Freelance and Crowd work: A Viable Alternative to
Traditional Jobs In Pakistan?
Submitted by:
Ali Ashraf (234676)
Daniyal Ahmed (190347)
Supervised by:
Dr. Tanweer-Ul-Islam
School of Social Sciences and Humanities (S3H)
National University of Sciences & Technology
Islamabad, Pakistan
BS Economics 2017 A
Spring 2021
1
Abstract
Freelancing and crowd sourcing is a fast-growing market throughout the world,
particularly in emerging economies like Pakistan. With the recent onset of the
pandemic, job opportunities in Pakistan have stagnated. Freelance work provides an
alternative to the traditional job paradigm. This was a mixed method explanatory
sequential research, which started by first creating a questionnaire to better
understand freelancing from the perspective of the workers and to see how they
viewed the work in terms of what they gained and the many problems they faced.
Data was then analyzed thematically to produce a second quantitative survey
instrument which sought to further elaborate on the findings of the first questionnaire,
by categorizing and scaling 14 core positives and negatives with freelance work in
Pakistan and also an income comparison by using data from the Labor Force Survey.
In doing so, we established the legitimacy of the variables that we understood from
the first part of the study and understood more about the earnings of freelancers. A
descriptive analysis was then written up, by looking at both data streams. Our findings
show that the positives of freelance work outweigh the negatives. The challenges
faced by freelancers were seen to be eclipsed by what they gained in terms of income,
employment opportunities, skill enhancement, exposure to international clients and a
more flexible and independent work environment. Not only are the positives vital
cores of freelance work and why people get into but also that freelance workers tend
to make more than traditional workers in Pakistan. The findings are discussed in
detail to better understand how they affect workers in Pakistan and in the context of
the employment opportunities provided here. Lastly, this study also talks about some
recommendations that can be used to take advantage of the growing freelance market
and to resolve the many barriers and negatives that stand in the way of aspiring and
current freelancers
2
Table of contents
List of Figures
4
Chapter 1: Introduction
6
Chapter 2: Literature Review
12
Chapter 3: Conceptual Framework
3.1:Qualitative:
3.2:Quantitative:
3.3:Mixed Method:
18
19
19
20
Chapter 4: Methodology
4.1:Qualitative analysis:
4.2:Quantitative analysis:
4.3:Income comparison:
4.4:Sources of data:
4.4.1:Qualitative study:
4.4.2:Freelancer survey:
4.4.3:Pakistan Labor Force survey:
4.4.4: Sampling method and Survey accuracy:
21
21
21
24
25
25
25
26
27
Chapter 5: Results and analysis
5.1:Qualitative Findings:
5.1.1:Positives:
5.1.2:Negatives:
5.2:Quantitative Findings:
5.3:Income comparison:
5.4:Joint Display:
28
28
29
32
37
39
41
Chapter 6: Conclusion
6.2:Recommendations:
45
48
References
49
Appendix
51
A.Qualitative questionnaire transcript
51
B. Quantitative survey
52
C. Second part of survey looking at scale factors ( measured on a scale of 1-5)53
3
List of Figures
1. Table 1: Exploratory Design
19
2. Table 2: Brackets for age and education
24
3. Table 3: Distribution of income from freelancer survey
25
4. Graph 1: Distribution of Age
26
5. Graph 2: Distribution of years of education
26
6. Table 4
37
a. 4.1: Means and standard deviations of Reasons to work as a
freelancer
b. 4.2: Means and standard deviations of problems freelancers face
7. Table 5
39
a. 4.1: Income comparison by age and education level, Means and
standard errors
b. 4.2: Income comparison by age and education level,
Minimum/Maximum and number of observations per bracket
8. Table 6: Qualitative factors alongside their means and SD’s
from the Quantitative study
42
4
5
Chapter 1: Introduction
The 21st century has seen a massive increase in various firms and businesses, with a
lot of new industries opening up and the demand for new labor, both skilled and
unskilled is higher than ever before. With the increasing demand and the need to
increase the supply, producers are always looking to cut costs, be it labor, materials,
land or any variable that might add more efficiency to the workings of the
corporations or businesses. This accompanied by the rapid increase in population and
the labor supply market, the job market easily becomes saturated. As technology gets
more and more embedded into our daily lives with the internet and social media
becoming a powerful tool for communication, it is no surprise that crowdsourcing or
freelance work is considered an alternative to the way we work right now. It has the
potential to increase productivity and also decreases the cost of work, while for the
many unemployed workers, freelance work acts as a safe haven and a chance for them
to earn income, learn new skills, interact with working environments while also
gaining experience.
Hars and Ou(2002)1 talks about the open-source movement, which, with the help of
the internet, made it possible for geographically distant communities and individuals
to collaborate and openly develop software products. Howe (2006) notes that this
movement illustrated how individuals can use the power of the internet to collectively
develop, create or improve upon a task. The open-source movement is thus widely
considered to be the foundation and pre-cursor to a more evolved crowdsourcing
movement in which individuals are also paid and their efforts are recognized.
Howe (2006)2 coined the term ‘crowdsourcing’, which comes from the words crowd
and outsourcing. This term includes within it paid work, unpaid work and funding.
This kind of work takes place via the internet between strangers across the world.
Paid crowdsourcing work is seen to be representing a new idea of work, one that
Hars and Shaosong Ou, “Working for Free? Motivations for Participating in
Open-Source Projects.”
1
2
Howe, “The Rise of Crowdsourcing.”
6
challenges the traditional office working environments, with the idea of digital
workplaces. (Aloisi, 2015)3. Generally, paid crowdsourcing is an online-mediated
exchange process operated by the digital platforms or social media websites that link
people together. Organizations or individuals, who are termed as clients can get in
touch with other individuals, who are termed freelancers for remunerative tasks that
can range through a broad spectrum of work that can differ in complexity.
Freelancing is a similar concept with the difference being that freelance is seen as
being in the singular while crowd work is the plural. These terms are interchangeable
with one another and will be used as such in this paper.
Workers are hired to perform tasks as ‘independent contractors’ are paid for the work,
as long as it is accepted by the client. Geographical barriers are made obsolete as long
as the freelancers have an internet connection. In recent times, crowdsourcing and
freelancing have become a very popular method of work for many workers.
Crowdsourcing is the act of obtaining work, ideas, or information from a large group
of people, and it can be done in many ways. Crowdsourcing is seen to rapidly
mobilize large swathes of workers around the globe for a very minute cost. There
have been in the past, volunteer-based crowdsource projects such as the editing of
Wikipedia, which owes its long-term success and longevity to the thousands of
individuals around the world that tirelessly work to make Wikipedia a reliable and upto-date online encyclopedia. Another example of unpaid crowdsource work that hits a
little closer to home is the ‘Lays vote for a flavor challenge’. Pepsico started an
initiative in which it advertised three new potential flavors and then asked its
customers to vote on their favorite flavor i.e., the one they would like them to start
producing. This campaign was a success on different fronts for Pepsico as it worked
as a way to first and foremost understand what their customers wanted and it also
helped the corporation in getting new ideas, thus they effectively used this as a
marketing tool. The corporation saved the cost of marketing for the new flavor and
the cost of researching what the customers wanted was also saved and, in this way,
Aloisi, “Commoditized Workers. Case Study Research on Labour Law Issues
Arising from a Set of ‘On-Demand/Gig Economy’ Platforms.”
3
7
the company saved millions while also providing for its customers in a way that they
would be satisfied as they voted for the product.
However, we are quickly moving towards a world, in which a paying crowd work
industry is developing and the potential for this seems endless. Freelance work in
today’s day and age encompasses a wide array of skills and paygrades, with digital
labor platforms in the rise, it is becoming increasingly important to look at the
freelance work that is being done by workers for an income. An example of this is
Amazon’s Mechanical Turk, a platform for crowd work in which anyone with an
internet access can engage in a number of micro-tasks and gain a monetary incentive
as well. Odesk and Upwork provide the potential for freelancers to work on longer
projects that might take many hours to complete. Even research & development falls
into the fray as open innovative platforms like innocentive make it possible for
workers to work on such projects. Horton & Chilton (2010)4 elaborate upon the
concept of crowd work and describe that while not all work can be done with
freelance, however there are portions of every job that can be performed by the
crowd. Kittur et al. (2013)5 foresees a world in which crowd work will continue to
expand and with this expansion will come a number of opportunities for workers to
brush up, instill and learn new skills, which will in the long run, unlock
unprecedented potential growth in the freelance sectors. However, the paper also
notes the challenges that come with it and the barriers which need to be eliminated in
order to increase the efficiency and the output.
Methods such as crowdsourcing have become increasingly popular due to the low
overhead cost’s companies have to take on with no requirement to give workers
monthly or yearly wages. In 2018 the average costs of benefits taken on by companies
was about $11.60 (Bureau of labor statistics). The lack of oversight when it comes to
freelance and crowdsource work is something that needs to be addressed as workers
are often not given the incentives or the same assurances that a regular worker would
get. This extends to freelancers or crowd work in which more people are brought in
4
Horton and Chilton, “The Labor Economics of Paid Crowdsourcing.”
5
Kittur et al., “The Future of Crowd Work.”
8
(crowd is brought in). In both these cases, the corporations that employ these workers
and the digital platforms on which these workers advertise their work, do not provide
the working crowd with any sort of insurance that comes with being employed in a
traditional working environment. This has often caused a lot of problems especially
with poverty-stricken and minority workers who often leave freelance work when
they are provided with an opportunity where they are given something as simple as
health insurance, which saves them costs in the long term and traditional work also
guarantees employment, something that has been missing with freelance work. With
the absence of guaranteed pay and lack of unions for workers, the freelance and
crowdsource work is a challenging life for many workers (Zuckerman et al. 2015)6. It
is also common for freelancers to not get paid full, paid late or not get paid at all.
Instances such as these make freelance and crowd work ever so precarious for the
worker. Job security is a very important part of todays work environment and
something that will need to be addressed very quickly and correctly if freelance work
is to become a part of the norm.
On the flip side, Freelancing offers a lot of flexibility for the workers with
them being able to set their own hours and more importantly, effectively act as their
own bosses. This freedom provides them with the opportunity to do their best work
and often faster than the traditional office worker. It also offers workers a more
specialized approach and gives them the ability to find employers with specific needs.
While freelancing workers don’t enjoy the benefits that may come with an office job,
such as health benefits or schooling, but freelancing gives them the ability to work
multiple jobs at once and not be limited to one employer. According to American
financial services company Payoneer conducted a global study in which it stated that
on average, freelance workers make more than office workers. This was done based
on average and it could vary country to country, but it gives us an idea of how much
freelancers could make. One of the biggest things that freelancing or crowdsourcing
offer is that they are not constricted by borders as globalization and the advancement
of the internet has led to easier connectedness with foreign companies. This opens up
an even bigger job market and much more opportunities. However, the idea that
Zuckerman, Kahlenberg, and Marvit, “VIRTUAL LABOR ORGANIZING: COULD
TECHNOLOGY HELP REDUCE INCOME INEQUALITY?”
6
9
freelance workers can make more than office workers is a complex one as surveys
have shown that freelancers tend to work more than the 40-hour week that is so
popular all around the world (Marinov, 2015)7.
Heeks et al. (2017)8 illustrates that with the rise of digital labor platforms,
we’ve seen a rise in employment opportunities for freelancers in low- and middleincome countries. It is estimated that around 60 million freelancers are registered
formally on digital labor platforms, with 6 million being active on a daily basis.
Millions more are also working as freelancers through social media platforms such as
Facebook and Instagram. Kuek et. al (2015)9 predicted that in 2020, the year that has
passed, the online crowdsourcing sector will be worth around 15-25 billion dollars.
Wood et. al (2016)10 talks about the scale of crowd work employment in developing
countries with millions of active workers in India, Philippines and South Africa, with
hundreds of thousands more in Pakistan, Malaysia etc.
The focus of the research will be on the worker. There is very little literature
regarding the viability of freelance work and the potential it holds. Literature on the
subject in Pakistan focuses on its shortcomings and the many problems freelancers
have to endure. Using a mix method approach, this paper will be an analysis of the
freelance and crowd workers, given the pros and cons of their work, in order to assess
whether freelance work is beneficial for the Pakistani Worker. An exploratory
questionnaire followed by a survey conducted with the freelancers in Pakistan will
determine their satisfaction and the work load that they obtain. We will also look into
the monetary aspect of their work by a comparison with the Labor Force Survey of
Pakistan, in order to see how freelance wages, hold up with the earnings through
traditional labor. This paper will look into whether the gains from freelance work in
7
Marinov, “Freelancers Also Work Long Hours – 40+ Hour Working Week.”
Heeks, “Decent Work and the Digital Gig Economy: A Developing Country
Perspective on Employment Impacts and Standards in Online Outsourcing,
Crowdwork, Etc.”
8
9
Kuek et al, “The Global Opportunity in Online Outsourcing.”
10
Wood et al., “Workers of the Internet Unite?”
10
Pakistan usurp the challenges and barriers and if freelancing is a viable job
opportunity in Pakistan.
11
Chapter 2: Literature Review
With the rise of the internet in the past three decades, we have seen numerous digital
labor platforms such as Fiver, Upwork and Cameo emerge and converge into the
mainstream understanding of work. These platforms incorporate a wide variety of
tasks including engineering and architecture services, web development, writing,
editorial services, data entry, programming, marketing, customer services, legal
services, video messages, translation work, administrative support and data analytics.
Kagner et al. (2013)11 posits digital labor platforms as a so-called ‘human cloud’ in a
way that companies can effectively tap into a virtual, on-demand labor force and
effectively outsource their work. Hanley and Ott (2012)12 also focused on the clientside by noting that digital labor platforms and crowdsourcing eliminate the barriers to
offshoring especially when it comes to services and thus make it cheaper and
advantageous for companies to get their work done.
Positives:
We will, however focus more on the workers and what they have to gain (and lose) in
the digital labor world. There are many avenues to explore as existing literature sifts
between the many advantages and disadvantages. Barnes et.al (2015)13 conducted an
in-depth qualitative study based on the interactions of freelancers with two UK based
crowdsourcing platforms. It formulated that the employment impacts of
crowdsourcing and the development of skill around it enables the workers to
specialize in more tasks and improve the chances of their employability. This study,
however also elaborates that for online workers to be successful in this way, they have
to overcome many different barriers to entry and to make themselves more
marketable in a way that clients began to trust them, thus adding to their reputation
11
Kaganer et al., “Managing the Human Cloud.”
Hanley and Ott, “What Happened to Foreign Outsourcing When Firms Went
Online?”
12
Barnes et al., “Crowdsourcing and Work: Individual Factors and Circumstances
Influencing Employability, New Technology, Work and Employment.”
13
12
and providing further chances for employability. Born and Witteloostuijn (2012)14
looked at the factors that made a successful freelancer and came to the same
conclusion that the external environment and conditions in which a freelancer
operates is the most important factor that determines their success.
Berg (2016)15 studied the financial nature of online crowdsourcing and what sort of
impact it had on the income of freelancers, in the US and India, through a survey.
Their findings show that most workers used freelance work as an additional income,
however it also showed that a huge chunk of workers use this work as the main source
of income and many Indians work online in this way because it paid better than the
alternatives. In the same vein, Beerepoot and Lambregts (2015)16 conducted a
comparative analysis of the relative wages and rewarding of skills and the benefits
given between western countries and developing countries. Freelance workers in the
western world earned more in absolute terms but the workers in the global south earn
more in relative terms i.e.: relative to average wages in these countries.
De Stefano (2015)17 talks about the entrepreneurial nature of working online, where
self-promotion and self-protection is very important and learning new skills is
accessible. These principles instilled in the freelancer along with being provided
meaningful work, a development of their skills and a decent wage add to the benefits.
Similarly, workers can get international exposure and experience which they
otherwise would not get in local and stagnating economies.
Kittur et al. (2013)18 claims that the benefits gained from online work far outweigh
the risks as crowd work skips over many of the challenges faced in traditional
working environments including arranging infrastructure and strict working
14
Witteloostuijn, “Drivers of Freelance Career Success.”
15
Berg, “Income Security in the On-Demand Economy.”
Beerepoots, “Competition in Online Job Marketplaces: Towards a Global
Labour Market for Outsourcing Services?”
16
17
De Stefano, “The Rise of the ‘Just-in-Time’ Workforce.”
18
Kittur et al., “The Future of Crowd Work.”
13
environments. This is sweetened by the mechanisms that are provided by some digital
labor platforms such as minimum wages and benefits. D’Cruz and Noronha (2016)19
studied Indian freelancers and their research points to the same core emphasis: the
positives outweigh the negatives. Their findings highlighted the gains of freelancers
in terms of employment opportunities, skill enhancement and the chances for greater
growth in the sector. The worker’s favorable experiences are explained further by
looking at the volatile nature of the Indian labor market.
Crowdsourcing has in recent times been touted as a potential instrument to foster
development. It can be used to give jobs to the poor, the discriminated and the
ignored. Kuek et al. (2015)20 demonstrates that the promise of good pay and benefits
from freelance work has rapidly increased interest in recent years in developing
countries. This is especially true when it comes to groups that are excluded from the
economic mainstream in the global south: women, minorities and young people. With
an estimated 2/3rd of young people in developing countries stuck in low pay and lowquality jobs, they turn to freelance work as they aspire for a better life. Heeks and
Arun (2010)21 studied the crowdsourcing program operated by the state of Kerala in
India. This program under the state government outsourced work to women in belowpoverty households. This study included interviews and case study research as they
examined the impact of this initiative on the lives of the women. They showed that
outsourcing in such a way has a great potential for development in marginalized
communities. Their research however, also noted the vulnerabilities and questions of
sustainability that arise from such a task. Zyskowski et al. (2015)22 presented a study
of disabled crowd-workers conducted through interviews and surveys. Despite the
challenges faced by these people, the study showed that crowd-work has the potential
D’Cruz et al., “Positives Outweighing Negatives: The Experiences of Indian
Crowdsourced Workers, Work Organisation, Labour & Globalisation.”
19
20
Kuek, Fayomi, and Pina, “The Global Opportunity in Online Outsourcing.”
Heeks, “Social Outsourcing as a Development Tool: The Impact of Outsourcing
IT Services to Women’s Social Enterprises in Kerala.”
21
Zyskowski et al., “Understanding the Value in and Challenge of Microtask
Employment for People with Disabilities.”
22
14
to expand opportunities and offer work which would not have been possible in a
normal work environment with a non-need for the them to rely on public transport
and job flexibility acting as key reasons.
NEGATIVES:
Now, we shall look at the literature that underscores the problems of crowdsourcing
and freelance work. Bergvall-Kareborn & Howcroft (2014)23 refers to the nature of
crowdsourcing and freelance work as borderless. The paper said this demonstrated
how digital labor platforms are hidden from scrutiny and are outside the laws of the
land. In this way, labor laws are lax and there is little regulation and democratic
oversight.
Kneese, Rosenblat & Boyd (2014)24 argue that crowdsourcing is often used as
loophole to exploit the workers as they easily dodge labor laws and unions are not
commonplace either. There have been some efforts to break up the monopoly of
power that digital labor platforms have over workers. Irani & Silberman (2013)
introduced the world to Turkopticon. This is a platform where workers can engage in
mutual aid and voice their concerns. It has also been used by journalists and activists
to put pressure towards demanding better labor laws for workers.
Aliosi (2015)25 questions the nature of labor laws that focuses on the employee,
instead of on the bosses that exploit the worker. This paper further argues that
crowdsourcing causes informalization of the economy and devalues the nature of
work. Aliosi talks about the costs and risks of freelancing as the way they are shifted
onto the worker. De Stefano (2015)26 indicates that freelancing puts the workers’
rights at risk and there is always a possibility of forced labor, child labor and
discrimination taking place on digital platforms.
Bergvall-Kareborn, “Amazon Mechanical Turk and the Commodification of
Labour.”
23
24
Kneese et al., “Understanding Fair Labour Practices in a Networked Age.”
Aloisi, “Commoditized Workers. Case Study Research on Labour Law Issues
Arising from a Set of ‘On-Demand/Gig Economy’ Platforms.”
25
26
De Stefano, “The Rise of the ‘Just-in-Time’ Workforce.”
15
Risak and Warter (2015)27 indicate towards the difficult legal unscrambling of the
digital labour world. Authorities will need to identify the contractual party, address
which law is applicable on who and further understand the nature of these contracts
between client and freelancer. All of this is made complicated by the fact that this will
have to take into account, the laws of the many different countries whose citizens are
involved. This paper also addresses the difficulty of organizing freelancers as these
workers are not in contact with the others as they would have been in a conventional
office.
Ettinger (2016)28 explains the disadvantages of being a freelancer, with no insurance
being given by the employer, no sick leave, no paid holiday, no pension or anything
as such. These typical conditions erode the mental wellbeing of the workers as they
are always uncertain about their future, due to the lack of guarantees.
Zittrain (2019)29 likened the conditions of working as freelancer as to working in a
digital workshop due to the low pay, lack of benefits, long hours and little social
mobility. He noted these are exasperated by digital platforms that do not provide any
sort of supports to freelancers. Zuckerman et al. (2015)30 posited the idea that to break
the monopoly of the bosses, the freelance workers must make a union to demand
better rights.
Brynin et al. (2019)31 explored the popular idea that minorities are more inclined
towards self-employment and thus freelance. Their findings show that this is not the
case. Minorities face risk through employment and self-employment and earn less
money than the majority, while working longer hours and being less happy with their
Risak, “Decent Crowdwork: Legal Strategies towards Fair Employment
Conditions in the Virtual Sweatshop.”
27
Ettinger, “The Governance of Crowdsourcing: Rationalities of the New
Exploitation, Environment and Planning.”
29 Zittrain, “The Internet Creates a New Kind of Sweatshop.”
28
Zuckerman, Kahlenberg, and Marvit, “VIRTUAL LABOR ORGANIZING: COULD
TECHNOLOGY HELP REDUCE INCOME INEQUALITY?”
30
31
Brynin et al., “The Value of Self-Employment to Ethnic Minorities.”
16
work environment. They also showed that minorities give up freelance when provided
with a better opportunity.
As the above section has shown, freelancing has many benefits that are drivers behind
its progress but on the other hand, it is also constricted by barriers and challenges that
needed to be overcome it. Literature related to Pakistan is lacking in context related to
the employability situation , a stringent look at the factors from the workers point of
view that make it beneficial or detrimental and the viability of freelance work in terms
of what potential it has. Our study will try and bridge this gap by building on
previous studies but providing relevant context and taking an income comparison with
the labor force to better assess freelance work in Pakistan.
17
Chapter 3: Conceptual Framework
Mixed methods research is also frequently referred to as ‘third methodological
orientation’ (Teddlie & Tashkkori, 2008)32. This methodology takes the strengths of
both qualitative and quantitative research. Creswell & Clark (2011)33 describe it as a
research study in which both qualitative and quantitative data is collected and
analyzed separate from each other, sequentially or concurrently, to address the
research question. Mixed methodology approaches the research question outside of
the binary lens of quantitative or qualitative research and combines the two to
advance the scope of the study by drawing on the strengths of both methodologies.
Fetters, Cury & Creswell (2013)34 described qualitative research methodology as a
way to explore the how, why and nature of a phenomenon while quantitative research
methodology delves into questions that address the causality or magnitude of effect.
For this study, we used exploratory sequential mixed method to broadly understand
and explore the freelancers and crowd workers of Pakistan. This research was guided
by the research question:
Is freelance work a viable alternative to traditional jobs in Pakistan?
An exploratory design starts with qualitative data collection. The data is then analyzed
and certain themes are generated which are then used to produce a quantitative
instrument to further understand the research question (Creswell and Clark, 2011).
This design enables three stages in which analysis is carried out: the collection of
qualitative data, the collection of quantitative data and the final analysis after
integrating the two strands of data.
Teddlie and Tashakkori, “Quality of Inferences in Mixed Methods Research:
Calling for an Integrative Framework.”
32
33
Cresswell and Clark, “Designing and Conducting Mixed Methods Research.”
Fetters et al., “Achieving Integration in Mixed Methods Designs—Principles
and Practices.”
34
18
Table 1:Exploratory design
3.1:Qualitative:
The first phase of the study began with data collection from freelancers from around
Pakistan. A questionnaire was prepared with the understanding from past literature
and studies that aimed to explore freelance around the world. This questionnaire was
provided digitally to 30 freelancers and crowd workers from various cities across
Pakistan. The focus of the questionnaire was to explore and understand the various
ways in which freelancers in Pakistan are affected by factors that can be both positive
or negative, and to further understand what freelance work entails. The responses
from the questionnaire were then examined, coded into variables and then analyzed.
The data was coded using a constant comparative method to obtain themes.
3.2:Quantitative:
The data from the first phase was used to develop the survey instrument for the
quantitative phase of the study. The survey measured various dimensions of
satisfaction and dissatisfaction regarding the many different factors that affect
freelance work. Questions were built based on the themes that were found from
analyzing the qualitative data. The focus of the survey instrument was to evaluate and
scale the attitudes and beliefs towards freelance work in Pakistan. The survey was
deployed at a greater scale than the questionnaire and was answered by 111
freelancers. This was done to generalize the findings from the first phase (qualitative
data analysis).
19
3.3:Mixed Method:
The collection, analysis and results of the first phase was followed by the collection,
analysis and results of the second phase. The integration and linking of the strands of
data is vital for a study to be considered mixed method. The linking of data first
happened at the design level by the use of sequential design: the results from the first
phase (qualitative data) were used to construct the second phase of the design. A joint
display was then used to connect data from the qualitative phase with the data from
the quantitative phase, thus interpretation level integration took place in order to fully
examine and address the research question. Sample quotes from the first phase, next
to statistical analysis of the survey data, helped to compare and contrast the findings.
Areas where convergence occurred and points of contention were discussed and
dissected in the findings, thus an overall understanding was developed through
integration and linking of the data strands. Connected data was interpretated within
the scope of the study.
20
Chapter 4: Methodology
There are 3 parts to our analysis:
● Qualitative analysis
● Quantitative analysis
● Income comparison
4.1:Qualitative analysis:
The objective of the qualitative study is to understand what the problems freelancers
face in Pakistan and what makes freelancing a job they chose to pursue rather than a
traditional job. The qualitative questionnaire offers us the first part of our exploratory
research. The questions and variables to be looked at for our quantitative study are
based on the response of the freelancers responding to the qualitative questionnaire.
The questionnaire consists of open-ended questions with long responses with the goal
of finding similarities in the responses, looking at the problems freelancers face in
Pakistan, and the reasons they chose to be freelancers.
4.2:Quantitative analysis:
Based on the qualitative study we formed 14 factors to investigate, 9 problems faced
with freelancers and 5 reasons they chose to be freelancers. Responders were asked to
rank their problems and reasons on a scale of 1-5 with 1 being the lowest and 5 being
the highest. The 14 factors we chose were the most common ones found in the
qualitative study. Through looking at the means and standard deviations of the
factors, we can see how they compare with each other and what that means.
Below are the 14 factors with their brief description:
21
● Quality of internet
The quality of the Internet being used, and how it affects the work of people as the
overall quality of internet in Pakistan is poor and in many areas in the country internet
can be hard to come by.
● Receiving payment on time
Problems in receiving income whatever method it might be, and how reliable
receiving payment by clients on time is. Takes into account how reliable the overall
clients are and if receiving the money is an issue at all.
● Communication
Barriers to communication with clients and its affect on the work due to any factor.
● Finding work
Difficulty in finding work through social media or other websites such as Fiverr, the
overall availability of work through freelancing
● Lack of experience
How much of a factor work experience is in freelancing, it is a major factor when
looking for work in a more traditional job, is it the same in freelancing.
● Gender bias
If being a female or in some cases male affect how clients perceive you and how
much does that affect your work
● Constant income
How impactful is the lack of constant income, something that might be found in a
more traditional job
● Competition with other workers
Competition with other workers, with freelancing still being a new job market, does
competition with fellow freelancers affect your ability to find work
● Marketing yourself
22
How hard is it to be able to market yourself to clients and show what you do.
The reasons for choosing to freelance:
● Independence
Being your own boss, not responsible to follow any specific deadlines or work
requirements except for the ones you set yourself.
● Flexibility in work hours
Being able to work on your own time and not being restricted to office times that
which is the case with many office jobs
● Wide variety of clients
Being able to enjoy a variety of clients and jobs
● Skill enhancement
Impact of freelancing on your skills
● Suits the line of work
The line of work you are in is better suited to freelance work as compared to working
in an office job
23
4.3:Income comparison:
Using the labor force survey data from the Pakistan bureau of statistics website and
the data collected through the quantitative study we can also analyze the differences
in income of the freelancers we surveyed and the average worker from the labor force
survey. For our comparison, we decided to use education as our independent variable
and made 4 different brackets in which education level was looked at alongside the
age of the respondent. The reason we take age alongside education is so we can look
at the education levels of people in the same age brackets, as someone who has been
working for 10 years and is a matric pass would have his work experience added to
his qualifications. For this we made ranges for our age to go alongside the education
level.
Table 2:Brackets for age and education
Age
Education level
Less than or equal to 18
Matric but haven’t done intermediate
19-22
Intermediate but haven’t completed undergrad
23-28
Undergrad completed
25 and above
Postgraduate and above
For the results, looking at a comparison between the 2 helps us see how the incomes
of both compare with each other within the same education and ages. Alongside that,
the comparison also allows us to look at how higher education impacts the earnings of
these individuals and how education impacts the overall earnings of workers in
Pakistan. The variables we are investigating are the means and standard errors of the
incomes.
24
4.4:Sources of data:
4.4.1:Qualitative study:
The first part of our study, with descriptive responses from the freelancers responding
to the questionnaire. Total of 30 responses, based on which the 14 factors mentioned
in the previous section were acquired.
4.4.2:Freelancer survey:
Provided data for the income analysis with income measured in brackets
Table 3: Distribution of income from freelancer survey
Income(rs)
Percentage of responses
0-10000
(34.2%)
10000-25000
(31.6%)
25000-50000
(17.5%)
50000-75000
(10.5%)
75000-100000
(2.6%)
100000-150000
(1.8%)
150000+
(1.8%)
The table above shows the income brackets and the distribution of data in each of the
income brackets. The data also provided the other 2 variables important to the income
analysis; age and education. the age of the respondents ranged from 17-45, with an
average of 23.77.
25
Graph 1:Distribution of age
The graph above shows the distribution of age within the variables.
Graph 2: Distribution of years of education
The graph shows the years of education distributed from a range of 11-22.
Our survey also provided us with the problems and reasons for choosing freelance
factors we used. Responders were asked to rank the significance of each factor on a
scale of 1-5, with 1 being 0 significance and 5 being very significant.
4.4.3:Pakistan Labor Force survey:
Micro data from the Pakistan Bureau of statistics website to be used in the
comparison with the data from the freelancer survey. The data being used is from the
2017 PLS, and the main factors investigated from the survey are the age, net income
at the end of a month, education level.
26
4.4.4: Sampling method and questionnaire accuracy:
Our survey and questionnaire were focused specifically towards freelancers, so
because of that the data collection was non random. We relied heavily on snowball
sampling as finding enough freelancers on our own was a challenge. through sending
the survey to freelancers we knew or found online and asking them to forward it to
freelancers they know, we got a higher number of responses.
to test the reliability of the questionnaire, we used the chronbec alpha test.
27
Chapter 5: Results and analysis
5.1:Qualitative Findings:
The exploratory research was undertaken to better understand the freelance workers
and their interactions with the freelance market as a whole. Participants in the
questionnaire were asked to elaborate on their time as a freelance worker and some of
the advantages and disadvantages that they think occur when working freelance. Fulltimers chose freelance due to a variety of reasons which included the dismal scope of
the job market, especially in poorer communities where work is scarce and pay is
scarcer. Some full-timers underscored their unemployment as a reason that forced
them to look beyond traditional jobs and try something new.
‘I was unemployed for three months. I couldn’t get anywhere. My friend told me to
try working online and I’ve been working as full-time freelancer for 2 years now.’
Full-time freelancers also spoke about the ease of freelance work in comparison to
traditional working environments which would include them travelling for a
significant amount of time and being away from domestic responsibilities. Women
with childcare and family responsibilities found the work attractive both in terms of
the monetary compensation and their continuity in the work market. Freelance helped
them maintain their skills and helped them gain employment without leaving their
responsibilities.
‘I am a single mother who has to take care of my two children. This way I can do
both’
Part-timers emphasized the importance of an additional income stream, which they
can exploit easily without the need to stick to a specific working time table. With
Pakistan providing virtually no jobs for students, they saw this as a great way to make
28
some money while other part-timers, who were not studying, used freelance work as a
way to make some extra money in their free time.
‘I started working as a content writer and after some initial struggles, I got some gigs
that helped me earn more than any job I could get as a student in Pakistan. I don’t
plan on working fulltime, so for now this helps me make money’
Among the participants were also some that touted the corona virus as a reason for
them to indulge in freelance work. The pandemic ensured that they had free time on
their hands.
‘The pandemic started so everything was closed and I had some time. I wanted to
practice my editing skills so I started to do this in my free time.’
5.1.1:Positives:
There are many positives to working as freelancer. Most of the participants in the
survey recognized a number of advantages in this line of work. Working
independently was recognized as a key advantage by freelancers. By working as their
own boss, they can dodge the issues related with supervisory control and the
interpersonal issues that often accompany organizational life. This independence from
office bureaucracy was emphasized as an advantage for many participants. Another
feature that was perceived as a positive for many participants was the ability to work
at their own pace and in their own time. The ability to work according to their own
timetable also meant that freelancers could focus on their own mental wellbeing and
health.
‘Work from anywhere, flexibility of working hours, being able to do more or less
according to my mental health. I can work on my own terms and conditions and can
take a break if I feel overwhelmed. It also gives me a lot of autonomy in terms of my
values as an artist.’
29
Skill development was also realized as a major upside when working as a freelancer.
Freelance work, part-time or full time, requires a certain degree of aptness to navigate
and start. From there, whichever work you pursue, your skills will develop and
enhance as take on more jobs. Many freelancers recognized the importance of
experience not only as a way to get clients to trust you, but also the role it plays in
further growing and maturing your skills and abilities. It can also help develop new
skills which come about as you eventually start taking on more work.
‘I think the most important thing for me is the development of my skills. Every new
gig is a chance to learn new things and grow more in what I know. Every new client is
a chance to work on my people skills as well. After graduating, I think it’ll help that
I’ve already worked online for a couple of years as well.’
Freelancers also enjoy the ability to work with many different clients as opposed to
working for one corporation or company. This can be beneficial depending on who
the client is and the work that they need. Clients that are pleased with the work will
often recommend the freelancers to other clients that they know of, which further
creates a network of jobs for freelancers. Exposure to foreign clients is also important
as they tend to pay more and the workers also get vital experience and learn more
about the workings and cultures of other people.
‘It's good pocket money if you're a newcomer. Getting to learn the psyche of the
average customer. Being directly in contact with the customer. The ability to chip in
ideas and brainstorm with what the customer wants. Interacting with good clients
leads to more job opportunities as well.’
Full-timers also stated that engaging with certain clients can lead to more team-based
work and often greater autonomy. More experience and the reputation that comes
along with it produces confidence in clients who are looking for broader, better paid,
crowdsource work. This leads to further enhancement of work skills and
communication skills with long-term effects on CVs and resumes.
30
‘Getting paid at a higher rate than the market rate is a great benefit. I worked for
client who operated a graphic design platform in Lahore. She was so pleased with my
work that she asked me to supervise some of the other freelancer’s work. It paid more
and the work was enjoyable.’
Freelancers reported that they felt the money made through freelance is accessible
through enough experience gain. Most participants reported that with more experience
they had felt their income increase. This was a factor that motivated them to work
more and gain more skills to become even better and efficient at their work.
Freelancers further elaborated that with experience, workers get a much better sense
of time management and thus, with time, they are able to earn more money in a lesser
amount of time.
‘My income has increased overtime. Experience makes a huge difference because I
was able to work on different types of projects as an illustrator and researcher which
means that in the past year instead of waiting to get better experiences from one
office, I got a different experience from every project which is far more fulfilling.’
‘Yes, my income has increased. Experience makes you a better communicator and
better at your skill and a better sales person overtime... so you are able to produce
better results in less time by charging more.’
Most freelancers also believed that their income would only increase overtime and
would not hit a limit after which it would stop. They felt they were always learning
more and getting better at completing the tasks at hand. This combined with the fact
most freelancers tend to charge more as their experience increases meant they thought
their income would grow.
‘Every task is different from the other. With time, tasks get tougher and your skills
develop proportionally. There’s no limit to how much you can learn from this. And
skills can be constantly improved and there will always be somebody who will need a
job done fast and with finesse.’
A majority of freelancers commented that they were planning to work as a freelancer
for the foreseeable future, despite the problems they faced. This was echoed by both
the part-timers and full-timers. Most part-timers who were students wanted to
31
continue their work even if they were pursuing a traditional job, while full-timers
commented that they would continue on as well as they felt it a better alternative to a
traditional job, with better money to be made, and more freedom granted in this line
of work.
‘I think I can see myself working full-time in freelance as compared to the 3-4 hours I
put in. The potential money to be made is much greater than a starting salary I would
get in an office.’
‘Freelance gives me more time to do whatever I want to do and I make twice the
amount of money I made after working in an office for 3 years. My gigs alone after a
year of experience started to make more than 3 years in a normal job. So yes, I will
continue Inshallah.’
In conclusion, most freelancers felt they were satisfied in one capacity or another with
their work. Mostly, due to the fact that they could make money through freelance
work and enjoy the many benefits that would not be possible in a traditional job.
However, there were some workers who felt that were not compensated enough for
the many hours of work that they put in and felt that there were improvements that
can be made to better access the market and reap the potentials.
‘Yes, I am satisfied but my advice to newbies is don't assume you'll earn and learn as
much from freelancing as a normal job. A normal job allows you to get a credit card,
bank loans but if you mention you are a freelancer on Fiverr it's not counted as a
bank-supported career. Also, you need to have a lot of time management skills. If you
are talented in your niche, consistent and very organized then you will have source of
income.
5.1.2:Negatives:
There are a wide variety of negatives and barriers that affect freelance work. These
negatives extend further when we look at the freelance world in reference to Pakistan.
Participants in the questionnaire emphasized a number of factors that they thought
impeded their work. Many freelancers noted that they faced communication problems
with clients, both in terms of the set payment and the work. Often times clients will
32
try and get discounts for given set prices of work, even after they have agreed to pay a
certain amount and the freelancer has started working on their project. ‘Hopeless
bargaining’ was the term used by one freelancer to describe this. The gap in
communication arises due to the very nature of the interaction. Clients have to be
often times contacted through email, video chat, phone calls or any such media, just to
move the work forward. Thus, choosing a client to work with can be a difficult
process in itself
‘On Fiverr I already describe the gigs so if anyone messages me to give them a
discount or something, I immediately distrust them and they usually don't order as
well. Ironically the base price for one gig you can set is at 5 USD and some clients
want to pay lower than that. I have to call some of my clients every day because they
do not respond easily. This further adds to the work load, as I need approval in some
areas to move forward.’
Freelancers also talked about how clients are at times not understanding of the work
that is being put in and often times disregard the time and patience it takes for
something to be completed. This can be detrimental to the mindset of the worker.
‘Their ability to understand the worth of art (your product) and the effort it takes to
create it is important. Patience and understanding are the things that I value most in
clients. If they’re constantly on my back and trying to speed up the process, it
normally ends in a longer time to complete it. ‘
Fraud is also a common problem in the freelance market. Often times, clients will
disappear when the work is done, without making the due payments. This problem is
more frequently reported by newcomers, as they are not experienced enough to look
for red flags. However, freelancers did have a positive outlook on the scenario as
many considered it an important learning experience. Fraud becomes less common as
freelancers become more engaged and experienced.
‘I got cheated out of payments. This is common at the start and its very demotivating
because you put in serious work and you expect to get compensated. I know about
33
people who stopped freelancing because they didn’t think it was worth the hassle.
Eventually, you learn and understand what clients you want to work with. ‘
Freelance workers regarded the aspect of marketing yourself and thus being seen by
perspective clients as a difficult and long-drawn process. Showcasing one’s skills,
experience and appropriateness for a task can be difficult. While all workers in
freelance undertake these activities, it can be particularly difficult for newcomers and
part-timers, as the process of making yourself available and seen by clients involves
spending a significant amount of time on the platforms they use.
‘You don’t become an instant hit. Marketing yourself and courting clients is difficult.
I don’t have the money to buy ads so I just have to make my profile more attractive to
potential clients and hope that they hire me.’
This barrier also leads to the next negative. Finding or getting work. Most freelancers
talked about this aspect being one of the most difficult ones to overcome. Freelancers
argued that there are times when you do not get any gigs and it feels as if you are
‘virtually jobless, despite your credentials.’ Often times, workers have to push down
their price rates to get jobs.
‘Sometimes it’s very difficult to get work, and there is almost always someone who
can do the same thing for lesser money so quoting large amounts of money is risky.’
The uncertainty in income was also seen as related to the lack of constant jobs in
freelance. Competition for work is high in many fields and often times freelancers
have to compete with workers from other countries. Freelancers also noted that
working for foreign clients can be difficult at times due to the time difference and jobs
being given at more obscure timings i.e.: ‘after midnight.’
‘Sometimes I don’t get work for weeks. Sometimes I get work to last me for weeks. I
work in graphic design and the competition in it is very high as many developed
countries have freelance designers.’
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Gender bias and sexism was a recurring negative. Women were predominantly
affected by this in many ways. Women in freelance reported that they felt that people
were more willing to give work to men. Often times, clients try and harass female
freelancers online. Clients that get their work done would try and strike up some sort
of ‘work relationship’ and would try to get discounts as well. Furthermore, they felt
that they were taken less seriously as men doing the same type of work. Racism was
also reported as somewhat frequent when working with foreign clients.
‘My messages are filled with men thinking we’re friends now that I’ve worked for
them. Constant begging for reduced rates is a common theme in these sorts of
interactions.’
Moving on, there were a number of issues that freelancer’s thought was relevant to
them, just because they worked in Pakistan. Bad internet connectivity and issues
related to it were touted by a few freelancers as barriers to their development.
Furthermore, one of the most important issues is the payment procedure. Pakistan
does not have PayPal or any of the other popular internet payment systems that are
widely used by freelancers in other countries. It is exceedingly difficult for freelancers
to understand and figure out how to receive payments, especially when it comes to
payments from other countries. Issues with payment in general is a point of
contention for many freelancers who feel that they receive late payments or no
payments at all, and are hampered by the lack of online payment systems in this
issue.
‘We don’t have PayPal here. It’s very hard to get payments from people. In the first
few months, I didn’t even know how to get paid by foreign clients at all. And people
always want free stuff; Clients also try and pay less than what was promised and often
times they delay their payment. One time a client of mine paid me after 2 months. ‘
‘It is not the same as other countries because we don’t have platforms like Shopify,
PayPal, patron etc. For freelance to work for me the country I live in needs to have
more access to the internet, and a market that understand the labor cost of freelancers
which doesn’t seem to be the case over here. Besides, anything you do, someone else
will be doing for a lesser rate which disadvantages all freelancers.’
35
Freelancers also described the lack of labor laws in Pakistan to protect them as a
major downside. Clients can defraud them and there is virtually nothing that
freelancers can do in this regard. Participants believe that it is very easy for them to be
exploited in this manner.
‘No institution to provide security to freelancers and lack of labor laws. What can I do
if someone doesn’t pay me? Nothing. What can I do if I don’t get any work for no
fault of my own? Nothing.’
Generally, most participants felt that Pakistan did not provide the same opportunities
for them as compared to other countries.
‘No, opportunities here are not the same. Digital services market has just recently
received the recognition that it should have ages ago in other countries, those more
developed like the USA and developing like India. Pakistan is just starting to
penetrate that field. ‘
36
5.2:Quantitative Findings:
In order to compare the qualitative findings to the quantitative ones, we must show
the relevant results obtained from the quantitative data. For this we look at the means
and standard deviations of all the problems and reasons to work as a freelancer in the
study.
Table 4.1:Means and standard deviations of Reasons to work as a
freelancer
Reasons to work as
a freelancer
Mean
Standard
deviation
Independence
4.07
1.12
Flexible work hours
4
1.14
Wide variety of
clients
3.52
1.36
Skill enhancement
3.85
1.22
Suitable to your
field of work
3.85
1.23
Table 4.2: Means and standard deviations of problems freelancers face
Standard
Problems
Mean
deviation
Internet Quality
2.91
1.46
Receiving
payment on time
3.19
1.28
Communication
3.03
1.33
Finding work
3.7
1.05
37
Lack of experience
2.52
1.27
Gender bias
2.68
1.37
Constant income
3.5
1.3
Competition with
workers
3.02
1.37
Marketing
yourself
3.6
1.19
The means are taken from scale values of 1-5 with 1 being the lowest and 5
the highest. The values were calculated from a total of 111 respondents that
responded to the freelancer survey. Regarding the scale values for the factors, 1
represents no significance and 5 represents very high significance.
The tables above show the problems and reasons to work as a freelancer with their
respective means and standard deviations. With the problems table we see really
different means as not all people face similar problems and some are a lot less
notable. “Finding work”, “Constant income”, and “Marketing yourself” are the 3 that
stand out due to their means being relatively higher than the rest of the problems in
the list. Finding work also has the lowest standard deviation so its overall a bit higher
due to less deviation. The qualitative questionnaire backs this as majority people
listed finding work as a major problem they faced in Pakistan. Marketing yourself
goes together with finding work as both are related with finding clients and that seems
to be the most challenging problem faced by freelancers in Pakistan.
The ‘’reasons freelancers chose to work as freelancers” mean values are
overall much higher than the problems they face. We can see through the table how
the values are all greater than 3.5 and none are below. Independence and flexible
work hours are higher than 4 and even from the questionnaire the flexibility in work
and making their own decisions were major factors listed. There are a fewer amount
38
of reasons compared to the problems faced, which is because the reasons listed by
people responding to the questionnaire were less.
The overall age of the respondents to the survey was also not very high and
more than half the respondents were either currently enrolled in university or were
fresh graduates. That might be due to how the survey was distributed but younger
people being more willing and interested in freelancing can also explain it.
5.3:Income comparison:
Having looked at the qualitative aspects and the factors that affect freelancers, looking
at an income comparison between the Pakistan labor force survey and our data will
give us an idea of how freelancers earnings compare to the average earnings of
workers in Pakistan that are similar in age and education
Table 5.1:Income comparison by age and education level, Means and
standard errors
Age
Education level
Income (Labor force
survey data)
Income (freelancer
data)
10459.23
(555.22)
5000
(0)
Less than or
equal to 18
Matric but haven’t done intermediate
19-22
14331.33
Intermediate but haven’t completed (512.15)
undergrad
16020.41
(1980.34)
24882.62
(745.16)
29196.43
(4106.82)
47764.98
(1451.62)
65000
(20696.57)
23-28
Undergrad completed
25 and above Postgraduate and above
39
Table 5.2: Income comparison by age and education level, Minimum/Maximum
and number of observations per bracket
Income (Labor force Income (freelancer
survey data) Min/Max data) Min/Max
Age
Education level
Less than or
equal to 18
0
52000
Matric but haven’t done intermediate (130 observations)
5000
5000
(9 observations)
19-22
1500
Intermediate but haven’t completed 38000
undergrad
(249 observations)
5000
62500
(48 observations)
23-28
0
160000
(587 observations)
5000
87500
(27 observations)
0
1300000
(1336 observations)
17500
150000
(8 observations)
Undergrad completed
25 and above Postgraduate and above
The tables above show the income comparison between the labor force survey and the
data from our freelancer survey, the values in the brackets represent the standard error
of the means.
From the labor force survey data, the values are only from the people who had
recorded all 3 variables in their survey, so anyone that does not fall within the
brackets is not in the data we use for the income calculations. The data from the
freelancer survey was taken in ranges so that’s why the lowest value recorded was
5000(falls within the 0-10000rs per month bracket).
If we look at the table that looks at the mean values and the standard errors for
the 2 data sets we see that there is a positive relationship between income and
education as there is an increase in income for the higher education brackets.
Compared to each other the increase in income from one bracket to the next is also
higher in the freelancer data. The lowest bracket has an average of 5000 as the only
recordings were in the (0-10000rs per month) range of income. As education
increases income shows a higher responsiveness in the freelancer data. The standard
errors of the freelancer data are also higher than that of the labor force survey, which
can be explained by the smaller sample sizes meaning more percentage of the data is
away from the mean.
40
The second table shows the maximum and minimum values of the incomes
used from both surveys and the number of observations. The freelancer data has a
lower amount of observations in each category due to the sample size being 111 vs.
the much higher sample size of the labor force survey. The maximum values for
income are higher in the labor force survey for each bracket, with the exception of the
2nd bracket. A huge difference between the 2 datasets is where the data lies with
respect to age and education. For the labor force survey, more than half of the
recordings are for the 4th bracket showing that a very low percentage of people lie
within the other 3 brackets we set. Comparatively, the freelance survey shows that
more than half the people lie within the middle 2 brackets, with an age of 19-28. This
is also totally reasonable as the freelancers we surveyed and focus on for our study are
the ones using freelancing services online, and a younger sample goes along with this.
5.4:Joint Display:
Having looked at the qualitative findings and the quantitative findings, this section
looks at specific parts of the qualitative study that link it to the quantitative part, this
is shown by the table below. this also shows how the 14 factors used in the
quantitative study were picked.
41
Table 6:Qualitative factors alongside their means and SD’s from the
Quantitative study
Qualitative
FACTORS
Quality of internet
Quantitative
MEAN
‘Internet connection problems are a
big downside. When I’m in university
in Lahore, it's not a big deal. But
being back home in Swat I don’t get
signals easily and it's frustrating’
2.91
Receiving payment on time
‘Clients also try and pay less than what
SD
1.46
was promised and often times they
delay their payment. One time a client
of mine paid me after 2 months.’
Communication
client/clients
problems
3.19
1.28
3.03
1.33
3.7
1.05
2.52
1.27
2.68
1.37
3.5
1.30
3.02
1.37
with
‘Clients will sometimes not tell me
what to do exactly and when I finish,
they’ll say that’s not what they wanted’
Finding work
‘Finding appropriate work is difficult.
You have to be vigilant and ready at
all times.’
Difficulty in finding jobs due to lack
of experience
‘Lack of experience is a tough thing.
Clients think twice before hiring.’
Gender Bias
‘Sexism and misogyny
everyday deal. ‘
are
an
Constant income
‘To make this a full-time thing, there
needs to be jobs for me at all times. I
think it’s difficult unless you have
connections.’
Marketing yourself
‘To make yourself distinguishable
from the other thousands of
freelancers is very difficult.’
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Competition with workers from other
countries
‘There are people who do what I do
at a cheaper rate in other countries. It
undercuts my work a lot.’
3.6
1.19
4.07
1.12
4
1.14
3.52
1.36
3.85
1.22
3.85
1.23
Independence
‘I work on my schedule. I’m a night
owl so it helps that I’m not
constrained by time in this way.’
Flexibility in work hours
‘I either work 15 hours a day or 2
hours a day. It suits the way I work,
especially in the design phase when I
have to constantly engage,’
Variety of clients
‘Many different clients want different
stuff. It’s interesting and enhances
my work knowledge, I think. ‘
Skill enhancement
‘ I have learned a lot of new things in
a year or so of working on fiverr.
That’s a good benefit in terms of the
new skills I’ve gained. ‘
Line of work suits yours
‘ It’s a good start for me because I’m
already pursuing a degree in English.
The joint tables illustrates both analysis from both data sets integrated together. With
sample quotes taken from the first phase of the study compared and contrasted to the
means and standard deviations found out from the second phase of the study. This
43
helps us better illustrate the findings of the study and to look at why some factors
might have a different impact on some people.
Quality of internet was a factor that differed for different freelancers, mostly
depending on their location. Since internet connection in Pakistan varies from area to
area, with more developed areas getting better internet signals, it was a factor that
affected freelancers who were outside the main cities and areas. This meant that it
affected some freelancers a lot more than other freelancers, which can be seen from
the higher SD. Gender bias was predominantly felt by females, thus the lower mean
and higher SD. Females from the first phase listed it a huge drawback while none of
the males mentioned gender bias as being an issue. Communication problems with
clients was felt by workers that worked in more technical projects like programming,
design or art. Since work like this is done in line with the clients and what they want
more accurately than other fields of work. Marketing yourself was another factor that
was felt by clients that were new to freelancing more than older and more experienced
ones.
Finding work, competition from workers from other countries and constant income
were seen as the most prevalent factors that had a negative effect. These were all
factors that were listed at as major concerns in the qualitative questionnaire.
As shown by the higher means in every category, all positives were considered great
benefits to working in freelance. Independence and Flexibility in work are the ones
which are considered the most important. This was also echoed by the questionnaire.
On the other hand, variety of clients was seen as a major positive in the questionnaire,
however it has the lowest mean and the highest SD. This shows that it is not a huge
benefit for every freelancer, as newcomers are not actively working on new projects
with different clients, thus this positive was lower for them.
44
Chapter 6: Conclusion
The experiences of the freelance workers can best be viewed in the light of the
features of the labor market in Pakistan. Pakistan is regarded as an emerging economy
with the potential to break into the top 30 economies of the world in the next 15 years.
However, employment conditions in the country are poor. Most of the labor market
operates in the informal sector, standing at approximately 71.2% of all employment
outside of agriculture. (Labor Force Survey, 2017-18). This points to bigger problems
that have not been addressed by the government. Due to the nature of an
‘underground economy’, there are several challenges, problems and work deficits.
There is little to no accountability in this sector of the economy as regulations
pertaining to humane working conditions and social protection do not apply here. The
informal sector is hampered by many problems including child and bonded labor,
rights at work, unsustainable employment, working poverty and widespread
discrimination according to gender and religion. (International Labor Organization).
In the same vein, in the organized sector, most labor laws do not apply to
establishments having 20 or less workers, thereby exploiting workers is a constant.
Even when they apply, there are a number of loopholes that are exploited to get
around relevant regulations to the detriment of the workers. Poor availability of jobs,
dismal working conditions and the dubious nature of the employment contracts are
more pronounced in rural areas and smaller cities. (Human Rights Watch, 2019)
The 2017 Census shows that most of the Pakistani population is comprised of young
people, with around 63% of the population between the age of 15 and 33, while 29%
are under the age of 30. But opportunities are few and far in between. Jobless,
educated people in Pakistan is a relevant picture to look at when we address the
question of jobs in Pakistan.
Unemployment rate among degree-holders in Pakistan is almost triple that of the
overall unemployment rate.
(ILO). This means that Pakistan has within it, many skilled and capable people who
are not being provided with employment. With almost 4 million youth entering the
working age population every year, with current labor force participation and
45
unemployment rates being held constant, 0.9 million new jobs must be created every
year for five years.
In the context provided, freelance work, despite falling in the informal sector,
provides a valuable alternative, with an emphasis on self-improvement and an
entrepreneurial leaning that focuses on marketing yourself. Freelancing provides
meaningful work which effectively utilizes skills, while also develops further
knowledge and facilitates career progression. Furthermore, it has the ability to pay a
decent wage and has better working conditions compared to the traditional jobs
market. Freelancing also exposes many aspiring people to international audiences and
clients that can further help them develop and grow. Freelance work creates and
facilitates new avenues and opportunities for income growth and social mobility in
stagnant economies where there is little growth and investment. (Kittur et al. 2013).
The challenges that manifest themselves in the traditional job markets, coupled with
the lack of jobs in general makes freelance work an important sector of growth that
should be focused on, and improved to facilitate greater interest and employability.
Freelance emphasizes merit and on platforms designed specifically for freelance
work, level client-freelance differences through mutual feedback. Even though
freelancers face many current challenges such as job uncertainty, no real channel to
acquire payments, inadequate internet facilities and exposure to clients that hold
power over them due to the very nature of their control over contracts and payments,
the positives usurp these negatives. The negatives however should not be simply
ignored but be readily addressed to further propagate growth in this fast-growing
sector.
Having looked at income comparison we can see how the incomes tend to be higher
for freelancers before fringe benefits are taken into account, and the data from the
non-monetary factors that were considered considerable positives can be taken into
account when looking at the comparison. A significant number of the participants
were part-timers and students which shows that a greater focus into developing the
freelance market will mean that many of these part-timers can earn more and earn
with greater autonomy than the average traditional worker. The quantitative part of
the paper was to compare income of freelancers with data acquired from the Labor
Force Survey. The study does that by looking at the respective incomes using age and
education as the variables used to find the income. The relationship is shown as
46
education shows a positive relationship to income and both sets of data show results
that can draw results. Despite a few shortcomings of the data regarding sample size
and income being taken in ranges, the data still allows us to analyze the relationship.
Despite that the research can’t really capture the effect of fringe variables such as
healthcare quantifying them in income terms is very difficult and the specific money
received from this sort of benefits is not provided. That being said, this is something
that more traditional jobs can offer and something freelancing lacks. In conclusion,
freelancers did earn more money than the average worker for all age brackets other
than the lowest age bracket, for which the data was not really sufficient or varying as
all people falling in the bracket were currently students and the same can’t be said for
the PBS data as that was not specified if they are still studying. Freelancers in
Pakistan have many barriers that they have to overcome to work efficiently and
productively, but the many advantages of freelance work and the ability to earn a
better wage makes freelancing a viable alternative to traditional jobs in Pakistan.
6.1:Limitations:
We felt that the data we obtained through our quantitative study was lacking in some
aspects and a different approach or more information could have added more to it.
data for income was collected in brackets, specific income values would have been
better as it would have allowed us to perform regression and other forms of analysis
that would explain the results even further. On top of that, the data from the labor
force survey was taken with specific values, so it would also go better with that. The
number of responses we got to our survey also should have been higher as a larger
sample size allows for better analysis, but because of the study being on specific types
of workers, finding the right people for it was difficult. Many other variables are there
to be analyzed for any future research along with other relationships that could
compare freelance to traditional jobs or just show freelancing as a viable job in
Pakistan. Another aspect that our study was limited in was any other income the
freelancers earned. with info showing what the total income of the respondents was or
knowing what other jobs they might do can add an extra element to explaining
freelancing, as people earning lower incomes is explained better if freelancing is not
their only job. efficiency of work is another aspect that can better compare freelancing
vs a more traditional job, because people working fewer hours and earning lower
incomes can be justified better.
47
6.2:Recommendations:
In order to take advantage of the growing freelance landscape, there are many issues that we
must counter and many ideas that should be developed further.
Most people in Pakistan are not familiar with freelancing and all that it entails. It’s a growing
market but one that needs to be acknowledged, appreciated and studied more. To provide this
greater emphasis workshops, seminars and talks about freelance work need to organized at a
localized community level. These sessions can not only provide more information but can
also be used to train and better prepare people who are interested in working as a freelancer.
Universities and colleges have to be taken under the wing in this approach as these
institutions are the ones that provide the freelance workers.
There is an urgent need to make freelancing more accessible to the general population as a
whole. Firstly, this means that Pakistan has to provide better internet capability outside of the
major cities. Freelancing requires a good internet connection to be a functional job, for most
people to take advantage of it. Internet should not only be readily available but also cheaply
accessible so that its not another barrier that reduces the number of people who want to work.
Secondly, a major issue that stands largely unresolved is the transfer of payment system. The
state needs to provide some system of online payment for freelancers. This can be done via
striking up a deal with some of the major online payment streams like Paypal and/or by
expanding recently announced services like Payoneer, which are largely underused by the
general freelancers who might not even know about it in most cases.
The state also needs to provide greater support to freelancers and crowd workers. In this
regard, platforms for freelancers need to created on a state-level and also by private
corporations that are looking for freelancers to work for them. These platforms of interaction
between different freelancers need to be treated in the same way as any different work, by
providing minimum wage benefits and by creating a union of freelance workers so that their
needs and requirements can be more accessibly discussed.
There is also a need to fight against gender bias and discrimination online as this serves as
way to drive the people affected by these, away from freelance as a whole. Policy should be
designed and implemented that provides these workers with better protection and a greater
voice to talk about the problems they face.
48
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Appendix
A.Qualitative questionnaire transcript
1. What platforms do you use for freelance work?
2. As a freelancer, what are the most important things you look at in
an employer or client?
3. What are some of the major benefits associated with working as a
freelance worker?
4. What are some of the major downsides of working as a freelance
worker?
5. Living in Pakistan, what are the biggest obstacles you face that
might negatively affect your work?
6. What are some of the reasons that you chose to pursue freelance
work instead of looking for a more traditional job?
7. Are you satisfied with your income? Do you feel working in a more
traditional office job would increase your income?
8. Do you feel the opportunities available to you as a freelancer in
Pakistan are the same as someone else in a different country? if
not please explain the
9. How much of a difference does experience make in freelance
work? Has your income increased over time?
10. Is freelance work something you see yourself doing in the next 510 years?
11. Do you feel that the money to be made through freelance reaches a
certain point, after which it won't increase?
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12. Have you ever been discriminated against while working as a
freelancer? If yes, can you explain in what way?
13. Overall, do you feel you are satisfied working as a freelancer?
B. Quantitative survey
1. Gender
2. Age
3. Marital status
4. years of education
5. If you are still a student, please specify your degree program
6. Province
7. City of residence
8. What platform do you primarily use for your work?
9. Do you work, or have you worked with other in a job that is
crowdsourced?
10. Do you prefer freelance or crowdsource?
11. Income per month
12. What do you sell as a freelancer (good or service)? if you work in
multiple fields, specify them.
13. How do you receive your income?
14. Is freelancing your full time job?
15. Work experience as freelancer in years
16. On average, how much time do you spare for freelance work per
day?
17. Are you satisfied with the income you get from freelancing?
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C. Second part of survey looking at scale factors ( measured on a scale of 1-5)
1. Quality of internet
2. Receiving payment on time
3. Communication problem with clients
4. Finding work
5. Difficulty in finding work due to lack of experience
6. Gender bias
7. Constant income
8. Competition with other workers
9. Marketing yourself
10. Independence
11. Flexible work hours
12. Wide variety of clients
13. Skill enhancement
14. Suits the line of work
53