Flemish self-employed never so satisfied with their jobs before
January 2024 - Although work stress remains a concern, Flemish self-employed people's satisfaction is in good shape. This is according to research by SERV, the socio-economic council of Flanders.
Of the 1,788 Flemish self-employed who gave their input this year (in the first measurement since the corona crisis), 52.5 per cent turned out to be positive about all domains. At the start of the 2007 measurement, the figure was 47.7 per cent. This increase is remarkable, as satisfaction among employees is rather stabilising.
The most striking positive trends from the surveyThe most striking positive trends from the survey
9 in 10 self-employed are motivated
virtually all respondents are satisfied with their learning opportunities.
Work stress does remain a work issue. Over a third of entrepreneurs experience too much stress. Self-employed people who employ staff themselves experience even more stress (44 per cent). The additional responsibilities and administrative burdens of personnel management may be responsible for this.
Work-life balance
Work-life balance does improve: 29.7 per cent struggle with that combination today, down from 34.5 in 2007. The average number of working hours has also fallen: from 56.8 per week to 52.2. This may indicate a cautious change in mentality.
The Social and Economic Council of Flanders (SERV) measures the quality of jobs every three years. Initially only for employees, but since 2007 also for self-employed people.
