isthat

standardstatisticalcategoriesareoftenpoorlysuitedtogatheringdataonnewformsof

workorganisation;forinstance,because'increasingly...moreandmoreworkersexist

simultaneouslyinmultipleworkercategories'.26Furthermore,crowdworkhasgrown

unevenlyacrosstheUSA,sothatnewpatternsofwork,whichhavebecomerelatively

commonplaceincitiessuchasSanFranciscoandAustin,Texas,remainmuchlesscommonin

otherareas.27Untilofficialstatisticscatchupwiththesechangingemploymentpractices,

estimatesofthecrowdworkforcebasedonthesefigureswillcontinuetopresentproblems.

AnumberofrecentstudiesfromtheUShaveusedavarietyofothermethodstoinvestigate

newformsofwork,andhaveproduceddisparateresults.ResearchforTimemagazine,28

carriedoutbyPennSchoenBerland29inpartnershipwithBurson·Marsteller30andtheAspen

InstituteFutureofWorkInitiative,31investigatedbothworkersandusersintheon-demand

economy,definedbroadlytoinclude'ridesharing,accommodationsharing,taskservice,

shorttermcarrental,orfoodandgoodsdelivery’.32Resultsfromarepresentativeonline

23Zumbrun,J.andSussman,L.(2015),'Proofofa"GigEconomy"revolutionishardtofind',WallStreetJournal,July26,2015.Seealso,Zumbrun,J.(2015),'Anenduringmysteryofthe‘GigEconomy’:whyaresofewpeopleself-employed?'WallStreetJournal,October22,2015.24Hill,S.(2015),'HowBIGistheGIG(economy)',Medium,September9,2015.https://medium.com/the-wtf-economy/how-big-is-the-gig-economy-e674c7986a28#.q8j6v0zbf25Ibid.26Hill,S.(2015),'HowBIGistheGIG(economy)',Medium,September9,2015.https://medium.com/the-wtf-economy/how-big-is-the-gig-economy-e674c7986a28#.q8j6v0zbf27Hathaway,I.(2015),'Thegigeconomyisrealifyouknowwheretolook',HarvardBusinessReview,August13,2015.28Steinmetz,K.(2016)‘Exclusive:SeeHowBigtheGigEconomyReallyis’Time,January6.AccessedonSeptember3,2016from:http://time.com/4169532/sharing-economy-poll/29http://psbresearch.com(Accessed16October2016)30http://www.burson-marsteller.com/ondemand-survey/(Accessed16October2016)31https://www.aspeninstitute.org/search/future%20of%20work%20initiative(Accessed16October2016)32http://www.burson-marsteller.com/ondemand-survey/(Accessed16October2016)

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surveysuggestedthatthat42%ofUSadults'haveusedatleastoneon-demandeconomy

service',while22%'haveofferedoneon-demandeconomyservice’.33Byanymeasure,these

arelargenumbers.However,theauthorsdonotprovideabreakdownshowingwhat

proportionofrespondentsmightbeconsideredcrowdworkers,ratherthanprovidersof

someotheronlineservice.Similarlylargenumberswerearrivedatbyresearchersatthe

McKinseyGlobalInstitute,34whousedacombinationofofficialstatisticsandsurvey

methodstoestimatethesizeofthe'independentworkforce'intheUSandEU-15countries

at20-30percentoftheworkingagepopulation,orupto162millionpeople.Theverybroad

definitionof'independentwork'usedbythisstudy,whichincludedworkersonfixedterm

contractsofupto12months,andtemporaryworkagencystaff,alongsidethosewho'sell

goodsorrentoutassetssuchassparerooms',35inevitablyproducedaverylargeestimate.

Withinthisoverallfigure,theresearchersfoundthatsome15percentofindependent

workers,thusdefined,makeuseofan'onlinemarketplace',36andthataround4percentof

theworking-agepopulationhaveusedanonlineplatformtogainincome.37

Usingasomewhatnarrowerdefinitionof'onlineintermediatedwork',KatzandKreuger38

foundnotablylowerlevelsofparticipation,withonly‘about0.5percentofworkersindicate

thattheyareworkingthroughanonlineintermediary,suchasUberorTaskRabbit’.39Plainly,

thisisamuchsmallerfigurethanthestudiescitedabove.40Inpart,thisdifferencemust

reflectthenarrowerfocusofKatzandKrueger'sresearch,whichutilisedaversionofthe

discontinuedContingentWorkerSurvey(CWS)thatwaspreviouslyadministeredbytheUS

BureauofLaborStatistics,butdiscontinuedin2005.TheCWSwasdesignedtoinvestigate

33http://www.burson-marsteller.com/ondemand-survey/(Accessed16October2016)34McKinseyGlobalInstitute(2016)IndependentWork:Choice,NecessityandtheGigEconomy,October2016.Availablehere:http://www.mckinsey.com/global-themes/employment-and-growth/independent-work-choice-necessity-and-the-gig-economy(Accessed7October2016).35Ibid.,p.2.36Ibid.p.viii.37Ibid.p.12.38Katz.L.F.&Kreuger,A.B.(2016)TheRiseandNatureofAlternativeWorkArrangementsintheUnitedStates,1995-2015,PrincetonUniversity.Availablehere:https://krueger.princeton.edu/sites/default/files/akrueger/files/katz_krueger_cws_-_march_29_20165.pdf-2015.(Accessed3September2016).39Ibid.p.15.40KatzandKrueger'sfindingswerebroadlyinlinewithpreviousresearchbasedonGooglesearchesforonlineworkplatforms;see,Harris,S.andKrueger,A.(2015),'AproposalformodernizingLaborLawsforTwenty-First-Centurywork:the"IndependentWorker”,'TheHamiltonProject,DiscussionPaper2015-10,WashingtonDC,December2015.Availablehere:http://www.hamiltonproject.org/assets/files/modernizing_labor_laws_for_twenty_first_century_work_krueger_harris.pdf(Accessed16October2016).

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'theincidenceofalternativeworkarrangementsintheUSeconomy';41consequently,crowd

workersappearaspartofamuchlargergroup,includingtemporaryhelp,on-call,and

contractcompanyworkers,aswellasindependentcontractorsorfreelancers.Thesurvey

foundthat,altogether,theseformsofworkhadincreasedfrom10.1percentofthe

workforcein2005to17.2percentin2015.However,theCWSisdesignedtoidentify'each

individual'smainjob',42althoughKatzandKruegeralsoaskedabout'asecondaryjob'.Other

research,43though,suggeststhat,formostusersofonlineworkplatforms,crowdworkis

verymuchasupplementaryactivity;somethingperformedinadditiontoamainjob,which

canscarcelybeconsidered'ajob'atall.Consequently,framingcrowdworkintermsofmain

orsecondaryjobmaywellleadtorespondentsunderstatingparticipationrates.

Furthermore,theCWSidentifiedascrowdworkersonlythosewhorespondedthatthey

wereengagedin'directsellingtocustomers',whichseemsapotentiallyconfusing

descriptionofmuchcrowdwork;notleastbecausemanycrowdworkersmightwellsee

themselvesasworkingfortheplatformsratherthansellingdirectlytoacustomer.For

instance,itisclearfromanumberofcourtcasesthatmanyUberdriversconsider

themselvestobeworkingfortheplatform.44IndeedKatzandKrugerrecognisethedifficulty

ofusingthisdefinitionforisolatingplatform-mediatedwork.45Oncemore,though,theuse

ofproblematicdefinitionsmayhaveresultedintheCWSunder-estimatingparticipationin

crowdwork.

ThesupplementarynatureofmuchcrowdworkwasunderlinedbythefindingsofFarrelland

Greig,whoconductedabigdatastudyexaminingremittancesfromonlineplatformsintothe

bankaccountsofsome1millionUScustomersofJPMorganChasebank.46Thisprocedure

identifiedpatternsofpaymentsfrom30onlineplatforms,whichincludedboth'labour'

platforms,mediatingcrowdwork,and'capital'platforms,mediatingactivitiessuchas

rentingoutroomsorsellinggoodsonline.FarrellandGreigfoundthateachmonthalmost41Ibid.p.1.42KatzandKrueger(2016)p.3.43Eurofound(2015),NewFormsofEmployment,PublicationsOfficeoftheEuropeanUnion,Luxembourg.Availablehere:http://www.eurofound.europa.eu/publications/report/2015/working-conditions-labour-market/new-forms-of-employment(Accessed27September2016).44IntheUK,arecentEmploymentTribunalrulinghasagreedwithsuchaview:https://www.ft.com/content/a0bb02b2-9d0a-11e6-a6e4-8b8e77dd083a(Accessed1November2016).45KatzandKrueger(2016)p.16.46Farrell,D.&Greig,F.(2016)Paychecks,Paydays,andtheOnlinePlatformEconomy,NewYork:JPMorganChaseInstitute.Availablehere:https://www.jpmorganchase.com/corporate/institute/document/jpmc-institute-volatility-2-report.pdf(Accessed1November2016).

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onepercentofadultsearnedincomefromthe‘onlineplatformeconomy’,witharound0.4

percentearningincomefromalabourplatform.47Overthethreeyearsofthestudy,upto

September2015,0.9percentparticipatedinpaidworkviaanonlineplatformatleastonce.

Furthermore,participationincrowdworkinanygivenmonthwassignificantlyassociated

withfluctuationinearningsfromotheremployment,suggestingthatincomefromcrowd

workwasbeingsoughttomakeupforreducedincomefromothersources.Ofcourse,these

findingsexcludeanyincomefromplatformsotherthanthoseselectedforthisstudyand,

perhapsmoreimportantlyexcluderemittancesfromthirdpartypaymentsystems,suchas

PayPal.48Again,thismaycontributetounderestimatingactualparticipationincrowdwork.

Therangeofdifferentempiricalmethodsemployedbythesestudies,aswellastheir

somewhatdivergentfindingsunderlinethedifficultiesfacedbyresearchinthisarea.Itmust

beconcluded,therefore,thatwhilepreviousresearchsuggeststhatcrowdworkisa

significantandrapidlygrowingphenomenon,sofartherearenoreliableestimatesofits

actualextent.

Characteristicsofcrowdworkandcrowdworkers

Oneoftheprincipalcharacteristicsofcrowdworkistheextremevarietyoftasksthatare

mediatedviaonlineplatforms.Thus,AmazonMechanicalTurkmediatessimpleonlinetasks

andclickwork,whileUpworkdoesthesameformorecomplexonlinework.TaskRabbit

mediatesodd-jobtasksandotherofflinework,whileMyHammerperformsasimilarrolefor

theworkofmoreskilledtradespeople.Ubermediatesbetweendriversandpassengersto

providetaxi-likeservices,andDeliverooorganisesbicycleandmotor-scooterriderstodeliver

foodfromrestaurantstopeople'shomes.Thisvariety,however,hasnotbeenfullyreflected

inpreviousresearch,whichhastendedtoconcentrateonthoseengagedinonlinecrowd

work(seebelow).

Whileonlinecrowdworkiscertainlyvaried,onceofflinetasksareincluded,thevarietyof

workdoneincreasesdramatically.TheUKsiteMybuilder,49forexample,listsawiderangeof

‘trades’,includingbricklayers,demolitioncontractors,electricians,gasengineers,fencers,

groundworkers,roofers,stonemasons,treesurgeons,andwindowfitters.Taskrabbitoffers

'Taskers'whocanbehiredtoassemblefurniture,removegardenwaste,'repairandreplace47Ibid.p.21.48As,forinstance,isthepracticeofCrowdFlower.49http://www.mybuilder.com(Accessed1November2016).

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mosthouseholditems',orperform'heavylifting'.50Crowdworkcarriedoutinotherpeople's

homescanalsoincludepersonalserviceandcareroles,andavarietyofcleaningandother

domestictasks.Plainly,crowdworkmayalsoincludeavarietyofdrivinganddeliverytasks.

Oncemore,though,theseaspectsofcrowdworkhaveusuallybeeninvestigatedthrough

individualisedandjournalisticaccounts.51

Amongcharacteristicsthatarecommonacrossalltypesofcrowdwork,perhapsthemost

widespreadandconsistentlyreportedisitsextremeprecariousness.52Crowdworkersoften

facedifficultyinobtainingwork,inobtainingsufficientwork,andinreceivingpaymentfor

workdone.53Often,crowdworkersarerequiredtoworkatveryshortnotice,andfailureto

acceptajobmayresultinfinancialorotherpenalties.Furthermore,paymentmaybe

withheldbytheplatformifworkisnotconsideredacceptablebytheclient.54Adverseratings

fromcustomerscanreduceprospectsforfuturework,therateofpaymentreceived,oreven

leadtoexclusionfromtheplatformaltogether.Researchhasshownthatmanycrowd

workerscomplainofunjustwithholdingofpayment,whichisperceivedasaformof

‘scammingforfreework’.55Consequently,crowdworkisoftenassociatedwiththewider

spreadofprecariousworkandincomeinsecurity.56

50https://www.taskrabbit.co.uk/m/featured(Accessed16March2016)51Forinstance:Bhattacharya,S.(2015)'TaskRabbit:Howanappcanrelieveyouofallyourchores',DailyTelegraph,5December.Availablehere:http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/technology-companies/12026750/TaskRabbit-How-an-app-can-relieve-you-of-all-your-chores.html(Accessed1November2016);Hayns,J.(2016)'UberEatsWorkersonStrikeandHungryforFairPay',NovaraMedia,27August.Availablehere:http://novaramedia.com/2016/08/27/ubereats-workers-on-strike-and-hungry-for-fair-pay/?utm_content=buffer45841&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer(Accessed1November2016);52Foradiscussionofthelinkbetweenprecariousnessandpsychosocialriskfactors,seeEurofound(2009)RiseinPsychosocialriskfactorsintheWorkplace.Dublin:EuropeanFoundationfortheImprovementofLivingandWorkingConditions.Availableat:http://kernelmag.dailydot.com/features/report/4732/my-gruelling-day-as-an-amazon-mechanical-turk/(Accessed1November2016).53Berg,J.(2016)Incomesecurityintheon-demandeconomy:Findingsandpolicylessonsfromasurveyofcrowdworkers,InternationalLabourOffice,Geneva.Availablehere:http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---ed_protect/---protrav/---travail/documents/publication/wcms_479693.pdf(Accessed1November2016);Eurofound(2015).54ManyaccountsofAmazonMechanicalTurkdescribelargenumbersofrejections.Seeforinstance:http://www.cnet.com/news/amazons-mechanical-turk-lets-you-make-sort-of/(Accessed1November2016);http://kernelmag.dailydot.com/features/report/4732/my-gruelling-day-as-an-amazon-mechanical-turk/55Seeforinstance,complaintsbyElanceavailablehere:http://www.consumeraffairs.com/employment/elance.html(Accessed1November2016).56SeePennycook,M.,Cory,G.&Alakeson,V.(2013)AMatterofTime:Theriseofzero-hourcontracts,ResolutionFoundation,availablehere:http://www.resolutionfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/A_Matter_of_Time_-_The_rise_of_zero-hours_contracts_final_1.pdf(Accessed1November2016).

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Turningtothecharacteristicsofcrowdworkersthemselves,again,previousresearchhas

tendedtofocusonthoseengagedinonlinework,viaplatformssuchasAmazonMechanical

Turk(AMT)andCrowdFlower.Onlinecrowdworkersareparticularlyamenabletostudyby

thestraightforwardmethodofpostinganonlinesurveyasapaidtaskontheplatformitself.

ResearchcarriedoutinthiswayhasfoundthatAMTworkersintheUStendtobeyoung

(48%borninthe1980s),collegeeducated(over90%),and'internet-literate’.57Inother

respects,US'Turkers'arebroadlyrepresentativeoftheUSpopulation.58Forinstance,inthe

US,AMTworkershaveanalmost50-50gendersplit.59Bycontrast,AMTworkersinIndia,

andelsewhereonotherplatforms,arearound70percentaremale.60Furthermore,Indian

AMTworkersalsotendtobeslightlyyoungerthantheirUScounterparts.61

OtherresearchhasemphasisedthediversityofAMTworkers.LillyIranireported,‘[AMT]

workersIhavemetincludelaid-offteachers,mobility-impairedprofessionals,military

retirees,agoraphobicwriters,undersupportedcollegestudents,stay-at-homeparentsand

evenMalaysianprogrammers-in-training’.62Asignificantproportionofhome-based,online

crowdworkersdothistypeofworkbecausetheyeitherprefertoworkathomeorcannot

workoutsidethehome,whetherduetopoorhealth,disability,orcaringresponsibilities.63

FormanyUScrowdworkers,payreceivedviaanonlineplatformisawayofsupplementing

otherearnings.64Indeed,researchersattheMcKinseyGlobalInstitutereportthatsome30

percentofthe'independentworkforce'fallintocategoriestheyterm'reluctants'or

'financiallystrapped',whoparticipateinformsofinsecureworkduetofinancialpressures.65

Otherevidencetendstosupporttheseaccounts.Forinstancejournalisticaccounts66

57Berg(2016);Ipierotis,P.(2010)DemographicsofMechanicalTurk,WorkingPaper,DepartmentofInformation,Operation,andManagementSciencesLeonardN.SternSchoolofBusinessNewYorkUniversity.Availablehere:http://www.ipeirotis.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/CeDER-10-01.pdf(Accessed1November2016).58Zentz,D.(2015)‘IntellectualPiecework’,TheChronicleofHigherEducation,February16.59AMTrespondents52%male,accordingtoEurofound(2016),p.5.60Ibid.Seealso,Kittur,A.,Nickerson,J.V.,Bernstein,M.S.,Gerber,E.M..Shaw,A.,Zimmerman,J.Lease,M.andHorton,J.J.(2013)‘TheFutureofCrowdWork’,CSCW,February23-27.61Kittur,A.,Nickerson,J.V.,Bernstein,M.S.,Gerber,E.M..Shaw,A.,Zimmerman,J.Lease,M.andHorton,J.J.(2013)‘TheFutureofCrowdWork’,CSCW,February23-27.62Irani,L.(2015)’DifferenceandDependenceamongDigitalWorkers’,SouthAtlanticQuarterly,January,p.231.63Berg(2016).64Ibid..Seealso,FarrellandGreig(2016).65McKinseyGlobalInstitute(2016).66Forinstance,DePillis,L.(2014)‘AttheUberforhomecleaning,workerspayapriceforconvenience’,WashingtonPost,September2014;Shontell,A.(2011),'Mynightmareexperience

12

documentdifficultiesinobtainingwork,extremelylowpay,haphazardorganisational

arrangements,absenceofguarantees,andlackofinsurance,aswellasthediversityof

crowdworkers.

PreviousresearchinEuropeismorelimitedstill.Amongasmallnumberofcasestudies,one

lookedatfreelanceplatformPeople-per-hour67andfoundthatmostofitsusers(63.5%)

werebasedintheUKwiththeremainderspreadwidelyacrosstheglobe.AswiththeUS

studies,userstendedtobeyoung,withanevengendersplit.68Morerecently,Eurofound

conductedaseriesofcasestudiesacrossEurope,whichconfirmedthepicturefound

elsewhereofarelativelyyoung,relativelywell-educated,fairlyevenlygenderbalanced

crowdworkforce,forwhomcrowdworkisusually'aspare-timejobalongsideanotherjob,

educationorcareresponsibilities'.69Beyondtheseinitial,exploratorystudies,however,

detailedevidenceinEuropeisscarce–inparticular,thereisalackofsurveyevidence.

Researchdesignandmethods

Astheabovereviewofpreviousliteratureshows,thereisanotablelackofresearch

investigatingbasicfeaturesofcrowdworkinEurope.Theresearchpresentedbelowwas

thereforedesignedtoinvestigatethenumbersofpeopleengagedincrowdwork,their

demographiccharacteristics,whattypesofworktheyareengagedin,andtheextentto

whichcrowdworkformstheirmainsourceofincome.

asaTaskRabbitdrone',BusinessInsider,7December2011,http://www.businessinsider.com/confessions-of-a-task-rabbit-2011-12?IR=T;Kessler,S.(2014),'Pixelanddimed',FastCompany,18March2014:http://www.fastcompany.com/3027355/pixel-and-dimed-on-not-getting-by-in-the-gig-economy;Rich,L.J.(2013),'Sohowmuchmoneycanyoumakecrowdworking?',BBCNews,7September2013:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-23959890.67On22/02/2015thePeople-per-hourwebsiteclaimed40,000‘curatedfreelances’.Morerecently,however,nofigureforthenumberofregisteredworkerscouldbefound–perhapspartofatrendawayfromwebsiteusingsuchfiguresaspartoftheirmarketingefforts.Accessed17October,2016.68Green,A.deHoyos,M.,Barnes,S-A,Baldauf,B.andBehle,H.(2013)CrowdemployCrowdsourcingCaseStudies:anEmpiricalInvestigationintotheImpactofCrowdsourcingonEmployability,EuropeanCommissionJointResearchCentreInstituteforProspectiveTechnologicalStudies.69Eurofound(2016),p.113.

13

Surveydesign

Theprincipaldifficultiesindesigningasurveytoinvestigatecrowdworkstemfromthesame

varietyofworkundertakenandlackofcommonlyaccepteddefinitionsandterminologythat

havealreadybeendiscussed.Inparticular,terminologicaluncertaintymeansthatany

attempttoaskdirectquestions,suchas'Areyouacrowdworker?',wouldbeverylikelyto

causeuncertaintyandconfusionamongrespondents,leadingtoquestionableorunreliable

results.Therefore,asurveywasdesignedthatwouldcaptureamuchwiderrangeofonline

economicactivity,includingactivitieswithwhichcrowdworkmightbeconfused–suchas

buyingandsellinggoodsorpersonalpossessionsonline,rentingoutaccommodation,online

job-searches,orusingemployers'specialistappsforlogginghoursorworkdone.Subsequent

questionswerethenasked,tofilteroutnon-crowdworkactivities.70Oncecrowdworkhad

beenisolatedinthisway,furtherquestionswereaskedaboutissuessuchasthetypesof

workundertaken,frequencyofcrowdwork,andproportionofearningsderivedfromcrowd

work.Bythismethod,itwouldbepossibletoestimateboththeextentofcrowdworking

amongsurveyrespondents,aswellasidentifyinganumberofimportantcharacteristicsof

crowdworkandcrowdworkers.

Sampling

Becauseofbudgetaryrestrictions,itwasnotpossibletoconductlarge-scaleofflinesurveys.

Therefore,itwasdecidedtoconductthesurveyonline,viaanexistingomnibussurveythat

isrepresentativeofthegeneralpopulation;inthiscase,theregulariOmnibussurveyrunby

marketresearchcompanyIPSOS-Mori.71ThesurveywasconductedinitiallyintheUK,and

subsequentlyinSweden,Germany,Austria,andtheNetherlands.Ineachcountry,theIPSOS-

MoriiOmnibussurveysamplewasstratifiedtomatchthenationalpopulationonanumber

ofdemographicdimensions,suchasage,gender,regionandworkingstatus,withtheresults

weightedtoreflectknowndifferencesbetweenonlineandofflinepopulations.

Twofurtherconsiderationsarisefromthissamplingmethod.First,forreasonsrelatedto

marketresearchpracticesineachcountry,stratificationvariedslightlybetweenthesurveys

(seeTable1).Forinstance,theagerangesofthesamplesisnotconsistent.72Secondly,due

70ThissurveydesigndrewontheextensiveexperienceofPrincipalResearcher,ProfessorUrsulaHuws,whohasextensiveexperienceofpioneeringresearchonotheremergingtechnology-relatedformsofwork,suchasteleworking,telemediatedmobileworkingandoffshoreoutsourcing.71IPSOS-Moriresearchcomplieswiththeethicsstandards[???]ofESOMAR[websitedetails].72Inthepresentationoffindingssetoutbelow,samplingissuesareclearlynotedandexplained.

14

tothelackofpreviousresearchinthisarea,itwasnotpossibletocontrolthesamplesfor

participationinonlineactivity.Intheabsenceofrobustcontrols,extrapolationfromthe

surveyfindingstothepopulationofeachcountryasawholeissubjecttotheusualcautions

relatingtothegeneralisationofresultsfromonlinesurveys.73Consequently,careisneeded

whenattemptingtodrawconclusionsabouttheoverallextentofcrowdwork.74

Table1Samplesandstratification

Researchfindings

Theextentofcrowdwork

Thissectionpresentsfindingsrelatedtothelevelofparticipationincrowdwork,andthe

relationshipofcrowdworktootherformsofpaidemployment.Thesurveysprovided

73Williams,C.C.andSchneider,F.(2016),MeasuringtheGlobalShadowEconomy:ThePrevalenceofInformalWorkandLabour,EdwardElgar,Cheltenham,pp.39-56.74Atthetimeofwriting,plansarebeingdevelopedtoconductofflineresearchinordertocalibratetheonlinefindingsmoreprecisely,therebypermittingextrapolation.Inthemeantime,findingspresentedbelowcanbetreatedasabroadlyrepresentativesampleofcrowdworkersineachcountry;asample,moreover,whichisindependentofanyparticularonlineplatform.

Country Sample

size

Surveydates Age

range

Stratification

UK 2,238 22-26Jan

2016

16-75 Age,gender,region,socialgrade,

workingstatus

Sweden 2,146 26Feb-7Mar

2016

16-65 Age,gender,region,workingstatus

Germany 2,180 1-4April

2016

16-70 Age,gender,region,populationdensity

ofrespondentsettlement,chiefincome

earnerofhousehold,householdsize,

workingstatus

Austria 1,969 1-4April

2016

18-65 Age,gender,region,workingstatus

Netherlands 2,125 22-27April

2016

16-70 Age,gender,economicactivity,region,

workingstatus

15

backgroundinformationaboutonlineeconomicactivityaswellasmoredetailedevidence

aboutparticipationincrowdwork.AsFigure1shows,onlineeconomicactivitywas

commonplaceamongthesamplessurveyed.Inparticular,thesellingofpersonalpossessions

onwebsitessuchaseBaywasespeciallywidespread,withmorethanhalfofthesamplein

eachcountrytellingusthattheyhaddonethisatsometimeinthepast.Notethatthese

figuresrefertopeoplewhotoldusthattheyhadengagedintheseformsofonlineeconomic

activityatanytimeinthepast;thatis,thesefiguresdonotconveyfrequency.

Participationincrowdwork–thatis,paidworkmediatedviaanonlineplatform–wasless

commonthanmostotherformsofonlineeconomicactivity,butwasneverthelessclearly

presentinallofthesamplessurveyed(seeFigure1).Infourofthecountries(UK,Sweden,

Germany,Netherlands),participationrateswereremarkablysimilar,rangingbetween9and

12percent,withAustriaregisteringahigherrate,at19percent.Thesefigurestranslatetoa

sampleofapproximately200-300crowdworkersineachcountry,withtheexceptionof

Austria,wherethenumberofcrowdworkerswassome374.

[Figure1abouthere.]

Again,theseheadlinefiguresrefertorespondentswhosaidthattheyhadgainedincome

fromcrowdworkatanytimeinthepast,nottheproportionofthesamplewhofrequently

engagedincrowdwork.AsFigure2shows,muchsmallerproportionsofeachsampletoldus

thattheyparticipatedincrowdworkmoreoften.Thatis,ourfindingsshowthatfrequent

crowdworkwasconsiderablylesscommonthatoccasionalcrowdworkinthesesamples.

Thus,intheUK,Sweden,GermanyandtheNetherlands,some5-6percentofthesample

reportedthattheyengagedinpaidcrowdworkatleastonceeachweek,and9percentin

Austria;thatis,roughlyhalfthenumberswhohaddonecrowdworkatanytimepreviously.

Interestingly,asFigure2alsoshows,thenumbersofpeopletellingusthattheyengagedin

crowdworkatleastoncepermonthwereonlymarginallyhigherthanthenumbersaying

thattheyperformedcrowdworkatleastweekly.Thissuggeststheemergenceofasmallbut

significantgroupineachsamplewhoareengagedincrowdworkonafairlyregularbasis–in

additiontoanothergroupwhohavedonecrowdworkmuchmoreintermittently.

[Figure2abouthere.]

16

Thus,whenconsideringtheextentofcrowdwork,itisimportanttounderstandthe

significantvariationinfrequencyofparticipation.Unlikemanymoretraditionalformsof

employment,crowdworkis,toaconsiderabledegree,irregularwork.Itisnoticeablethat

Austriaconsistentlyregisteredhigherlevelsofparticipationincrowdworkthandidthe

samplesinothercountries.Thismayinpartbeduetosamplingissues(asdiscussedabove),

oritmaybeduetoagreaterwillingnesstoexperimentwithcrowdworkamongtheAustrian

onlinepopulation(seebelowforfurtherevidenceconcerningAustriancrowdworking).

Theexistenceofagroupofoccasionalorveryoccasionalcrowdworkers,inadditiontoa

smallernumberoffrequentcrowdworkers,suggeststhatmanyareexperimentingwith

crowdworkinsomeway.Thiswidergroupmaybetermed"platformtourists"orperhaps

even"platform-curious".Theidentificationofthispatternofinfrequent,experimentalcrowd

worksuggeststheemergenceofconcertedonlinestrategiesforsecuringpaidworkamong

sectionsofthewiderworkforce.Theseonlinework-searchstrategiesappeartoincludethe

investigationofcrowdworkalongsideotheronlineapproaches.

Thisinterpretationissupportedbytwootherfindingsfromthesurveys.First,asFigure3

shows,greaternumbersofrespondentsreportedhavinglookedforworkviaonline

platformsthanhadactuallyreceivedincomefromsuchsources.Again,thesefigures

representthetotalnumberofrespondentswhoindicatedthattheyhadlookedforsuch

workatanytimeinthepast.Respondentswerealsoaskedwhattypesofcrowdworkthey

hadlookedfor.Resultsshowedaclearpreferenceforonlinecrowdworkthatcouldbedone

fromhome,followedbycrowdworkoutsidethehome,withdrivingusuallytheleast

commonlysoughttypeofcrowdwork.Secondly,asshowninFigure4,inallcountries,crowd

workerswereconsiderablymorelikelytobeusingjobsearchwebsites,lookingformore

traditionalformsofregularemployment,thanwerenon-crowdworkers.Together,these

findingssuggesttheemergenceofintegratedonlinestrategiesforsearchingforpaidwork.It

islessclearfromthesurveyfindingswhysuchstrategiesareemerging,butitmayberelated

todifficultiesinfindingssuitablepaidemploymentelsewhere.

[Figure3abouthere.]

[Figure4abouthere.]

Findingsfromthepresentresearchalsosupporttheview,discussedpreviously,thatcrowd

17

workisusuallydonealongsideotherformsofemployment.Thefindingsarestriking.As

Figure5shows,Inallfivecountriesthegreatmajorityofcrowdworkershadother

employmentaswell.Indeed,inallcountriessurveyed,theproportionofrespondentstelling

usthatthathadreceivedandincomefromcrowdwork,andwhoalsohadanotherjob,was

higherthantheproportionhavingsomeformofemploymentinthesampleasawhole.75

Whilethisfindingwascommonacrossallcountriessurveyed,theassociationbetween

crowdandincreasedlikelihoodtobeinotheremploymentwasparticularlystrongintheUK

andGermany,and,toalesserextent,alsointheNetherlands.

[Figure5abouthere.]

Characteristicsofcrowdwork

Asnotedpreviously,onlineplatformsorganiseandmediateaverywiderangeofdifferent

typesofwork.Consequently,thepresentresearchwasconcernedtoidentifythetypesof

crowdworkbeingcarriedout,andtodeterminewhichcrowdworkerswereperforming

whichtypesoftasks.Thequestionnairewasdesignedtoillicitthisinformation.Respondents

whotoldusthattheyhadengagedincrowdworkwereaskedwhattypesofpaidworkthey

haddone,andwereallowedtoidentifyasmanytypesasapplied,fromthefollowinglist:

• Taxiserviceorotherdrivingworkthatyoudoinperson.

• Occasional,unscheduledworkinotherpeople’shomes(e.g.plumbing,repairof

appliances,electricalwork,carpentry)

• Regular,scheduled,workinsomebodyelse’shome(e.g.dailyorweeklycleaning,

babysitting,gardening).

• Personalservicework(e.g.hairdressing,massage,manicure)

• Runningerrandsoroffice-typeworkthatyoudoonthecustomer’spremises

• Officework,shorttasksor‘clickwork’thatyoudoonyourcomputerorotheronline

device.

• CreativeorITworkthatyoudoonyourcomputerorotheronlinedevice(e.g.design,

editing,softwaredevelopmentortranslation,etc.)

• Professionalwork(e.g.legalservices,accounting)

75Thesedifferencewerenotstatisticallysignificantinallcases,however.Forfurtherdetails,seeHuws,Spencer&Joyce(2016).

18

Theresultswererevealing.AsFigure6clearlyshows,crowdworkersinallfivecountries

surveyedtoldusthattheywereengagedinawidevarietyofdifferenttypesofwork.Some

patternsdoemerge,however.Inparticular,inallcountries,onlineshorttasksandclickwork

wasthemostcommonlyperformedtypeofcrowdwork,anddrivingtheleastcommon.But

thestrongoverallimpressionisofpeopledoingarealvarietyoftasks–onlineandoffline,in

theirownhomeaswellaselsewhere.Thevarietyofdifferenttypesofcrowdworkdonealso

reflectsthefindings,reportedabove,aboutthevarietyofcrowdworksought.Perhapsit

shouldbelesssurprisinghowmanytypesofcrowdworkpeoplereportedactuallydoing,

whenweconsiderthenumberofdifferenttypesofworktheytoldustheyhadlookedfor.

[Figure6abouthere.]

Genderandcrowdwork

Oneofthemoststrikingfeaturesofthecrowdworkforceisitssurprisinglyevengender

balance,asshowninFigure7.Amongthosewhohaveeverearnedanincomefromcrowd

work,womenmakeupthemajorityintheUK,andareatleast38percentofthecrowd

workforceintheothercountriessurveyed.Theseproportionsremainstableevenathigher

frequenciesofcrowdwork.

[Figure7abouthere.]

Giventhewiderangeofdifferenttypesofworkthatcrowdworkersperform,asoutlined

above,wewereinterestedtoidentifyanygenderedpatternswithinthesefindings.Thatis,

weremenandwomendoingdifferenttypesofcrowdwork?However,itwasdifficultto

detectanysuchpatterns.Inlargepart,thisisbecauseindividualcrowdworkerswere

engagedinsuchavarietyofdifferenttypesofwork.Toalesserextent,though,thisfinding

mayalsoreflecttherelativebreadthofsomeofthecategoriesused.Forinstance,'Regular,

scheduled,workinsomebodyelse’shome'couldincludebothcleaningandgardening,which

mightusuallybeconsideredpredominantlyfemaleandmaleoccupations,respectively;but

suchdifferenceswouldnotshowupinourresults.Whateverthespecificreasons,though,

nocleargenderdifferencesshowedupinthetypesofcrowdworkdone.

Therewere,though,differencesbetweentheresponsesofmenandwomenconcerningthe

rangeofdifferenttypesofcrowdworkthattheydid.AsFigure8shows,amongthose

19

respondentswhohadengagedincrowdworkatanyprevioustime,onaverage,mentoldus

theydidmoretypesofworkthandidwomen;aroundfivetypesofworkformeninall

countriesexcepttheNetherlands,comparedwithfewerthanfourtypesofworkperformed

bywomen(exceptinGermany).Amongmorefrequentcrowdworkers,thegendergapin

thevarietyofworkdonenarrowed,thoughmencontinuedtoperformmarginallymore

typesonaverage.

[Figure8abouthere.]

Itwasalsofoundthatincreasingfrequencyofcrowdworkwasassociatedwithagreater

diversityoftaskscarriedout;averagesamongfrequentcrowdworkersrosetoaroundfiveor

sixtypes.Itwasnotclearfromthefindings,though,whythisshouldbethecase.Possibly,it

wasduetogreaterdesperationamongsomecrowdworkerstofindsomemeansofgaininga

viableincome.Alternatively,itcouldrepresenthigherlevelsofcuriosityand

experimentationwithnewtypesofearningopportunities.Mostlikelyitresultedfroma

combinationoffactors.Whateverthecauses,however,thesefindingssupportthe

conjecture,outlinedabove,thatacharacteristicstrategyforonlinework-searchingis

emerging,whichfavoursinvestigationofabroadrangeofpotentialearningopportunities.

Furthersupportforthisviewcomesfromsurveyfindingsontherangeoftypesofwork

sought–asopposedtothetypesofworkactuallydone.Respondentswhoindicatedthat

theyhadatsometimelookedforworkviaanonlineplatformwereaskedwhattypesof

worktheyhadlookedfor.Respondentsweregiventhreebroadoptionstochoosefrom;

workcarriedoutfromhome,workcarriedoutoutsidethehome,anddrivingwork.

Responsestothisquestionclusteredaroundtwo;thatis,would-becrowdworkerstendedto

searchforworkintwoofthethreebroadcategories,withaveragesformenonlymarginally

higherthanthoseforwomen.Althoughthereweresomevariationsbetweencountries,76

oncemore,genderdifferenceswererelativelylimitedcomparedwiththedegreeoflabour

marketsegmentationinothersectorsofemployment.Thus,forinstance,intheUKwomen

madeup49percentofthosewhotoldustheyhadsoughtdrivingworkviaanonline

platform.ThisfigurecontrastsmarkedlywithotherdatafordrivingemploymentintheUK.

In2016,womenaccountedforonly47,000outof351,000transportdrivers.Only10,000out

of232,000taxidriverswerewomen;andofthose,just6,000wereself-employed,outof

76Fordetails,seeHuws,SpencerandJoyce(2016).

20

184,000.77Towhatextentthesurveyfindingsrepresentagenuineopportunityforwomento

enteroccupationsfromwhichtheyhavepreviouslybeenexcluded,orindicateaspiration

morethanchangingreality,remainsunclear.

Ageofcrowdworkers

Asdiscussedpreviously,researchsuggeststhatcrowdworkerstendtoberelativelyyounger

thantheoverallpopulation.Thisconclusionwasstronglysupportedbyevidencefromthe

presentstudy.Figure9showstheageprofilesofthesampleineachofthefivecountries

surveyed.AsFigure9illustrates,theageprofilesofthesamplesvaried,duemainlyto

differencesinage-range–withdifferencesintheoldestagegroupparticularlyclear(see

abovefordetails).Nevertheless,despitethesedifferences,aclearpatternemergedacross

allthecountriessurveyed;namely,thetendencyfortheageprofiletobecomeyoungerwith

increasingfrequencyofcrowdwork.Thus,asFigure10shows,amongrespondentswhohad

donecrowdworkatanytime,representationofthe'Upto24'agebandincreased,asdid

the25-34agegroup.Bycontrast,representationoftheoldestgroups(45-55and55+)

decreasedinallcountries(thoughonlymarginallyintheNetherlands).Asthefrequencyof

crowdworkincreasedtoweekly,sotheageprofileshiftedfurthertowardstheyounger

groups.AsFigure11shows,amongweeklycrowdworkers,under-35year-oldsmadeup

morethanhalfthesampleineverycountry,withtheexceptionoftheNetherlands.There

was,then,amarkedtendencyforcrowdworkerstobeyoungerthantheageprofileofthe

sampleasawholeineachofthecountriessurveyed.

[Figure9abouthere.]

[Figure10abouthere.]

[Figure11abouthere.]

Althoughtheresearchidentifiedacleartendencyforcrowdworkerstobeyoungerthan

average,itshouldneverthelessbenotedthatolderagegroupswereneverabsentfromthe

samples,evenatthemostfrequentcrowdworklevels.Thisfindingchallengesthe

stereotypicalviewthatonlineworkplatforms,andtheonlineeconomymoregenerally,are

onlyofinteresttotheyoung.Moreover,thisfindingsupportsconclusionsfromelsewhere

concerningthepotentialespeciallyofonlinecrowdworkforextendingworkinglifebeyond77UKLabourForceSurveyData,April-June,2016.Availablehere:http://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/employmentandemployeetypes/datasets/employmentbyoccupationemp04(Accessed30September2016).

21

normalretirementages,despiteknownchallengesencounteredbyolderpeopleattempting

toutilisecomplexITsystems.78

Education

Asnotedabove,previousresearchhassuggestedthatcrowdworkerstendtohaverelatively

highlevelsofeducationalattainment–inthecaseofUSAMTworkers,some90percent

havingcollegeleveleducations,considerablyabovethenationalaverage.79Surprisingly,our

researchfoundasomewhatdifferentresult.Comparisonsbetweendifferentcountriesare

problematicbecauseofthedifferingeducationalandqualificationsystemsinplace,and

differencesinoveralleducationallevelsofeachsample.Nevertheless,asshowninFigure12,

ineachcountrysurveyed80theproportionofcrowdworkershavingqualificationsatdegree

levelorabovewasonlyrelativelymodestlyhigherthanamongthesurveysampleasa

whole.Innocountrywastheproportionanywhereclosetothehighlevelsfoundamong,for

instance,USAMTworkers.Thisfindingmayreflectdifferencesinthepopulationsofcrowd

workersinEurope,ascomparedwiththeUSA,oritmayreflecttheinclusionofofflinecrowd

workersinthesamples.Clearly,moreresearchwillberequiredtoexplorethesedifferences

morefully.Nevertheless,theevidencefromoursurveyssuggeststhatcrowdworkersare

lessdifferentfromthewiderpopulationthanisoftenassumed.

[Figure12abouthere.]

Personalincomesofcrowdworkers

Oneimportantareaofinterestfortheresearchcentredontheincomesofcrowdworkers–

boththeirtotalpersonalincome,andtheproportiongainedfromcrowdwork.Comparison

ofincomeswascomplicatedbythefactthat,acrossthefivecountriessurveyed,therewere

threedifferentcurrenciesinuse;namely,theBritishpound,theSwedishkrone,andtheeuro

inGermany,AustriaandtheNetherlands.Furthermore,incomedataweregroupedslightly

differentlyinthenon-eurocurrencies,duetodifferingmarketresearchconventions.

78SeeBalanceNetworkSeminar-ProlongingworkinglifethroughICT:theroleofcrowdsourcingAvailablehere:https://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/ier/research/balance-network/(Accessed1November2016).79Berg(2016);Ipierotis,P.(2010).80DuetodifficultiesinterpretingthefindingsrelatingtoeducationintheDutchsample,theNetherlandshavebeenexcludedfromFigure12.However,itappearsthatthepatternofrelativelysmalldifferencesineducationalattainmentofcrowdworkersisrepeatedintheNetherlands.

22

Nevertheless,despitethesecomplications,abroadpatternemergedwherebytheincome

distributionofcrowdworkerstendedtoberoughlyinlinewiththatoftheoverallsamplein

eachsurvey.81Therewassomevariationbetweencountries,though.InSweden,crowd

workersweremorelikelythanaveragetobeinthelowestincomegroup,andlesslikelyto

beinthehighestearninggroup.AsimilarpatternwasdiscernibleinAustriaandthe

Netherlands,thoughtoalesserextent.IntheUKandGermany,however,crowdworkers

weresomewhatlesslikelytobeintheverylowestearninggroupthanthesampleasa

whole.Itwasalsonotablethatupper-middleincomeearnersweremorestrongly

representedamongcrowdworkersintheUKandtheNetherlands.Thereasonsforthese

differenceswerenotclear,however,andfurtherresearchwillbeneededtoidentifythe

dynamicsbehindthesepatterns.

Thisresearchwasfurtherinterestedtoexaminethecontributionmadebyearningsfrom

crowdworktocrowdworkers'overallincomes.Therefore,respondentswhotoldusthat

theyhadearnedincomefromcrowdworkwereaskedtoestimatetheproportionoftheir

incomecomingfromsuchactivities.Figure13presentsthefindingsinthisarea.

Unfortunately,asisoftenthecasewithquestionsaboutpersonalfinances,quitehigh

numbersofrespondentsdeclinedtoanswer,eitherpreferringnottoansweratall,or

respondingthattheydidnotknow(seeFigure13fordetails).Asaresult,thesefindings

mustbetreatedwithsomecare.Nevertheless,oncemore,theoverallpictureseemsquite

clear.AsFigure13shows,forasignificantproportionofcrowdworkers,incomefromcrowd

workformslessthan10percentoftheiroverallincome.Indeed,inallcountriesexcept

Sweden,welloverhalfofcrowdworkerssaidthatcrowdworkcontributedlessthana

quarteroftheirincome.

Therewere,though,respondentsineachsurveywhotoldusthatcrowdworkprovidedallof

theirincome.Moreover,crowdworkprovidedmorethanhalfoftheincomeforaroundone

thirdofcrowdworkersintheUKandSweden,andaroundonequarterinGermanyandthe

Netherlands.Notably,inAustria,only14percentofcrowdworkersearnedmorethanhalf

theirincomeinthisway,while58percentearnedlessthan10percent.Thesefindingsare

interestinginrelationtothefinding,notedabove,oftherelativelyhighproportionof

respondentsinAustriawhotoldusthattheyhadearnedanincomefromcrowdwork.Taken

together,thisevidencesuggeststhatAustrianrespondentsweremorelikelytoengagein

81Fordetails,seeHuws,SpencerandJoyce(2016).

23

crowdwork,butlesslikelytodependonitforincome,incomparisonwiththesamplesin

othercountries–perhapsindicatingagreaterwillingnesstoexperimentwithcrowdwork,

butlessneedorwillingnesstopursueitonaregularbasis.

[Figure13abouthere.]

Discussionandconclusions

Theresearchpresentedabovewassuccessfulincapturinganumberofcharacteristicsof

crowdworkthathavenotbeenfullyrepresentedinpreviousquantitativestudies.Perhaps

themostobviousofthesewasthevarietyofcrowdwork.Sinceoursamplewasindependent

ofanyparticularplatform,thevarietyofdifferenttypesofworkthecrowdworkersare

engagedincamethroughstronglyinthefindings.Crowdworkersinallthecountries

surveyedtoldusthattheyhadperformedarangeofdifferenttypesofwork,allmediatedby

onlineplatforms,inordertogainanincome.Furthermore,themostfrequentcrowdworkers

werealsodoingthegreatestvarietyofdifferenttypesofwork.Notonlywerecrowdworkers

doingdifferenttypesofwork,theywerealsoactivelysearchingfordifferenttypesofwork.

Previousresearch,whichhastendedtofocusonparticularplatforms,hasoftenunderstated

thisvariety.

Genderdifferencesincrowdworkparticipationweresmallerthanmighthavebeen

expected,giventhescaleofgendersegregationintheworkforceatlarge.Thesefindings

matchthoseofpreviousresearch,whichhasfoundabroadlyevengenderbalance,for

instanceamongNorthAmericanAMTworkers.82However,theresearchdidfindevidenceof

genderdifferencesinthetypesofcrowdworkdone,withmentendingtoperformmore

differenttypesofworkthanwomen,butwithasomewhatnarrowergapbetweenmenan

womenintermsofthevarietyofworksought.Onepossibleexplanationforgendered

differencesinthetypesofcrowdworkdonemaybethecontinuinginfluenceofwomen's

domesticroleonpatternsofemployment.Sincepreviousresearch83hassuggestedthatone

reasonforcrowdworkersseekingonlineworkistheneedtobalanceearningopportunities

withcaringresponsibilities,itseemslikelythatwomencrowdworkersmaywelltendto

prioritisesuchwork.

82Eurofound(2016).83Berg(2016);Eurofound(2015);Irani(2015).

24

Ourfindingsalsosupportedpreviousresearchregardingtheageprofileofcrowdworkers,

whowerenotablyyoungerthanaverageineachcountrysurveyed.84Itseemslikelythatthis

findingreflectsthewellknownspreadofvariousformsofprecariousemploymentamong

youngerworkersmoregenerally.Althoughsomeyoungcrowdworkersmaychosethisform

ofwork,itcanbeexpectedthatmanyotherswillfindthemselvesleftwithfewoptionsbut

toresorttopiecingtogetheranincomefromwhateversourcesareavailable;thereby

qualifyingformembershipofMcKinsey's'reluctant'and'financiallystrapped'categories.85

Thisinterpretationisfurthersupportedbyourfindingthattheageprofileofcrowdworkers

becomesincreasinglyyouthfulasthefrequencyofcrowdworkincreases;suggestingthe

presenceofparticularpressuresonyoungcrowdworkers.Despitethepreponderanceof

youngeragegroupsamongcrowdworkers,however,itisimportanttoappreciatethatolder

workersalsoearnincomefromworkorganisedviaonlineplatforms.Thepotentialforonline

crowdworktoprovideanincomeforolderpeoplehasbeennotedbypreviousresearch,86

andourfindingssupportthoseconclusions.

Amoresurprisingfindingfromourresearchconcernstheeducationalattainmentofcrowd

workers.Previousresearchhadclearlysuggestedthatcrowdworkerstendtobesignificantly

morehighlyeducatedthanaverage.87Asshownabove,however,thisresearchfoundmuch

smallerdifferencesineducationallevelbetweencrowdworkersandthesampleasawhole.

Whilecrowdworkerstendedtobemorehighlyeducatedthanaverage,theywerenot

dramaticallyso.Themostlikelyexplanationforthisdifferenceisthatoursurveyincluded

crowdworkerswhoworkofflineandwhocarryoutdrivingwork–whereasprevious

researchhastendedtoconcentrateononlinecrowdworkers.Asotherresearchhasshown,

onlinecrowdworkerstendtobe'internetliterate',88anditseemslikelythatthisattribute

wouldbeassociatedwithgreatertimespentinformaleducation.Thefactthatourresearch

showsasignificantextensionofcrowdworkbeyondtheranksofthehighlyeducated,

however,demonstratesthewidespreadofinternetskillsamongthepopulationasawhole,

especiallybutnotexclusivelytheyoung.

Thefindingspresentedabovealsoclearlyshowthelowearningsthatmostcrowdworkers

84Berg(2016);Ipierotis(2010).85McKinseyGlobalInstitute(2016).86BalanceNetworkSeminar-ProlongingworkinglifethroughICT:theroleofcrowdsourcing.87Berg(2016);Ipierotis(2010).88Ibid.

25

receivefortheirendeavours.Crowdworkerswerecommonlyfoundamongthelowest-

earninggroupsinallcountriessurvey(withthepartialexceptionsoftheUKandthe

Netherlands).89Whatismore,forverymanycrowdworkers,crowdworkcontributesonlya

smallproportionoftheirincome.Thisevidencesupportspreviousresearchsuggestingthat

crowdworkisoftenasupplementtolowincomesgainedfromothersources.90

Nevertheless,afurtherclearfindingofoursurveyswastheidentificationofasignificant

minorityforwhomcrowdworkprovidesall,ormorethanhalf,oftheirincome.Again,this

findingwaspresentinallcountriessurveyed.Theextenttowhichthisgroupmightgrowin

sizeinthefutureremainstobeseen.

Thesecomments,ofcourse,pointtotheneedforfurtherresearch.Whilethefindings

presentedabovecertainlywillnotprovidethelastwordaboutthecharacteristicsofcrowd

working–orofthewideron-demandeconomy–theyhavedemonstratedthatitispossible

todetermineitsextentinonlinepopulationsandidentifyasampleofcrowdworkers

independentlyofanyparticularplatform,makingitpossibletoinvestigatetheirbroad

characteristics.However,asinanyotherone-offsurvey,theidentificationofcorrelations

doesnotprovideinformationoncausality,andfurtherqualitativeresearchwillberequired

toinvestigatearangeofquestionsconcerningthemotivationofcrowdworkers,aswellas

thedetailsoftheirworkingconditions.Whilewearebeginningtounderstandtheextentof

crowdwork,thedetailedcharacteristicsofthecrowdworkforceremain,forthetimebeing,

elusive.

89Evidenceofslightlyhigherlevelsofcrowdworkamongupper-middleincomegroupsintheUKandNetherlandsrequiresfurtherinvestigation.90Berg(2016);Eurofound(2015);Irani(2015).

26

Figure1.Participationintheonlineeconomyasasourceofincome,bycountry

Source:HertfordshireBusinessSchoolCrowdWorkSurvey,2016Base:2238respondentsintheUK,2146respondentsinSweden,2180RespondentsinGermany,1969respondentsinAustriaand2126respondentsintheNetherlands(weighted).

54%

31%

10%

10%

8%

9%

59%

13%

10%

12%

8%

10%

55%

32%

12%

12%

11%

12%

66%

45%

21%

18%

16%

19%

62%

25%

9%

13%

8%

9%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%

Sellownpossessions(egEbay)

Resellproductsononlinemarketplace(egAmazon)

Sellself-madeproducts(egEtsy)

Sell/resellonownwebsite

Renttopayingguest(egAirbnb)

Anycrowdwork

NL

AT

DE

SE

UK

27

Figure2.Frequencyofcrowdworking,bycountry

Source:HertfordshireBusinessSchoolCrowdWorkSurvey,2016Base:2238respondentsintheUK,2146respondentsinSweden,2180RespondentsinGermany,1969respondentsinAustriaand2126respondentsintheNetherlands(weighted).

9%

6%

5%

10%

6%

5%

12%

8%

6%

19%

13%

9%

9%

6%

5%

0% 2% 4% 6% 8% 10% 12% 14% 16% 18% 20%

Anycrowdwork

Atleastmonthly

Atleastweekly

NL

AT

DE

SE

UK

28

Figure3.Searchforcrowdwork,bycountry

Source:HertfordshireBusinessSchoolCrowdWorkSurvey,2016Base:2238respondentsintheUK,2146respondentsinSweden,2180RespondentsinGermany,1969respondentsinAustriaand2126respondentsintheNetherlands(weighted).

7%

12%

19%

9%

16%

22%

13% 13%

19%16%

21%

34%

8% 9%

16%

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

40%

Crowdworkdriving Crowdworkoutsidehome Crowdworkfromhome

UK SE DE AT NL

29

Figure4.Useofjobsearchplatformsbyfrequentcrowdworkers,occasionalcrowd

workersandnoncrowdworkers,bycountry(%)

Source:HertfordshireBusinessSchoolCrowdWorkSurvey,2016Base:2238respondentsintheUK,2146respondentsinSweden,2180RespondentsinGermany,1969respondentsinAustriaand2125respondentsintheNetherlands(weighted).

47%

83%91%

33%

83%91%

33%

78%86%

45%

91% 91%

39%

88%93%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Noncrowdworkers Occasionalcrowdworkers

Atleastweeklycrowdworkers

AT DE NL SE UK

30

Figure5.Crowdworkandotheremployment

Source:HertfordshireBusinessSchoolCrowdWorkSurvey,2016Base:2238respondentsintheUK,2146respondentsinSweden,2180RespondentsinGermany,1969respondentsinAustriaand2126respondentsintheNetherlands(weighted).

64%

74%

62%

73%69%

78%81%

78% 76%79%80%

84% 82%78% 80%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

UK SE DE AT NL

Surveybase Anycrowdwork Weeklycrowdwork

31

Figure6.Typeofcrowdworkdone,bycountry

Source:HertfordshireBusinessSchoolCrowdWorkSurvey,2016.Base:235respondentsintheUK,243respondentsinSweden,304RespondentsinGermany,428respondentsinAustriaand245respondentsintheNetherlandsstatingthattheyhadevercarriedoutcrowdwork(weighted).

58%

61%

68%

57%

46%

54%

55%

46%

53%

65%

71%

54%

53%

57%

55%

51%

57%

64%

72%

58%

51%

59%

60%

52%

49%

64%

74%

53%

46%

55%

51%

49%

51%

52%

60%

45%

44%

46%

42%

39%

0% 10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%

Professionalwork

CreativeorITworkonyourcomputerorotheronlinedevice

Ofticework,shorttasksor'clickwork'

Errandsorofticeworkoncustomer’spremises

Personalservicework

Regularworkinsomebodyelse'shome

Occasionalworkinsomebodyelse'shome

Taxiorotherdrivingwork

UK

SE

DE

AT

NL

32

Figure7.Anycrowdwork,bygender(%)

Source:HertfordshireBusinessSchoolCrowdWorkSurvey,2016Base:207respondentsintheUK,198respondentsinSweden,252RespondentsinGermany,359respondentsinAustriaand187respondentsintheNetherlandsstatingthattheyhadevercarriedoutcrowdwork(weighted).

48%

62%

62%

59%

56%

52%

38%

38%

41%

44%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

UK

SE

DE

AT

NL

Male Female

33

Figure8.Averagenumberoftypesofworkcited:anycrowdwork,bygenderandcountry

Source:HertfordshireBusinessSchoolCrowdWorkSurvey,2016.Base:231respondentsintheUK,234respondentsinSweden,295RespondentsinGermany,407respondentsinAustriaand238respondentsintheNetherlandsstatingthattheyhadevercarriedoutcrowdwork(weighted).

4.95.2 5.1 4.9

4.44.0 3.8

4.23.7

3.1

0.0

1.0

2.0

3.0

4.0

5.0

6.0

UK SE DE AT NL

male female

34

Figure9.Ageoftotaladultsamplesampled,bycountry(%)

Source:HertfordshireBusinessSchoolCrowdWorkSurvey,2016.Base:2235respondentsintheUK,2133respondentsinSweden,2170RespondentsinGermany,1951respondentsinAustriaand2115respondentsintheNetherlands(weighted).Note:Theunder-24agecategoryincludespeopleaged16-24intheUK,Sweden,GermanyandtheNetherlandsand18-24inAustria.The55+agecategoryincludespeopleaged55-65inSwedenandAustria,55-70inGermanyandtheNetherlandsand55-75intheUK

16%

18%

14%

13%

15%

18%

19%

17%

20%

17%

19%

21%

19%

22%

19%

19%

21%

23%

25%

21%

29%

21%

27%

20%

27%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

UK

SE

DE

AT

NL

Upto24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55+

35

Figure10.Ageofcrowdworkers,bycountry(%)

Source:HertfordshireBusinessSchoolCrowdWorkSurvey,2016.Base:207respondentsintheUK,198respondentsinSweden,252RespondentsinGermany,359respondentsinAustriaand187respondentsintheNetherlandsstatingthattheyhadevercarriedoutcrowdwork(weighted).Note:Theunder-24agecategoryincludespeopleaged16-24intheUK,Sweden,GermanyandtheNetherlandsand18-24inAustria.The55+agecategoryincludespeopleaged55-65inSwedenandAustria,55-70inGermanyandtheNetherlandsand55-75intheUK

20%

27%

20%

25%

19%

30%

30%

31%

22%

23%

22%

17%

17%

21%

24%

12%

14%

17%

19%

17%

15%

11%

15%

12%

17%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

UK

SE

DE

AT

NL

Upto24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55+

36

Figure11.Ageofweeklycrowdworkers,bycountry(%)

Source:HertfordshireBusinessSchoolCrowdWorkSurvey,2016.Base:104respondentsintheUK,104respondentsinSweden,135RespondentsinGermany,186respondentsinAustriaand104respondentsintheNetherlandsstatingthattheyhadevercarriedoutcrowdwork(weighted).Note:Theunder-24agecategoryincludespeopleaged16-24intheUK,Sweden,GermanyandtheNetherlandsand18-24inAustria.The55+agecategoryincludespeopleaged55-65inSwedenandAustria,55-70inGermanyandtheNetherlandsand55-75intheUK

23%

28%

22%

30%

22%

32%

30%

30%

27%

20%

24%

19%

20%

18%

22%

10%

14%

17%

18%

20%

11%

9%

11%

7%

17%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

UK

SE

DE

AT

NL

Upto24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55+

37

Figure12.Educationalattainment:proportionofcrowdworkershavingdegreelevel

qualificationsorabove,comparedwithsampleasawhole.

Source:HertfordshireBusinessSchoolCrowdWorkSurvey,2016Base:2238respondentsintheUK,2146respondentsinSweden,2180RespondentsinGermany,1969respondentsinAustriaand2126respondentsintheNetherlands(weighted).

42%35%

27%

17%

52%

39%35%

22%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

UK SE DE AT

Surveybase Anycrowdwork

38

Figure13.Earningsfromcrowdworkasaproportionofallincome,allcrowdworkers,by

country(%)

Source:HertfordshireBusinessSchoolCrowdWorkSurvey,2016.Base:237respondentsintheUK(weighted)with24%don’tknoworpreferringnottoanswerexcluded,248respondentsinSweden(weighted)with34%don’tknoworpreferringnottoanswerexcluded,308respondentsinGermany(weighted)with28%don’tknoworpreferringnottoanswerexcluded,434respondentsinAustria(weighted)with31%don’tknoworpreferringnottoanswerexcluded,251respondentsintheNetherlands(weighted)with44%don’tknoworpreferringnottoanswerexcluded.

41%

15%

10%

15%

12%

6%

33%

13%

18%

20%

10%

6%

44%

19%

12%

15%

7%

3%

58%

15%

12%

6%

5%

3%

51%

13%

11%

6%

8%

11%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%

Upto10%

10%to25%

25%to50%

50%to75%

75%to99%

All

UK

SE

DE

AT

NL