A Phenomenological Inquiry Into the Freelancers' Work Motivation, Needs and Challenges: An Emerging Economy Perspective
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.47540/ijqr.v4i1.1279Keywords:
Freelancing, Maslow’s Need Hierarchy Theory, Phenomenology, Qualitative StudyAbstract
Freelancing has been assumed as a possible remedy for unemployment by the Bangladeshi youth for some time now. This research is conducted to investigate the profession of a freelancer in Bangladesh and focuses on the motivational stages undergone by freelancers and their plans. Moreover, the study attempts to explain to what extent the needs of freelancers are satisfied from the standpoint of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs theory. For this purpose, a qualitative methodology i.e., phenomenology is used. Fifteen respondents working in different parts of the capital city took part in the interview for this study. The study has demonstrated that an overwhelming majority of the respondents acknowledged it as an opportunity at first that gradually helps to develop an entrepreneurial mindset. One striking feature of the findings, however, is that freelancing may be a solution provisionally but not in the long run due to unfulfilled dimensions of the need theory. A few directions for future works are also suggested in this regard.
References
A2i (2023). Future of Digital Economy – making e-commerce work for the poor. Accessed from https://a2i.govt.bd/a2i-missions/future-of-digital-economy.
Akhmetshin, E. M., Kovalenko, K. E., Mueller, J. E., Khakimov, A. K., Yumashev, A. V., & Khairullina, A. D. (2018). Freelancing as a type of entrepreneurship: advantages, disadvantages and development prospects. Journal of Entrepreneurship Education, 21 (S2), 1.
Alam, S. M., Hasan, A. R., & Borman, T. (2021). IT Freelancing in Bangladesh: Assessment of Present Status and Future Needs. Journal of Economics and Business, 4(1).
Ashford, S. J., Caza, B. B., & Reid, E. M. (2018). From surviving to thriving in the gig economy: A research agenda for individuals in the new world of work. Research in Organizational Behavior, 38, 23–41.
Barley, S., Bechky, B., & Mailliken, F. (2017). The changing nature of work: careers, identities and work lives in the 21st century. Academy of Management Discoveries, 3(2), 1-12.
Bengtsson, M. (2016). How to plan and perform a qualitative study using content analysis. NursingPlus Open, 2, 8-14.
Boddy, C. R. (2016). Sample size for qualitative research. Qualitative Market Research: An International Journal, 19, 426-432.
Buford, J. A., Jr., Bedeian, A. G., & Lindner, J. R. (1995). Management in Extension (3rd ed.) Columbus, Ohio: Ohio State University Extension.
Burke, A., & Cowling, M. (2015). The use and value of freelancers: The perspective of managers. In A. Burke (Ed.), The use and value of freelancers: The perspective of managers (pp. 1-14). Dublin, Ireland: Senate Hall.
Burnard, P. (1995). Interpreting text: An alternative to some current forms of textual analysis in qualitative research. Social Sciences in Health, 1(4), 236-245.
Burtch, G., Carnahan, S., & Greenwood, B. (2018). Can you gig it? Management Science, 64(12), 5497-5520.
Buston, K., Parry-Jones, W., Livingston, M., Wood, S., & Bogan, A. (1998). Qualitative research. British Journal of Psychiatry, 172(3), 197-199.
Das, A., Fatima, G. R., Das, D. K., Ullah, A. H., Chowdhury, A. Z. M. E., Rahim, M. S. (2018). A Study on Bangladeshi IT Freelancers: A Survey. International Journal of Computer Applications, 182(32), 38-45.
De Stefano, V. (2016). The rise of the just-in-time workforce: on-demand work, crowdwork and labor protection in the Gig economy. Comparative Labor Law & Policy Journal, 37, 471-505.
DT (2023). Freelancers exempt from tax on remittances, accessed from www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/326693.
Fenyi, D. A. ., & Morrison, R. . (2022). An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis of Ghanaian Trainee Teachers’ Motivation to Major in the English Language: Implications for Classroom Pedagogy. International Journal of Qualitative Research, 1(3), 233-242.
Fleming, P. (2017). The human capital hoax: work, debt and insecurity in the era of uberization. Organization Studies, 38(5), 691-709.
Friedman, G. (2014). Workers without employers: shadow corporations and the rise of the gig economy. Review of Keynesian Economics, 2(2),171-188.
Galperin, H. & Greppi, C. (2017). Geographical Discrimination in the Gig Economy (February 23, 2017). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2922874 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2922874
Gandini, A. (2016). The rise of a freelance economy. In book: The Reputation Economy - Understanding knowledge work in digital society. DOI: 10.1057/978-1-137-56107-7_2
Gig Economy Data Hub (2019). What kind of work are done through gigs. Accessed from https://www.gigeconomydata.org/basics/what-kinds-work-are-done-through-gigs.
Graham, M., Hjorth, I., & Lehdonvirta, V. (2017). Digital labour and development:impacts of global digital labour platforms and the gig economy on worker livelihoods. Transfer, 23(2), 135-162.
Gubachev, N., Titov, V., & Korshunov, A. (2018). Remote occupation and freelance as modern trend of employment. In Proceedings of the International Management Conference, 12, (1), 725-732).
Gussek, L., Grabbe, A., & Wiesche, M. (2023). Challenges of IT freelancers on digital labor platforms: A topic model approach. Electronic Markets, 33:55.
Haider, A. Q. (2023). The least explored world of freelancing. Accessed from https://thefinancialexpress.com.bd/views/analysis/the-least-explored-world-of-freelancing.
Hall, D. T., & Nougaim, K. E. (1968). An examination of Maslow's need hierarchy in an organizational setting. Organizational behavior and human performance, 3(1), 12-35.
Huđek, I., Tominc, P., & Širec, K. (2020). Entrepreneurship vs. Freelancing: What’s the Difference? Naše gospodarstvo/Our Economy, 66(3),56–62.
Islam, R. (2015). Employment and labour market in Bangladesh: An overview of trends and challenges. ILO and ADB.
Kalleberg, A. L., & Dunn, M. (2016). Good jobs, bad jobs in the gig economy. Perspectives on Work, 10-14.
Karabulut, A. T. (2016). Personality traits on entrepreneurial intention. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 229, 12-21.
Kässi, O & V. Lehdonvirta,V. (2018). Online labor index: Measuring the online gig economy for policy and research. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 137.
Kaur, A. (2013). Maslow’s need hierarchy theory: Applications and criticisms. Global Journal of Management and Business Studies, 3(10), 1061-1064.
Kazi, A. G., Yusoff, R. M., Khan, A., & Kazi, S. (2014). The freelancer: A conceptual review. Sains Humanika, 2(3).
Kirkwood, J. (2009). Motivational factors in a push‐pull theory of entrepreneurship. Gender in Management: An International Journal, 24(5), 346-364.
Kovach, K. A. (1987). What motivates employees? Workers and supervisors give different answers. Business Horizons, 30(5), 58-65.
Kuhn, K. M. & Maleki, A. (2017) Micro-entrepreneurs, dependent contractors, and instaserfs: understanding online labor platform workforces. Academy of Management Perspectives, 31(3): 183–200.
Lindner, J. R. (1998). Understanding employee motivation. Journal of extension, 36(3), 1-8.
Mahmoud, A. B., Fuxman, L., Mohr, I., Reisel, W. D., & Grigoriou, N. (2020). “We aren't your reincarnation!” workplace motivation across X, Y and Z generations. International Journal of Manpower.
Maslow, Abraham Harold. “A Theory of Human Motivation.” Psychological Review, 50.4 (1943): 370-396.
Nawaz, Z., Zhang, J., Mansoor, R., & Ilmudeen, A. (2019). Gig workers in sharing economy: Conceptualizing Freelancer Value Proposition (FVP) in e-lancing platforms. Advances in Management and Applied Economics, 9(6), 51-75.
Perampalam, S., Galpaya, H., & Senanayake, L. (2017). Understanding the factors influencing the take-off of online freelancing in Sri Lanka. Available at SSRN 3097564.
Petriglieri G, Ashford SJ, & Wrzesniewski A (2018) Agony and ecstasy in the gig economy: cultivating holding environments for precarious and personalized work identities. Administrative Science Quarterly, 64, 124–170.
Popiel, P. (2017). “Boundaryless” in the creative economy: assessing freelancing on Upwork. Critical Studies in Media Communication, 34(3), 220-233.
Rahman, M. A., & Rahman, M. M. (2017). Factors, Impacts, Problems, and Solutions of Freelance Earning in the context of Bangladesh. Business & Entrepreneurship Journal, 6(1), 1-13.
Rahman, T., Nakata, S., Nagashima, Y., Rahman, M., Sharma, U., & Rahman, M. A. (2019). Bangladesh Tertiary Education Sector Review: Skills and Innovation for Growth. World Bank, Washington, DC. World Bank.
Rosenblat, A. & Stark, L. (2016). Algorithmic labor and information asymmetries: a case study of Uber’s drivers. International Journal of Communication, 10, 3758-3784.
Sandelowski, M. (1995). Qualitative analysis: What it is and how to begin. Research in nursing & health, 18(4), 371-375.
Selenko E, Berkers H, Carter A, Woods SA, Otto K, & Urbach T. (2018) On the dynamics of work identity in atypical employment: setting out a research agenda. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 27(3), 324–334.
Shevchuk, A., & Strebkov, D. (2015). The rise of freelance contracting on the Russian-language Internet. Small Enterprise Research, 22(2-3), 146-158.
Smith, D. W. (2006). Phenomenology. Encyclopedia of cognitive science.
Spreitzer, G. M., Cameron, L., & Garrett, L. (2017) Alternative work arrangements: two images of the new world of work. Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior, 4(1), 473–499.
Stupnikova, O. B., Vanyashina, E., & Serkova, N. V. (2015). Freelancing as a new form of staff employment. Journal of Economics and Social Sciences, (6), 4.
Suddaby, R., Bruton, G. D. & Si, S. X. (2015). Entrepreneurship through a qualitative lens: Insights on the construction and/or discovery of entrepreneurial opportunity. Journal of Business Venturing, 30, 1-10.
Sultana, R., Im, I., & Im, K. S. (2019). Do IT freelancers increase their entrepreneurial behavior and performance by using IT self-efficacy and social capital? Evidence from Bangladesh. Information & Management, 56(6), 103133.
Sutherland, W., Jarrahi, M. H., Dunn, M., & Nelson, S. B. (2020). Work precarity and Gig literacies in online freelancing. Work, Employment and Society, 34(3), 457-475.
Sypniewska, B. (2014). Evaluation of factors influencing job satisfaction. Contemporary Economics, 8(1), 57-72.
Tran, M., & Sokas, R. K. (2017). The gig economy and contingent work: An occupational health assessment. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 59(4), e63.
Van den Born, A., & Van Witteloostuijn, A. (2013). Drivers of freelance career success. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 34(1), 24-46.
Van der Zwan, P., Hessels, J., & Burger, M. (2020). Happy free willies? Investigating the relationship between freelancing and subjective well-being. Small Business Economics, 55, 475-491.
Wood, A. J., Lehdonvirta, V., & Graham, M. (2018). Workers of the internet unite? Online freelancer organisation among remote gig economy workers in six Asian and African countries. New Technology, Work and Employment, 33(2), 95-112.
World Trade Report (2023). The Reshaping of Global Trade. Accessed through wtr23_e.pdf (wto.org).
Zaman, A. (2019, June). How the digital economy is shaping a new Bangladesh. In World Economic Forum (Vol. 19).
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
Copyright (c) 2024 Mehrab Shaleen, Mahbubul Haque

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.